Leadership Lounge: How New CEOs Build Productive Relationships With Their Board

For new CEOs, few relationships matter more—and few are more complex—than the relationship with their board. The tone set in the first year can either establish the board as a powerful ally or create friction that slows progress.  

In this episode of Leadership Lounge, Emma Combe is joined by three of our trusted leadership advisors Rusty O’Kelley, Anita Wingrove, and Ty Wiggins, to explore how new CEOs can build trust, alignment, and effective ways of working with their boards—and how that relationship evolves over time.  

They discuss:  

• Why the CEO–board relationship is so critical in the first year of leadership  
• What new CEOs should seek to understand about their board before and during the transition  
• How transparency and candor build credibility and trust  
• Where conflict most often arises between CEOs and boards—and how to navigate it constructively  

“You ultimately want their perspective on key matters. And for that, they need to have the unvarnished truth.” 

Ty Wiggins 

Leadership Advisor, Russell Reynolds Associates 

Four things you’ll learn from this episode:  

• Early engagement with board members helps new CEOs understand individual perspectives, priorities, and expectations—reducing the risk of misalignment later on.  
• Clear priorities, timelines, and metrics give boards confidence and prevent anxiety from filling information gaps.  
• Candor builds trust—boards are most effective when CEOs share the full picture, including challenges, alongside a clear plan forward.  
• The CEO–board relationship must evolve over time, with periodic resets helping to maintain alignment. 

In this episode, we will cover:  

(01:45) Why the CEO–board relationship is critical in the first year  

(03:10) How new CEOs should prepare for working with multiple board perspectives  

(05:05) What to understand about the board during the selection and transition phase  

(10:30) What effective transparency with the board really looks like  

(13:40) How to share difficult news without undermining confidence  

(16:20) The most common sources of tension between CEOs and boards  

(18:55) Managing disagreement constructively and maintaining trust  

(24:10) When and how to reset expectations with the board over time  

(26:45) The most common mistakes new CEOs make—and how to avoid them 

A closer look at the research from this episode: 

CEO Transitions | Russell Reynolds Associates 

The New CEO | Russell Reynolds Associates