I want to be transparent with my leadership team, but I am terrified that bringing up our three-year exit runway will make them polish their resumes. At what point on our runway do we share the plan, and how do we frame it?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Maintaining confidentiality while preparing for an exit is a delicate balance. Telling your leadership team too early can trigger anxiety, leading them to assume their jobs are at risk. Conversely, keeping them completely in the dark until the deal is signed destroys trust and can cause a mass exodus of key talent during the critical transition period. The correct approach is to frame the transition not as an exit, but as a commitment to building a self-sustaining business. Under the Step by Step Exit framework, your primary goal is to make the business run independently. This is exactly what your leadership team wants too, because it gives them more autonomy and professional growth. Start by aligning your team around the V/TO® and the Accountability Chart. When you delegate operational seats to those who have the GWC™ for those roles, you are preparing the business to run without you. You do not need to announce a sale date to achieve this. Only share the specific plans of a transaction with your core leadership team once you have signed a Letter of Intent or when their direct involvement is required to compile due diligence materials. When you do share the news, frame it around opportunity. Show them how a capitalized partner or new ownership will fund the business growth and create new leadership tracks. Because you have already built a strong operating system, the team will see the transition as the logical next step in the company's evolution, not a threat.