Loyalty is a cornerstone of strong leadership. But in high-growth consumer brands, it can become a blind spot. Founders and CEOs often delay critical leadership transitions, not because of poor performance, but due to shared history, deep-seated loyalty, and a fear of disrupting company culture.
According to the State of the Consumer Brands Industry Report, nearly half of CEOs and C-suite executives say they waited too long to make a leadership change. In the past year alone, 52% reassigned or exited a high-tenure team member. Their most common regret? Waiting too long.
Performance rarely drops off overnight, but it does plateau. When a legacy leader remains in a role beyond their prime fit, the impact extends beyond execution. It clouds strategic direction. More than one-third of leaders report that delayed leadership transitions stalled major business milestones.
This phenomenon isn't isolated. McKinsey’s State of Organizations report highlights that only half of the surveyed organizations feel well-prepared to anticipate and respond to external shocks, with two-thirds saying their organizations are overly complex and inefficient.
Harvard Business Review echoes this, citing ineffective leadership transitions as one of the top reasons businesses struggle to scale beyond early growth stages.
It’s a common situation: A founder holds on to a longtime Sales VP, even as performance slips and team confidence wanes. The hesitation isn’t indifference. It’s loyalty, compounded by the weight of a decision deferred. The longer the delay, the harder the call becomes.
Eventually, the tough but necessary decision is made. And when that happens, clarity returns. Speed picks up. Morale lifts.
When examining similar scenarios collectively, a clear pattern emerges. The real issue is delays, not legacy. The takeaway for leaders: Act before regret sets in.
Proactive succession fuels momentum. Bain & Company's 2023 Global Private Equity Report found that companies with clear transition roadmaps outperform their peers by 25% in revenue growth over five years. This is why more leadership teams are turning to structural diagnostics before scale outpaces structure.
The upside is clear, but so is the cost of doing nothing. Postponed leadership transitions stifle growth and undermine team trust and morale. The most effective leaders recognize when a role has outgrown its current occupant and act decisively before the damage is done.
Strategic leaders don’t wait for disruption to force their hand. They stay ahead of it. Preparing for what’s next means recognizing that evolving a team doesn’t require abandoning its roots. They craft roles aligned to the company's future while respecting its history, without feeling limited by it.
The most effective executives bring the same discipline to talent strategy as they apply to product, capital, and go-to-market decisions. They map out how roles need to evolve and assess team members on performance and potential. When it’s time to make a change, they lead with clarity, earning respect and attracting like-minded people to the mission.
For companies navigating leadership progression, an outside perspective can bring structure and clarity to what is often an emotionally complex process. That’s why ForceBrands developed the Founder+Fit Transition Kit™. Decision-makers at our client brands needed customizable, practical tools to plan role evolution, map succession scenarios, and make high-stakes transitions while preserving trust, culture, and momentum.
If you're considering a leadership change but are hesitant to move, you're not alone. But delay can come with a cost.
Download the full State of the Consumer Brands Industry Report to explore how top leaders are navigating the tension between legacy and momentum.