Strong management of board and shareholder expectations and perceptions is critical. Indeed, often the core problem is the perception of performance, which makes powerful and highly persuasive communication with the board, shareholders, and analysts a CEO’s priority. One director told us, “Even when you think you’re communicating too much, you’re probably not communicating enough.

Confirmation bias may lead to seeing current difficulties in the guise of past experience, which can encourage a CEO to dig in on a flawed course of action. Our research shows that a higher proportion of repeat CEOs compared with first-timers were ousted in this stage, by almost double, possibly demonstrating their overreliance on past experience.

The key takeaway: experiencing some fear and self-doubt along with the thrill of taking charge is not only perfectly normal but also a feature of success. It’s a sign that you’re your keeping a critical perspective about how well you’re doing, which is crucial in embracing the need for continuing development.

In the past, primary emphasis was placed on financial and operations acumen— still, obviously, important— but today the vanguard of innovators in the sector increasingly appreciate a CEO’s people leadership skills for achieving the above-market returns investors expect.

Improving the performance of companies that are performing fairly well is now the predominant objective, and PE firms have learned that a CEO’s people leadership abilities are the vital complement to strength in finance and operations for this new frontier of performance improvement.