The Leadership Accelerator: The Playbook for Transitioning into Your New Executive Role

CHAPTER 21

Manage Execution Risks

After assuming a new role, incoming executives are often called upon to identify and start change initiatives. Sometimes, they are faced with righting an ongoing project that has gone off the rails. But driving change efforts and transformation is inherently risky. Based on our numerous Transition Labs, we have identified various execution risk factors that commonly occur. Thoughtful consideration of these issues can help executives better navigate the pitfalls and deliver successful transformations.

Based on our discussions in Transition Labs and a review of prior research on execution risk, we generally observe four categories of execution risks: (1) the availability of critical resources, (2) effective alignment ...