Ep. 485 — Steve Moss: You Found the Leader. Now How Do You Make Them Stay?

4 min read

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Episode Summary

Steve Moss has spent his career figuring out why senior executive hires blow up. It almost never has to do with whether they can do the job. If you are thinking about hiring your first real C-suite leader, or you have already been burned by one who didn’t work out, this conversation is going to hit close to home. Steve runs Executive Springboard. He matches new executives with mentors who have sat in that exact chair, and his retention rate is 95% over 18 months. We got into the real stuff. Why coachability matters more than IQ. What Steve calls the “passed over and pissed off” problem. Why he thinks the CHRO is the missing seat at the table. And how to build a leadership bench when your company can’t afford the price tag of an off-the-shelf C-suite.

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Top 10 Takeaways

  1. 50% of senior executives fail within 18 months. And it’s almost never because they can’t do the job.
  2. Mentoring is not coaching. Mentors share their scars. Coaches ask questions. Consultants tell you what to do.
  3. The “passed over and pissed off” problem will blow up your culture if you don’t address it head on.
  4. Consider building before buying. Your internal person who knows the culture might beat an external hire who takes six months to find and another six to ramp.
  5. The CHRO is the missing seat at the leadership table. Not open enrollment. Strategic talent and culture as a counterweight to the CFO’s numbers focus.
  6. Executive presence is character, substance, and style. Change your style to fake presence and everyone will smell it.
  7. AI adoption is lumpy. Most organizations know they’re behind. The real risk is employees adopting unsanctioned tools while leadership sits on their hands.
  8. AI doesn’t replace the need for leaders who can think. It amplifies whatever’s already there. Clear goals or confusion.
  9. Coachability is the number one predictor of executive success. Not functional skill. Not IQ. The willingness to ask for feedback and act on it.
  10. Managing change is managing other people’s grief. Go too fast and you’ll turn the corner to find nobody followed you.

Sound Bites

“As a mentor, you have to show your scars. I care more about somebody telling me about their failures than regaling me with their successes. Because my learning from their failure is going to be a lot less painful than theirs was.” — Steve Moss

“They got hired for their IQ. They’ll get fired for their EQ.” — Steve Moss

“Somebody once told me that managing change is managing other people’s grief. And getting out of grief doesn’t happen overnight.” — Steve Moss

About Steve Moss

Steve Moss is the founder and president of Executive Springboard, a network of 100+ current and former C-suite executives who mentor leaders to help them excel in new roles. Before founding Executive Springboard, Steve was the chief marketing officer at Pillsbury International, Nestle Ice Cream, and Imation. He reversed Smirnoff’s decline in Canada and set the brand on six consecutive years of growth, expanded Goldschlager from the US to 20+ countries and four continents, and has had 50+ direct reports go on to become VPs or presidents. Steve holds a BA from Georgetown University and an MBA from The Wharton School.

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