3 Most Common Regrets for New CEOs

A study revealed what top leaders would do differently if they had the chance to do it over again.

If you’re a CEO, chances are high that you wish you could go back in time and change a decision you made or an action you took. Hindsight is 20/20 after all.

First-time CEOs and those taking the helm at a new organization may not be able to avoid regrets altogether, but they can minimize them by learning from their peers’ experiences.

So, what would fellow CEOs do differently after reflecting on their first year on the job? Russell Reynolds Associates tried to find out the answer by interviewing 35 CEOs who had been in their role for 12 to 18 months, along with collecting data from 178 CEOs. The findings were laid out in a Harvard Business Review article.

Make changes faster

The most common regret among respondents was not moving fast enough to change and build their teams, chosen by 66% of CEOs.

This answer was selected more by second- and third-time CEOs than by first-time CEOs, but it was the latter group that made their first change quicker on average—2.6 months versus four months.

Of course, making changes for the sake of change isn’t an effective approach. CEOs should find a balance between sitting back and being too aggressive.

Phil Wright, CEO at Memorial Regional Hospital South, recently shared with HealthLeaders his tips to success for incoming CEOs, which included resisting sudden change.

“Get in, get acclimated to the organization, get to know people, understand why certain things were done or not done, and then start gathering information to put yourself in a position to make decisions,” Wright said.

Once CEOs feel they’ve got the lay of the land, that’s the time to start leaving your mark.

Adapt leadership style

The second-most common regret among surveyed CEOs was not altering their leadership style, chosen by nearly half of respondents (48%).

One of the difficulties many first-time CEOs encounter is recognizing that their new role demands a different approach. Of respondents who said their top regret was leadership style, 25% revealed they took too long to mentally accept the position and leave behind the thinking they had from their previous role.

For example, CEOs shouldn’t be managing others, but leading them, recently retired Banner Health CEO Peter Fine told HealthLeaders.

Whether that manifests in how you motivate people or how you delegate, it’s crucial CEOs understand that the job requires a different mentality, even to other C-suite positions.

Engage with the board

Another aspect of being a CEO that newly appointed leaders can struggle with is having a positive relationship with their board.

One-quarter of respondents (25%) said their biggest regret was not working better with the board during their transition, while over 63% reported having some sort of conflict with their board in their first year in the role.

Going from one boss to multiple can be an eye-opening transition, but by emphasizing transparency and alignment, CEOs can improve board interactions and avoid missteps along the way.