Last week I coached a senior leader who has missed out on two CEO roles in recent months. In both cases, the feedback was that he was “not CEO-ready”.
It’s a frustrating thing to hear. But having sat through more board debriefs than I can count, I can tell you that phrase rarely means what candidates think it means.
What does “not CEO-ready” actually mean?
This phrase, in ‘board-speak’ really means the following: “We see too much risk in the appointment. We’re looking for a sure thing”.
For a candidate who has been operating at C-level in an adjacent role such as CFO or Chief Commercial Director, or has been running a business unit with full P&L responsibility, this is hard to hear.
The typical exasperation is something like: ‘But I can do the job! How do you step up if boards won’t give you a chance to prove yourself?’
Where do CEO step-ups really come from?
Most of them happen inside organisations. Internal succession carries less perceived risk because the board has already seen the person at work, whereas an external hire is a bigger leap – even when the candidate has been a CEO elsewhere. The gap widens when the size of the business, the type of role or the industry is different.
But that does not mean the door is shut.
Many of the CEO briefs we (Jack Hammer Global) take on include a sourcing strategy that deliberately looks at these adjacencies, so there are equally many instances when boards appoint candidates with ‘room to grow’. (Dis-Chem CEO Rui Morais talked about his own move from CFO to CEO on our On Work and Revolution podcast.)
What does a board need to see before appointing a first-time CEO?
To say yes to someone who is not a slam dunk, a board needs confidence in:
- Decision-making: how you identify, manage and take risk
- Agility: your ability to pivot when circumstances change
- Financial acumen: your record of driving growth while keeping a hold on costs
- People leadership: how you lead, including how you build and retain a senior team
- Strategic judgement: your calls on strategy and capital allocation
- Stakeholder management: from directors and investors to regulators and customers
- Self-awareness: an honest view of what you have not yet done, and how you plan to cover it
It is your job as the candidate to make these visible. Not once, but at every touchpoint.
Where should CEO candidates make their case?
- Your documentation. Your CV, executive summary and LinkedIn profile. Most candidates list responsibilities, but boards want evidence. So make real decisions, real risks and real outcomes easily visible.
But honestly, from my experience, boards don’t scrutinise CVs. (In fact, I’d be surprised if CVs are ever read from start to finish!)
- Every single interview. This is the most important touchpoint, and that means every SINGLE interview in the several you’ll encounter in any process.
I have debriefed candidates who told me they were never asked about their decision-making or how they handle risk. That their financial skills, examples of agility, or people leadership were not specifically questioned.
This is unfortunate, but it is also common. Many board directors have never been part of a CEO appointment, so the right questions may not come naturally. I wrote about this in Interviewing for a CEO role: what boards and candidates often miss. If the questions do not come, you still need to find a way to bring your examples and stories into the room.
- Your referees. Brief them. Tell them which themes you want covered and ask them if they recall specific instances to share. A referee who says you are “a great leader” does far less for you than one who describes the hard call you made and what happened next.
And everything in between. There are more touchpoints than these three. Your first conversation with the recruiter or chair shapes how you are described when you are not in the room. Informal time with individual directors, site visits, presentations and 100-day plan discussions all give you an opening. So do the follow-up notes you send after each meeting. If something was missed, use them to cover it.
How should you handle the gaps in your CEO candidacy?
If an executive recruiter is representing you, do not assume they know where your strengths and gaps sit. So tell them – spell it out. Give them the stories and the language to advocate for you with the board.
Similarly, a board that can see you have thought hard about the step up, and have a plan for the gaps, is looking at a much smaller risk than the one it may have started with.
My rule of thumb is simple: if the board has to guess how you will handle the gaps, they will guess cautiously.
Is “not CEO-ready” a final verdict?
“Not CEO-ready” is rarely a verdict on your capability. More often it is a signal that the board could not get comfortable with the perceived risk. Candidates who understand that, and work to close the gap on purpose, give themselves a far better chance of success.
So if you believe you are CEO-ready, you’re going to need to figure out how to communicate this, because it needs to be as obvious to your interviewers as it is to you.
At a glance – Answering Your Questions Head On
Frequently asked questions
What does “not CEO-ready” mean? It usually means the board sees too much risk in the appointment and wants a sure thing. It is rarely a verdict on whether the candidate can do the job, says Debbie Goodman, CEO of Jack Hammer Global.
Why do boards prefer internal CEO candidates? Internal succession carries less perceived risk because the board has already seen the person at work. An external hire is a bigger leap, even for someone who has been a CEO elsewhere, and the gap widens when company size, role type or industry differs.
Can a CFO or COO become CEO without prior CEO experience? Yes. Boards do appoint candidates with room to grow, and many of Jack Hammer Global’s CEO searches deliberately look at adjacent roles. The candidates who succeed raise their gaps before the board does and bring a plan to cover them.
What do boards look for in a first-time CEO? Confidence in seven areas: decision-making and risk, agility, financial acumen, people leadership, strategic judgement and capital allocation, stakeholder management, and self-awareness about what the candidate has not yet done.
How do you show you are CEO-ready in an interview? Bring your examples into the room even if the questions don’t come, because many board directors have never been part of a CEO appointment. Brief your referees with specific stories, and use follow-up notes to cover anything that was missed.
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