Expert Ty Wiggins tells you how

In today’s fast-paced business environment, leadership transitions are critical moments that can define the future of an organisation. Ty Wiggins, global lead of the CEO & Executive Transition Practice at Russell Reynolds Associates, specialises in guiding CEOs, boards, and senior leaders through these pivotal periods. With over a decade of experience in executive coaching, leadership development, and academic research, Wiggins brings a unique blend of practical expertise and insights to the table.

His book, The New CEO, published last year pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to thrive in your first year as a CEO. Drawing from fresh research and unfiltered insights from top global leaders, it’s a must-read playbook for first-timers and seasoned executives alike.

In this interview with Gulf Business, Wiggins shares his perspectives on successful leadership transitions, the challenges executives face when stepping into new roles, and how organisations can ensure a smoother path to effectiveness for their leaders.  Here’s what he had to say:

Ty, thank you for joining us today. To start, could you tell us a bit about your role at Russell Reynolds Associates and what inspired you to specialise in leadership transitions?

I lead the firm’s CEO & Executive Transition Practice, which means I work with CEOs, boards, and senior leaders to ensure successful transitions into new roles. My focus is on helping leaders navigate the complexities of onboarding, accelerating their path to effectiveness, and driving transformational change within their organisations.

Your book, The New CEO, aligns closely with your work and research. What inspired you to write it, and what readers can expect from it?

The New CEO was published in May last year. It’s really focused on that critical transition period for CEOs and senior executives — the first 12 to 18 months in the role. That’s when they face some of the most unique and high-stakes challenges, and the book is designed to support them through that.

It’s a collection of stories, experiences, and coaching advice that I’ve used with clients over the years. I’ve had the opportunity to work with over 60 CEOs as they’ve gone through their transition, along with a large number of senior executives. On top of that, I conducted qualitative research with another 35 CEOs and included insights from some featured CEOs — like those from PepsiCo, Verizon, and UPS.

So the book brings all of that together into what I hope is a really practical guide for anyone approaching a CEO or senior leadership transition. It reflects the work I lead in this space at Russell Reynolds. And honestly, I think it’s one of the best jobs in the world — sitting down with these individuals and helping them navigate such a pivotal moment in their leadership journey. That’s really the heart of what inspired the book.

You hold a PhD in leadership transitions, which is quite a niche yet incredibly relevant area. Tell us more about what drew you to this subject and what you discovered through your research.

It’s definitely not a very common academic area, but it’s a very common and critical challenge for organisations. Leadership transitions happen all the time — whether it’s a change in role, a restructure, an M&A, someone returning from paternity leave or a career break. Despite how frequent they are, these moments are high-risk, and I noticed that really capable individuals can stumble during these periods. That’s what drew me in.

My PhD focused specifically on the factors that either inhibit or promote success during leadership transitions. I wanted to understand what really makes the difference — and whether we could build something practical to help organisations and individuals navigate it better.

There are a few standout variables that consistently influence the ease or difficulty of a transition, especially at the CEO level. One is what I call “the ghost”— which refers to what happens with the outgoing CEO. If they stay involved or their shadow still lingers over the organisation, it can make it much harder for the incoming CEO to step in effectively.

Another key factor is whether the new CEO comes from inside or outside the organisation. Internal hires and external ones face very different sets of expectations and challenges. And lastly, the overall state of the organisation matters: is it performing well or underperforming? That significantly shapes the pressure and complexity of the transition.

From an individual’s perspective, one of the biggest reasons people fail in transition is that they don’t shift their mindset and behaviours to match the demands of the new level. When we’re under pressure, we tend to fall back on what’s worked for us in the past — but what got you here won’t necessarily get you there.

So things like communication style, presence, interpersonal skills, and even cognitive load become crucial. You need to evolve across all of these dimensions to really succeed in a leadership transition.

What advice do you offer female leaders preparing for the CEO role, particularly in a still male-dominated corporate environment? Have you worked with women in this transition?

I’m fortunate that, among the CEOs I work with, a greater percentage are women. And if any of them were here, they’d likely echo this: despite progress, women are still held to a different standard. There’s often a need to work twice as hard to be seen as half as capable in the eyes of the board or market. That level of scrutiny demands resilience — and while many already have it, continuing to strengthen it is key.

I also emphasise the importance of building a strong external network — someone outside the business to speak to confidently. For aspiring CEOs, having exposure to the board and building relationships at that level is invaluable. Taking on P&L responsibility is critical too — it’s difficult to step into a CEO role without ever having run one.

I encourage leaders to diversify their experiences: take on roles in different regions, functions, or cultures. That builds what we call an “enterprise mindset”, which is essential. If you’re too functionally narrow, it can limit your path to the top.

Finally, there’s a pattern I’ve observed — many women hesitate to pursue roles unless they believe they meet every requirement. Men, on the other hand, tend to go for it if they meet most. So I often remind my clients during moments of self-doubt: the board didn’t pull your name from a hat. They chose you because they believe you’re the right person for the job. Trust that. Keep going. The key is to find the balance between personal growth and business growth.

Read: 44 women leaders share advice to power your success

Many CEOs and senior leaders are deeply ambitious — not just about business growth, but also personal growth. What advice do you offer those who are striving to balance both as they prepare for or step into the CEO role? How can they navigate this dual path effectively?

The aspiration to become CEO, especially if you’re C-suite, is not only natural, it’s essential. But it’s important to understand that being in the C-suite and being the CEO are two very different experiences. While you’re in the C-suite, you’re still executing the current CEO’s vision. That means you need to show your ability to support the existing leadership, even if things aren’t exactly how you’d do them. At the same time, knowing when and how to challenge constructively is equally important.

For leaders with CEO ambitions, I always stress the importance of investing in their personal growth just as much as the business side. Building a network is key — especially one beyond your current domain. For instance, CFOs often have strong relationships with other CFOs, but if you’re aspiring to be CEO, start expanding your network to include COOs, CMOs, and other CEOs. When the time comes to present your succession plan or vision to the board, having that wider perspective can really set you apart.

Another important point is that becoming CEO is not just about being ready for the role — it’s about being prepared for the reality of the role. That’s a big theme in my book. Many people underestimate the shock of becoming CEO. The scrutiny, the expectations — it’s all very different from what they imagined, even if they’ve sat in on board meetings for years.

One of the biggest regrets I hear from new CEOs is not moving quickly enough on building or adjusting their executive team. Another is underestimating how long change takes. CEOs are, by nature, action-oriented — they want to make a mark quickly. But what I often see is they set aggressive targets early on that are hard to achieve, and in doing so, create unnecessary friction and stress.

That pace can also lead to early mistakes. We’re now seeing more CEOs being removed in their second year, which is telling. The first year is often about making moves that look good; the second year reveals whether they were good. That’s when boards start asking the harder questions. So my advice is: pace yourself. Build relationships and communicate effectively with the board, your team, and the wider organisation from the very beginning.

Ultimately, successful CEOs are the ones who balance that ambition with humility, curiosity, and a readiness to listen, learn, and adapt. Growth — personal and business — can happen in tandem, but it requires discipline, patience, and a long-term mindset.

Looking ahead, how do you see the role of the CEO evolving over the next few years? And as the world undergoes constant shifts — be it economic, cultural or societal — what should today’s ambitious leaders be preparing for to effectively lead tomorrow?

 I think there are a few big shifts we’re going to see. For one, depending on what happens economically, we may find CEOs needing to be more fiscally oriented again. We’ve been through cycles like this before, and it’s something that can return based on macro conditions. But broadly speaking, the role of a CEO is definitely moving away from the old-school command-and-control model. While remnants of that still exist, the momentum is clearly toward a more people-centric leadership style — one that emphasises engagement and building strong cultures, not just issuing directives or motivating through authority.

If we look five or ten years ahead, I believe the biggest conversations around CEOs won’t just be about revenue or operational decisions. It’ll be about culture — how well a CEO has built it or, in some cases, failed to. We’re already seeing this. When organisations end up in the spotlight for the wrong reasons, media and stakeholders are increasingly pointing fingers at culture as the root cause. It’s not just about what went wrong — it’s about the environment that allowed it to happen.

So, for any executive aspiring to be a CEO in the next three to five years, you absolutely need a culture toolkit. You need to know how to assess culture, how to measure it, how to shift and sustain it. If you’re going to have your finger on the pulse of anything in the organisation, let it be culture.

Of course, none of this exists in isolation. Communication, resilience, agility — these are fundamental to leading effectively in today’s volatile environment. And perhaps most critically, it’s about choosing the right people. Building the right team around you is vital, not just internally but externally too. The role of CEO is an incredibly lonely one. That’s something people don’t often talk about. The most successful leaders I know all have what we call a “kitchen cabinet” — a trusted circle they can lean on. Ideally, you should start putting that support network in place before you take on the role, so you’re not building the plane while flying it.