Know Where the Risk is Before the Transition Begins
The Continuity Risk Scorecard identifies the gaps most likely to affect your business performance, your team, and your transition outcomes, so you can act before they become problems.
Most organizations plan for the work. Very few prepare the business.
When a leader steps away, whether for parental leave, medical leave, a promotion, or a departure, most organizations default to the same approach: redistribute the tasks and wait it out.
That's coverage. It's not continuity.
And the gaps it leaves behind are rarely visible until they're already affecting performance:
✓ Decisions stall because no one has clear authority.
✓ Projects lose traction without consistent leadership to drive outcomes.
✓ Institutional knowledge disappears, sometimes overnight.
✓ Teams absorb extra work without extra support, and burnout follows.
✓ The returning leader comes back to a role that quietly shifted without them.
The problem isn't the transition itself. It's the lack of preparation around it.
The Data is Clear: Transitions Without Continuity Are Expensive.
Most organizations treat leadership transitions as a logistics problem. The research shows they are a performance problem, a people problem, and a strategic problem, all at once.
Leadership transitions fail at an alarming rate.
Research from McKinsey & Company reports that 40% to 50% of new leaders fail within the first 18 months. The primary issue is not a lack of intelligence or effort, but a gap in foundational leadership competencies leaders must develop to navigate the complexities of different people and contexts.
Source: McKinsey & Company, as cited in Forbes, June 2025
The financial cost is staggering.
Poorly managed CEO and C-suite transitions wipe out close to $1 trillion in market value every year in S&P 1500 companies. The original research was published by Claudio Fernández-Aráoz, Carrie Green, and Gregory Nagel in Harvard Business Review, May–June 2021.
Source: McKinsey & Company, citing Harvard Business Review, 2021
Replacing a senior executive costs up to 213% of their annual salary.
Very highly paid jobs and those at the senior or executive levels tend to have disproportionately high turnover costs as a percentage of salary (up to 213 percent). Jobs that are very complex and that require higher levels of education and specialized training tend to have even higher turnover costs.
Source: Center for American Progress, 2012
When leaders struggle, their teams feel it directly.
When leaders struggle through a transition, the performance of their direct reports is 15 percent lower than it would be with high-performing leaders. The direct reports are also 20 percent more likely to be disengaged or to leave the organization. The underlying data comes from CEB (now Gartner).
Source: McKinsey & Company, Keller & Meaney, "Successfully Transitioning to New Leadership Roles," May 2018 (PDF), citing CEB
52% of parental leaves result in team burnout.
Research shows that 52% of all parental leaves result in team burnout. That's not just a workload issue; it's a sign of incomplete planning and misaligned expectations.
Source: Parentaly Parental Leave Experience Survey, as cited by DMEC @Work Magazine
Organizations that manage transitions well outperform.
A McKinsey analysis found that organisations with well-executed leadership transitions were 2.3 times more likely to outperform industry peers in the following two years.
Source: McKinsey, as cited by Quarterdeck, April 2023. Note: this is a secondary source; the original McKinsey report has not been independently located.
The Continuity Risk Scorecard
The Continuity Risk Scorecard is a structured assessment that identifies where your organization is most vulnerable during a leadership transition, and where to focus first.
It evaluates risk across seven critical areas:
✓ Business Momentum: Will key initiatives, revenue drivers, and strategic priorities continue to move forward?
✓ Leadership Alignment: Does the leadership team have a shared understanding of roles, priorities, and decision-making during the transition?
✓ Team Capacity: Can the team absorb additional responsibility without burning out or dropping critical work?
✓ Ownership and Decision Rights: Is it clear who owns what, and who has authority to make decisions in the leader's absence?
✓ Knowledge Transfer: Has the departing or transitioning leader's institutional knowledge been documented and shared?
✓ Communication: Is there a plan for how transition updates will be communicated to the team, stakeholders, and clients?
✓ Re-Entry Preparedness: If the leader is returning, is there a plan for reintegration that accounts for what may have changed?
This is not a checklist. It's a diagnostic. Each area is evaluated based on your organization's specific situation, and the result is a clear picture of where your greatest risks are and what needs attention first.
Here’s How the Process Works:
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Step 1: Complete the Assessment
You'll receive a detailed assessment form designed to surface the information that matters most. Fill it out based on your current situation, upcoming transition, or recent experience.
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Step 2: Expert Evaluation
Katie reviews your responses and evaluates risk across all seven areas, identifying the gaps that are most likely to affect performance, people, and outcomes.
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Step 3: 45-Minute Deep Dive
You'll meet with Katie for a 45-minute conversation to walk through your results, discuss priorities, and identify the clearest next steps for protecting your business through the transition.
What You’ll Walk Away With
✓ A clear understanding of where your greatest continuity risks are
✓ Prioritized areas of focus based on your specific transition
✓ Actionable next steps you can begin implementing immediately
✓ Confidence that you're addressing what actually matters, not just what feels urgent
This is for organizations that know they have gaps but aren't sure where the greatest risks are.
The Continuity Risk Scorecard is designed for CEOs, founders, CMOs, VPs, directors, and leaders who are responsible for business outcomes during a transition. You might be:
✓ Preparing for a team member's upcoming parental or medical leave
✓ Navigating an unexpected departure and realizing you don't have a plan
✓ Managing a restructure or leadership handoff and feeling the strain on your team
✓ Sensing that something is off but unsure what to prioritize first
If you're thinking, "We know there may be gaps, but we need to understand where the greatest risks are," this is built for that exact moment.
Two Ways to Get Started:
Continuity Risk Scorecard - $2,500.
Includes the full assessment form, Katie's expert evaluation across all seven risk areas, and a 45-minute deep-dive conversation to walk through your results and next steps.
Best for: Organizations preparing for or navigating a transition who need a clear picture of where the risk is and what to prioritize.
Leave Transition Intensive - $1,000.
A focused 45-minute to one-hour strategy call with Katie to talk through your transition situation, identify key concerns, and leave with strategic clarity on your next move.
Best for: Leaders who are earlier in the process, exploring their options, or want strategic guidance before committing to a full assessment.
Not sure which is right for you?
If you're facing an upcoming transition and want to understand your risks across the full picture, the Scorecard gives you that diagnostic. If you're still figuring out the scope of what you're dealing with and want a strategic thought partner for an hour, start with the Intensive. Either way, you'll walk away with more clarity than you came in with.
This is often the first step.
Many organizations begin with the Continuity Risk Scorecard and then move into deeper transition work: the Leadership Transition Blueprint™ for a full strategic plan, or Interim Leave Coverage for hands-on marketing leadership during the transition.
The Scorecard tells you where the risk is. The next step addresses it.