{"id":4418,"date":"2023-06-15T18:09:25","date_gmt":"2023-06-15T18:09:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/?p=4418"},"modified":"2025-05-15T21:20:59","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T21:20:59","slug":"best-practices-for-collaborating-with-your-new-ceo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/best-practices-for-collaborating-with-your-new-ceo\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Practices for Collaborating with Your New CEO"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Throughout my article series, The Role of a CHRO<\/a> in CEO Transitions, I\u2019ve discussed how the CHRO can be an influential part of a major leadership transition. I\u2019ve shared strategies for creating a connection, educating on the HR function, and integrating the CEO into the organization. Once these steps have taken place, a relationship has been formed between the CEO and CHRO that creates the opportunity for collaboration on a strategic level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this stage, the question becomes: How do you best collaborate with the top leader of an organization on people initiatives? The short answer is that each scenario will be unique, depending upon the circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking personally, our new CEO Tom Watson and I have been colleagues at BKD for quite some time and have developed an effective working relationship. Tom understands my priorities for our people, and I have also taken the time to understand his strategic priorities in his role as a Regional Managing Partner and now as a CEO. This type of relationship enables me to approach him with new ideas and bring him in easily when we launch a major HR initiative. If you don\u2019t have experience working with your new CEO in the past as a colleague, or if the new leader is an external hire, your challenges may look completely different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless of your circumstances, there are four guiding principles that can be applied across the board to collaborate effectively with your new CEO or other senior leader:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understand the Business<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First and foremost, it is critical that you have a deep understanding of the business you are operating in. This includes the core business model, operations, competitive landscape, and organization strategy. When you understand how the business works, you can work with your CEO more effectively and have productive conversations about how people initiatives will influence the overall success of the organization and increase its competitive advantages.   <\/p>\n\n\n

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Connect the Dots to Their Strategic Priorities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the first article in this series, Relating to Your New CEO, I shared the importance of learning the new CEO\u2019s top strategic priorities and vision for the future. When collaborating with the CEO, connect the dots back to these priorities when you are collaborating with them on HR initiatives. Here\u2019s an example of how you might frame up the connection between an HR initiative and a strategic priority:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know the organization is looking to expand and has some aggressive growth goals in the next fiscal year. I think to accomplish this, we will need an increasingly diverse workforce that can provide a variety of perspectives and connect with a wide range of clients. As a result, we\u2019d like to put together a specific HR strategy to attract diverse talent to our organization.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speak Their Language<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Along the same theme of connecting the dots to strategic priorities, it is important to speak in terms that the new CEO will resonate with. The highest executive within an organization will likely be focused on the following key elements (along with others):<\/p>\n\n\n\n