One concept / idea
The CEO Life Cycle: Hildebrand studied how CEOs’ leadership and performance change throughout their careers. He identified five stages in a CEO’s life cycle, and argued that the skills and leadership style needed for success change from one stage to another.
Why is it interesting for a company?
It is interesting because companies often assume that a CEO who was successful in one period will remain successful forever. Hildebrand shows that companies need to adapt their expectations and support depending on what stage the CEO is in. This can help with CEO development, succession planning and avoiding leadership failure.
What did he identify? / Main result
His main finding is that CEO performance follows a predictable five-stage pattern. As CEOs move through these stages, their priorities, behaviour and strengths change. A leadership approach that works early in a CEO’s career may become less effective later.
Managerial implication
Boards and managers should not treat every CEO in the same way. They should:
Adapt support and expectations to the CEO’s stage.
Recognise when a CEO needs to change their leadership approach.
Use the life-cycle framework when making CEO succession and development decisions.
Avoid automatically replacing a CEO when performance changes—first consider whether they need to adapt to a new stage.
Boundary condition
The model may not apply equally to every CEO or company. CEO performance is also influenced by factors such as the company’s industry, size, external environment, economic conditions and individual circumstances. Therefore, the five-stage pattern should be used as a framework rather than a rule that predicts every CEO’s career exactly.
The CEO Life Cycle: Hildebrand studied how CEOs’ leadership and performance change throughout their careers. He identified five stages in a CEO’s life cycle, and argued that the skills and leadership style needed for success change from one stage to another.
Why is it interesting for a company?
It is interesting because companies often assume that a CEO who was successful in one period will remain successful forever. Hildebrand shows that companies need to adapt their expectations and support depending on what stage the CEO is in. This can help with CEO development, succession planning and avoiding leadership failure.
What did he identify? / Main result
His main finding is that CEO performance follows a predictable five-stage pattern. As CEOs move through these stages, their priorities, behaviour and strengths change. A leadership approach that works early in a CEO’s career may become less effective later.
Managerial implication
Boards and managers should not treat every CEO in the same way. They should:
Adapt support and expectations to the CEO’s stage.
Recognise when a CEO needs to change their leadership approach.
Use the life-cycle framework when making CEO succession and development decisions.
Avoid automatically replacing a CEO when performance changes—first consider whether they need to adapt to a new stage.
Boundary condition
The model may not apply equally to every CEO or company. CEO performance is also influenced by factors such as the company’s industry, size, external environment, economic conditions and individual circumstances. Therefore, the five-stage pattern should be used as a framework rather than a rule that predicts every CEO’s career exactly.