As we prep for an exit, some of my leadership team members are quietly working on their own resumes and seem distracted by the impending sale instead of focusing on building enterprise value. How do we build trust and transparency around the exit timeline?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When a leadership team knows an exit is on the horizon, anxiety naturally rises. If your executives are focusing on their own resumes rather than building enterprise value, you have failed to build safety and establish a clear, shared purpose. In Daniel Coyle's research on group dynamics, he notes that high-performing teams require absolute clarity about their future to stay engaged and collaborative.

To fix this, you must be transparent about the transition. Trying to hide an upcoming sale from your core leaders always backfires. They will sense the shift, assume the worst, and start looking for the exits.

Bring your leadership team into the loop. Share your V/TO and map out the exact path to the exit. Show them how hitting their current operational Rocks directly impacts the company's valuation and, more importantly, how a successful exit will benefit them personally.

You must align their personal incentives with the transaction. Implement a stay-bonus program or a phantom equity plan that rewards them for staying through the transition and hitting specific EBITDA targets. When your team knows they are financially protected and that their contributions are critical to a clean exit, they will stop looking for their next job and focus entirely on maximizing the value of the business they are running.