# Align the Board Before a CEO Hire

Source: https://ivankamenken.com/align-before-ceo-hire · Last updated 1 November 2026

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.

## A search ready to start, and a role still in dispute

- Each board member describes a different CEO.
- Nobody has written which decisions stay with the founder.
- The job description keeps growing and never settles.

**THE MOMENT:** 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.

### 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

## 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.

## 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.

## 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: Advisory Year

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.

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.

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.

### What goes on the page

1. Priorities: the few outcomes the new CEO is hired to deliver
2. Must-have skills: the ones the board will not trade away, ranked
3. Decision rights for the CEO: what they decide without the board
4. Decision rights for the founder: the named role, written down
5. Decision rights for the board: what comes back to the table
6. Sign-off: the date the whole board agrees the page

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.

## 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 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?

### THE FOUR-STEP LOOP

1. The one thing: The CEO role, described three different ways.
2. The numbers: Three views, one outgoing CEO date, no shared brief.
3. The story: Why the job description kept growing.
4. The commitment: One signed brief before the role goes to market.

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.

## 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 programme is the container: 12 months, 24 fortnightly 90-minute 1:1 sessions and three Clarity Days.

## 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 fits, and who does not

### 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.

### Investment

**AUD $5,000 per month ex GST, 12 months.** 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.

Included:

- 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

- [Apply for Private Advisory, AUD $5,000/mo, 12 months](mailto:ivanka@ivankamenken.com?subject=Private%20Advisory%20application)
- [Book a 20-minute intro call](https://theartofservice.zohobookings.com.au/?utm_source=ivankamenken&utm_medium=showcase&utm_campaign=align-before-ceo-hire#/15606000001356030)
- [See the Private Advisory programme](https://ivankamenken.com/private-advisory)

## Questions about Advisory Year

### 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.

- [Apply for Private Advisory, AUD $5,000/mo, 12 months](mailto:ivanka@ivankamenken.com?subject=Private%20Advisory%20application)
- [Book a 20-minute intro call](https://theartofservice.zohobookings.com.au/?utm_source=ivankamenken&utm_medium=showcase&utm_campaign=align-before-ceo-hire#/15606000001356030)
- [See the Private Advisory programme](https://ivankamenken.com/private-advisory)
- [Write the role charter before any hire](https://ivankamenken.com/role-charter-before-hiring)
- [Run the meeting rhythm that runs the business](https://ivankamenken.com/builder-meeting-rhythm)
- [Write who decides what with a co-founder](https://ivankamenken.com/co-founder-client-decision-rights)
- [The Private Advisory programme](https://ivankamenken.com/private-advisory)

- Every way to work with Ivanka: https://ivankamenken.com/work-with-ivanka