Dear Leah,
I’m the Chief Strategy Officer in a really awkward situation. Our CEO announced his retirement six months ago, and the Chair immediately started positioning our incoming CEO (current COO) as the “real decision-maker” whilst the outgoing CEO serves out his notice.
The problem is, our current CEO has basically checked out - he’s going through the motions but clearly feels undermined and irrelevant. Meanwhile, the incoming CEO is making decisions and commitments that contradict things the current CEO committed to just weeks ago. The senior team doesn’t know who to follow, and our people are confused about who’s actually in charge.
Yesterday, a major client asked me directly, “Who should we be dealing with for the next six months?” I honestly didn’t know what to say. The Chair seems oblivious to the chaos this is creating.
How do I manage a leadership vacuum when technically we have two leaders?
- Living in Leadership Limbo
Dear “Living in Leadership Limbo”!
Welcome to organisational purgatory, where good intentions create terrible outcomes. Your Chair has accidentally created a power struggle by trying to smooth a transition, and now you're all paying the price for their lack of clarity.
This is a classic case of authority without accountability meeting accountability without authority. Your outgoing CEO still holds the title but has been stripped of real power. Your incoming CEO has operational control but no formal mandate. The result? Decision paralysis and a leadership vacuum. Leadership transitions require surgical precision, not gradual erosion.
THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM:
Your Chair fundamentally misunderstands how transitions work. You can't have two captains steering the ship - it confuses the crew and terrifies the passengers (your clients).
THE PATH TO RESOLVING IT:
Someone needs to force clarity on the Chair immediately. Propose a clean handover date - say in 2-4 weeks - where the current CEO steps back completely (perhaps moving into an advisory or mentoring role), and the incoming CEO assumes full authority. Until then, establish clear decision-making protocols: current CEO for legacy issues, incoming CEO for forward-looking commitments.
YOUR ROLE GOING FORWARDS:
Document the chaos. Keep a record of contradictory decisions and client confusion to present a compelling case for immediate resolution.
Protect client relationships. Create a simple communication explaining the transition timeline so clients know exactly who to engage with.
Force the conversation. Present the Chair with evidence that limbo is more damaging than a clean break.
Sometimes being helpful means being direct about what isn't working.
