INSIDE PRIVATE ADVISORY
Align the Board Before a CEO Hire
Your board is ready to go to market for a new CEO, and every member describes a different job. Ivanka Menken uses the Advisory Year inside Private Advisory, a 12-month engagement at AUD $5,000 per month ex GST, to slow that decision down before the role is advertised. Together you write a one-page transition brief naming the priorities, the must-have skills and which decisions belong to the CEO, the founder and the board.
The Advisory Year is a tool inside Private Advisory, not a separate product. Ivanka does not run recruitment.
ONE ROLE, THREE VIEWS
Everyone wants a CEO. Nobody agrees which one.
- PRIORITIESeach member names a different first yearOpen
- MUST-HAVE SKILLSa long wish list, nothing rankedOpen
- DECISION RIGHTSwhat the CEO, the founder and the board each decide1 page
THE RULE
“Agree what the role owns before you go to market. A job description cannot settle a disagreement the board has not had.”
Your board and your priorities will be your own.
SOUND FAMILIAR?
A search ready to start, and a role still in dispute
- 01Each board member describes a different CEO.
- 02Nobody has written which decisions stay with the founder.
- 03The job description keeps growing and never settles.
THE SEARCH, AS IT STANDS
- Outgoing CEO: leaving on a set date
- Board view of the role: three different versions
- Must-have skills: a wish list, not ranked
- Founder decisions after the hire: not written
- Job description: draft four, still growing
A search about to start, with the brief still in dispute.
THE EXAMPLE CASE
The board that wrote the advert before the brief
01
THE MOMENT
A board, an outgoing CEO and three versions of one job
The outgoing CEO has a date, and the board wants the search started this month. In the meeting, one member wants a growth hire, another wants someone to fix the costs, and the founder quietly wants someone who will leave the key clients alone. Everyone agrees the role matters. Nobody agrees what it owns. The job description goes back and forth, longer each time.
02
WHAT THEY HAD TRIED
Write the job description first
In this case, a founder-led services firm had a board, an outgoing CEO and a search about to begin. The obvious move was to write the job description and let the process sort out the rest. It did not. Each draft added another priority and another skill, because nobody had agreed which ones mattered. The description grew longer, and the board was no closer to a shared view of the role.
03
WHAT IVANKA NOTICED
Nobody had agreed who decides what
Ivanka noticed the disagreement was not about candidates. The board had never agreed which decisions would belong to the new CEO and which would stay with the founder or come back to the board. Without that line, every priority was arguable, and any candidate would arrive into a role three people described differently. The search was about to test the market before the board had tested its own view.
THE DIAGNOSIS
Alignment first, recruitment second
The diagnosis was alignment before recruitment, not the candidate pool. The board was ready to choose a person before it had chosen the role.
The reframe: a CEO hire is one of the year’s biggest decisions, so it gets the time the Advisory Year gives the big decisions. Stop, agree the priorities and the must-have skills, and write which decisions belong to whom. Then the job description writes itself, and the shortlist can be measured against one page instead of three opinions.
The board was ready to choose a person before it had chosen the role.
THE COST OF STAYING STUCK
Every month the board stays split, the job description grows, the outgoing CEO’s date gets closer and any new hire inherits the argument.
THE TOOL
The Advisory Year, applied to a CEO transition
The Advisory Year is how Private Advisory works through the year’s biggest decisions, one at a time, with the time each one needs. A CEO transition is one of them. Ivanka slows the board down long enough to agree the role before it goes to market.
Tap a part. The views and split are an example; your board writes its own page.
CEO Transition Brief · a framework by Ivanka Menken
What it is
It is a one-page transition brief. Three sections: the priorities for the new CEO, the must-have skills the board will not trade away, and the decision rights, split between the CEO, the founder and the board. Underneath, the date the board signs it off.
What it replaces
It replaces a job description written by committee, a wish list of skills nobody ranked, and the hope that the right candidate will settle the disagreement.
It sits inside Private Advisory, next to the Builder Meeting Rhythm and the quarterly five-number read. Ivanka does not run the recruitment, assess candidates or act as a search firm. The board takes the signed brief to whoever runs the search.
THE BRIEF, FOR ONE CEO HIRE
- 01Priorities: the few outcomes the new CEO is hired to deliver
- 02Must-have skills: the ones the board will not trade away, ranked
- 03Decision rights for the CEO: what they decide without the board
- 04Decision rights for the founder: the named role, written down
- 05Decision rights for the board: what comes back to the table
- 06Sign-off: the date the whole board agrees the page
HOW IVANKA WORKED WITH THEM
Three views onto one page
In the session, Ivanka asked each board member to describe the new CEO’s first year in one sentence, then put the answers side by side. Where they differed, she asked which decision sat underneath the difference. Together they wrote a one-page transition brief: the priorities, the ranked must-have skills and the decision rights for the CEO, the founder and the board. Before the next session, the board signed off the brief and used it to shortlist.
THE TRANSITION BRIEF, AS WRITTEN
- Priorities
- The outcomes for the first year, agreed by the whole board.
- Must-have skills
- Ranked, with the ones the board will not trade.
- Decision rights
- CEO, founder and board, each in its own column.
- Sign-off
- Every board member, before the role goes to market.
- Review
- Before the first interview
Your priorities and decisions will be your own.
THE FOUR-STEP LOOP
- 1The one thingThe CEO role, described three different ways.
- 2The numbersThree views, one outgoing CEO date, no shared brief.
- 3The storyWhy the job description kept growing.
- 4The commitmentOne signed brief before the role goes to market.
THE QUESTIONS
- What is the new CEO hired to deliver in year one?
- Which skills would you refuse to trade away?
- Which decisions belong to the CEO alone?
- What stays with the founder, by name?
- What comes back to the board?
Before the next session, the board signed off the brief and gave it to the people running the search as the measure for the shortlist.
WHAT CHANGED
One brief instead of three opinions
Over the engagement, the founder has a signed transition brief, a shortlist measured against it and a written place for themselves after the hire. The Builder Meeting Rhythm then gives the new CEO and the board a regular place to review the decision rights.
BEFORE
- Three versions of the CEO role.
- A job description on its fourth draft.
- Skills listed, never ranked.
- The founder’s role after the hire unwritten.
BY MONTH 6
- One signed transition brief.
- A shortlist measured against one page.
- Ranked must-have skills.
- The founder’s role written into the decision rights.
THE 12 MONTHS
- 12 sessions
- 22 sessions
- 3Clarity Day
- 42 sessions
- 52 sessions
- 62 sessions
- 7Clarity Day
- 82 sessions
- 92 sessions
- 102 sessions
- 11Clarity Day
- 122 sessions
The programme is the container: 12 months, 24 fortnightly 90-minute 1:1 sessions and three Clarity Days.
ILLUSTRATIVE RESULT
In this case, the board wrote a one-page transition brief naming the priorities, the must-have skills and the decision rights, then used it to shortlist. The founder and the board had fewer rework conversations before interviews, and every candidate was measured against the same page.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU
Agree the role before you advertise it
Ivanka Menken runs Private Advisory for founders of A$2M to A$10M businesses facing the decisions that shape the next five years. Choosing who runs the business after you is one of the biggest of them.
This fits if a CEO hire is coming and the board, or you and your partners, describe the role differently. It does not fit if you want someone to run the search or assess candidates. The decision in front of you is simple: agree the brief before the role goes to market.
“Helps founders lead with clarity and integrity by modelling vulnerability, emotional intelligence, and grounded decision-making. Creates an environment where leaders can openly explore challenges and grow without fear of judgement.”
R.W., founder
WHO IT IS FOR
It fits
- A CEO hire or transition is coming in the next year.
- Your board or partners describe the role differently.
- You want the founder’s role after the hire written down.
- You will slow down long enough to agree one page.
It does not fit
- You want a recruiter or search firm.
- You want candidates assessed for you.
- The role is already agreed and signed off.
- You want a done-for-you hiring process.
THE INVESTMENT
AUD $5,000
per month ex GST
12 months · 24 fortnightly 90-minute sessions · three Clarity Days
The Advisory Year is part of Private Advisory, a 12-month engagement at AUD $5,000 per month ex GST, by application. It is not sold separately.
- 24 fortnightly 90-minute 1:1 sessions
- Three Clarity Days on the year’s biggest decisions
- The quarterly five-number read
- A transition brief before the CEO search
The Advisory Year is part of Private Advisory. It is not sold separately.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
Questions about aligning before a CEO hire
When should the board write the brief?
Before the role goes to market, and ideally before the outgoing CEO’s date is announced. Once a search starts, the advert becomes the brief by default. Ivanka Menken works through the transition with you inside Private Advisory, 12 months at AUD $5,000 per month ex GST, so the board agrees one page before anyone writes a job description.
What goes in a CEO transition brief?
Three sections on one page: the priorities the new CEO is hired to deliver, the must-have skills the board will not trade away, and the decision rights split between the CEO, the founder and the board. Ivanka Menken builds the brief with you inside Private Advisory, 12 months at AUD $5,000 per month ex GST.
Does Ivanka run the recruitment?
No. Ivanka Menken does not run the search, assess candidates or act as a recruiter. Her work is the decision before the search: getting the board aligned on one written brief. The board then gives that brief to whoever runs the recruitment. It is part of Private Advisory, 12 months at AUD $5,000 per month ex GST.
Where does the founder sit after the hire?
Wherever the brief says, which is the point of writing it. The founder’s decisions after the hire get their own column, by name, so the new CEO knows what is theirs from day one. Ivanka Menken works through that line with you inside Private Advisory, 12 months at AUD $5,000 per month ex GST.
Agree the brief before the search
If a CEO hire is coming and the board describes the role three ways, start with Private Advisory. The transition brief is part of the Advisory Year, and the 20-minute intro call is where you can see whether it fits.
Not recruitment, candidate assessment or a done-for-you hiring process.