Leadership Transition the Regal Way

#Leadership is about nurturing leaders, not just achieving results. It’s about:

• Actions, not planning: Acting decisively yet leaving a legacy that empowers the next leader.
• Inspiration, not motivating or pushing: Creating alignment between values, goals, and vision—both for the team and the organization.
• Others, not self: Leadership is about serving others and enabling their success, ensuring they are set up to thrive (not just flourish or languish) in the long run.

Recent stories from Disney, Starbucks, and Nike underscore these lessons:

1. Disney’s CEO returned and achieved significant wins—turning streaming into a profit, driving blockbuster movies, and boosting earnings expectations. However, Iger’s real leadership test lies in how he transitions power. His previous handoff to Bob Chapek struggled due to poor timing and meddling, emphasizing that empowering successors is as critical as personal achievements. This time, Iger can focus on clearing obstacles for his successor and creating an environment where the next leader can flourish.
2. Starbucks faced a similar scenario. Despite his iconic leadership, his aggressive growth targets left successor Laxman Narasimhan grappling with unrealistic expectations, bad press, and investor discontent. The lesson? Authentic leadership lies in setting realistic goals and supporting the next leader, not undermining them for the sake of one’s own legacy.
3. When he replaced John Donahoe at Nike, Elliott Hill inherited a challenging situation. Like Starbucks, Hill faced the need for “kitchen sinking”—cleaning up unresolved issues to start anew. In these cases, the outgoing leaders' inability to fully smooth the path created hurdles for the successors.

All these outgoing leaders are remarkable success stories, and these examples are not meant to diminish their extraordinary contributions. Instead, they highlight the boards' critical role in ensuring smooth leadership transitions.

• Are boards effectively fulfilling their responsibilities when working with such charismatic founder-CEOs? Boardroom coaching may help.
• Would professional executive leadership coaching help these leaders to lead differently?

Potential over Performance: These examples reveal that leadership isn’t about being the hero or focusing solely on near-term results. It’s about ensuring the organisation's long-term success by nurturing others, clearing the path for successors, and building a sustainable legacy. Performance comes naturally when the potential is nurtured. As leaders, let’s focus on empowering those who come after us—it’s the ultimate test of leadership.

Iger should let someone else play Disney’s knight in shining armour - Beth Kowitt Bloomberg News

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