Are you hiring your replacement — or the leader the business needs next?
By Cindy Nicholls Smith · Published August 5, 2026
The safest candidate often looks like the person leaving. The right candidate may be different — someone who can take the organization where it is going, not simply preserve where it has been.
The successor is not a clone
I have seen boards and owners start a search by describing the outgoing leader in detail: decisive, visible, deeply networked, knows every client. Then they look for someone who matches that description exactly. The problem is that the business may need something else now — an operator, a scaler, a stabilizer, a different market presence. Replication is reassuring, but it is not always strategy.
Before writing the executive job summary, I work with leaders to define what the organization needs next. That means looking at the strategy, the team, the pressure points and the gaps. The answer is rarely 'more of the same'.
The executive job summary is a decision tool
A good executive job summary does more than describe duties. It defines the outcomes the new leader must produce in the first year and beyond. It forces the organization to be honest about what success looks like before candidates are even considered.
Challenge the assumptions early
If the only reason a candidate is attractive is that they remind you of the last person, dig deeper. Ask what the business actually needs to change. The best searches start with a hard question, not a comfortable answer.