Many new appointments to executive boards and supervisory boards in Germany prove unsuccessful, according to the experiences of onboarding consultants Peter Henning and Karsten Wetwitschka. „The failure rate is high“, say the two managing partners of the consulting firm Onboard 360 in an interview with Börsen-Zeitung.

"This is obviously a disaster for all parties involved“, says Wetwitschka. Both for the affected executive, who faces a potential career setback, and for the supervisory board that ultimately selected them. The company also loses valuable time to develop further. „It can potentially cause immense economic damage“, warns Wetwitschka.

His colleague Henning, who for many years headed the supervisory board office at Deutsche Bank, explains how they arrive at their sobering conclusion. One indicator of the high failure rate is that more than half of all executives do not serve the full contract term originally planned. Executives are typically hired for three, four, or five years, but many leave the company earlier. „And if a successor has already been chosen, one can assume the supervisory board was dissatisfied long before“, argues Henning. After all, it takes considerable time to find a new executive.

Remarkably, it is often not the technical or professional skills that are lacking, „but those related to communication and integration into the company culture.“ Many of the problems are understandable. Newcomers are often convinced that they must deliver visible results very quickly, reports Wetwitschka. In this ambition, they often overlook what kind of behaviour is valued or not tolerated in their new company. Or who holds influence in the company and who does not – „which often does not correspond to the organisational chart or hierarchy.“ Without keeping that in mind, many initiatives may fail in implementation. It quickly leads to isolation.

Moreover, Wetwitschka is convinced that new executives and supervisory board members must actively network: „That is an obligation on their part", he says. Usually, the supervisory board and CEO have an interest in ensuring a smooth onboarding of a new executive. But „this does not necessarily apply to their peers on the executive board.“ They may see the newcomer as a competitor in the race for the CEO position. There may also be disputes over the division of responsibilities and portfolios. It is also possible that the newcomer alienates others by being very active in pushing for quick results. „Sometimes this comes across as being overly clever.“

A respectful approach to the predecessor is also important. „Employees watch very closely how top-level executives interact with one another“, Henning has observed. It includes showing appreciation to those no longer part of leadership.

The transition from being a board member to CEO, explains Wetwitschka, is not easy because it is not „more of the same“, but a completely different role. The CEO must inspire and motivate. They can no longer delegate decisions upward, nor should they hesitate too long in making decisions. And when a CEO presents an idea, others often perceive it as a directive.

Therefore, it is crucial for a CEO to surround themselves with people who help filter out poor decisions – both inside and outside the company. „Over time, there is often a tendency to get rid of particularly critical employees“, says Wetwitschka. But this increases the risk that poor decisions go unchecked by dissenting voices.

The role of onboarding consultants is to „hold the handrails that a new executive or supervisory board member can lean on to succeed.“ And not just for a few days, but for six to nine months. One task is to sensitize leaders to issues they might not consider. Another is to be a sparring partner behind the scenes – providing a safe space for exchanges. It also involves advising on governance, such as what „overall responsibility“ concretely means. The client is often not the executive themselves, but the company, which has invested heavily to find the right manager. „And now it wants the onboarding to succeed“, concludes Henning.