If you are starting a venture, there are some signs that may show you why and when you need to hire a CEO, step aside and act like an advisor and leader of your company.

1. HOW TO KNOW WHEN IT IS
TIME FOR YOU TO HIRE A
NEW CEO
By Jason Hanold
Image courtesy of Cydcor at Flickr.com

2. How to know when it is time
for you to hire a new CEO
As a business founder, sometimes it can be difficult for you to
accept that your company may be in need of a new CEO.
Even if you believe that you can be one of the special guys
like Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg who were successful in
their CEO role from the beginning, experiences tells us that
most companies need to hire an outsider to run your business
if success is what you want to strive for.
As his own firm’s Managing Director, Jason Hanold know that
hiring someone from outside your company allows you to
bring new talent and improves your overall vision of the
company. It can be highly beneficial for you to complete your
team with an outstanding CEO with whom you can
communicate and work effectively, without getting in the way

3. How to know when it is time
for you to hire a new CEO
If you are starting a venture, there are some signs that may
show you why and when you need to hire a CEO, step aside
and act like an advisor and leader of your company.
First, you probably will start your company with a handful of
employees. Most decisions are made up as you go along. If you
are the founder, you are likely to be the CEO and your vision is
the one affecting the entire picture.
In this stage, you probably don’t need to hire an external CEO,
but you do need to keep in mind that your company is going to
become the people you hire since any role will be critical to your
future success. Hiring the hirers of the future is a critical factor to
future success.

4. How to know when it is time
for you to hire a new CEO
Later on, as your company keeps growing, you may want to start
thinking about hiring a CEO. A company’s growth requires more
integration, coordination, and sharing of leadership with the
team. Bigger companies begin to work cross-functionally and
define processes and shared metrics. You may also start
thinking that it is time for you to quit the CEO position to start
building a network of more senior people whose experience can
help you expand the company. At this point, you have to ask
yourself as a founder and can focus on other details that can be
beneficial for your company’s growth and constant improvement.
When your company reaches the state mentioned above, it is
time for you to analyze some key factors that will let you know if
your company actually need to hire an external CEO.

5. How to know when it is time
for you to hire a new CEO
Don’t underestimate the CEO role
Recognize that one of the advantages of you being the
founder the company is that you have run it for some years
now. That gives you a deeper understanding of what it takes
to build and run effective teams. You know that an effective
team is a collection of experts across a wide range of
functional areas with strong team chemistry and it needs to
have a strong leader. Each member of the team “earns” their
title through experience, skills, trust, and respect of their
colleagues, adding value to the company and helping you
attract the rock star CEO you want.

6. How to know when it is time
for you to hire a new CEO
Trust your investors.
If your investors are advising you to hire a CEO, you should
trust them. They are, in the end, the ones who trusted you
first and gave you their money. They are deeply invested in
your success. They are successful, experienced individuals
who are constantly looking at success and failure patterns for
startups. They are not mired in the day-to-day details and so
can provide a valuable outside-in perspective.
One of the most important conversations you can have with
investors in is whether you have the right team and if you
need to hire a new CEO to lead the team you have built.

7. How to know when it is time
for you to hire a new CEO
Trust your employees.
Your employees are the ones who have grown with your
company, they have been devoted to you and are a critical
source of information.
Everything they say about your company and its needs is
relevant. The kind of leader they need in order to become a
better team, the things that they are struggling with on a daily
basis, and everything related to a strategic view of your
company, is important for you to know whether or not you
need to hire a CEO and what type of skills it should have.

8. How to know when it is time
for you to hire a new CEO
Trust your gut.
If you are a good leader, you know your own strengthens and limits. If you
believe your company is at a point where you don’t have the skills and
experience to take it to the next level, and then trust your gut.
You should talk to your team and make that very important decision to
bring on a strong CEO. Then, let that CEO run the business. If you hired
the right person, you will immediately know and you won’t suffer the
transition between CEOs. It’s amazing how a few months with the right
CEO can impact your business.
Try to always keep in mind that being a founder of a successful company
is far more rewarding than being an apprentice CEO of a not-so-
successful one. So put your ego and keep focusing on building the right
team of experts to help you realize your dream, starting with an