Left holding the baby

Early in my career, I took on my first CEO role: a turnaround job in a once fast-growing startup that had lost its way.

The founder had long since checked out. Clients were leaving, staff morale was low and all the numbers were heading in the wrong direction.

With strong backing from the holding company, I was hired to steady the ship.
And for the first three years, that’s exactly what we did: regained client trust, rebuilt the team and returned to a decent profit.

My sponsor was a key part of that.
He was a board member at the holding company, the person who’d championed me into the role.
We had a great, open relationship and I felt valued and supported. He got what I was trying to do and gave me the air cover to do it.

But then he left.
And everything changed.
I hadn’t built strong enough relationships with the rest of the board.
My influence started to fade.
Decisions that once flew through got stuck.
Investment slowed.
I tried building relationships then but it was too late. I’d burned my positive political capital and was left isolated.
Eventually, I left too.  I couldn’t continue doing the job without the support I once had.

That experience taught me something I’ll never forget:
Use the time when you do have sponsorship to widen and deepen your internal support.
Build relationships across the ecosystem, so that if your backer leaves the room, you’re not left exposed.

Have you ever lost a key sponsor or power base?
What did it teach you about navigating influence?

Now, as an executive coach, I work with leaders in similar moments.
Often they’ve just stepped into a new senior role.
They’re talented, capable and laser-focused on delivery.
But they haven’t always mapped the power dynamics around them.

Here’s what we do:
🔹 We map their internal ecosystem—formally and informally.
🔹 We identify the key stakeholders, influencers, blockers and bystanders.
🔹 We explore trust levels, reputational currency and where support is assumed but not yet earned.
🔹 We develop a plan to deepen critical relationships—and build new ones that matter.

And I ask them questions like:
- Where are you under-investing relationally?
- What conversations are you avoiding with stakeholders who aren’t yet on-side?
- If your sponsor were gone tomorrow, who would advocate for you?
- What’s your reputation when you’re not in the room and how do you know?

This work isn’t always urgent but it’s always very important.
And when the moment comes (and it often does), it makes all the difference.

So don’t be left holding the baby.

If you're in a new role or navigating complex politics, this might be the right time to step back with me as your thinking partner and consider your stakeholder ecosystem.