Latest / Executive Careers with Fexingo: VP, C-Suite, and Senior Leadership Career Strategy / Senior Leaders and the Pre-Transition Career Narrative
Transcript
- Lucas: If you're a senior leader looking for your next role, you've probably polished your resume, lined up references, maybe even built a credibility file. But there's something more fundamental that most executives skip, and it's the thing that determines whether a recruiter or board member leans in or leans out. Luna: The narrative. The story you tell about your career — not just what you did, but why it matters and where you're going next. Lucas: Exactly. And I want to anchor this in a specific case. I worked with a former chief strategy officer — let's call him David — who had spent three years leading a major acquisition for a Fortune 500 company. The deal ultimately failed. The integration was a mess, write-downs followed, and the CEO who championed it was shown the door. Luna: So his default narrative was basically 'I led a failed acquisition.' That's a tough sell. Lucas: It was. And he was getting passed over in interviews. But the problem wasn't his track record — it was how he framed it. Once we reworked his narrative, he landed a chief transformation officer role at a mid-cap company within three months. The same résumé, the same experience, just a different story. Luna: So what was the shift? How did you reframe a failure into a transformation story? Lucas: We applied a three-part narrative structure: origin, conflict, resolution. His origin was a strategist who specialized in complex integrations. The conflict was that the acquisition faced unforeseen regulatory hurdles and cultural clashes. The resolution was that he designed a comprehensive turnaround plan that salvaged the core assets and restructured the combined entity. Luna: So he didn't ignore the failure — he owned it as a challenge he had to overcome. Lucas: Right. And that's the credibility gap I see most often. Executives either spin everything as a success — which sounds like BS — or they get so self-effacing that they undermine their own authority. The narrative needs to be honest but purposeful. The listener needs to walk away thinking, 'This person learned something real and can handle hard things.' Luna: So how does a senior leader actually build that narrative? Start from scratch? Lucas: I'd start with a written exercise. Take the last five to seven years of your career and write down the three or four most significant events — a success, a failure, a pivot, a stretch assignment. Then for each one, write the origin, the conflict, and the resolution in three sentences max. You're looking for a through line. Luna: And the through line should be something like 'I fix broken things' or 'I scale organizations'? Lucas: Exactly. But it has to be true to your actual pattern, not aspirational. David's through line was 'I turn complex failures into operational stability.' That fit every chapter of his career — even the successes had elements of rescue and restructuring. Luna: Once you have that through line, how do you test it? Do you just start using it in interviews? Lucas: You can, but I recommend a lower-stakes test first. Run the narrative past your personal board of directors — the three to five trusted advisors you've built relationships with over the years. Ask them: 'Does this sound like me? Does it ring true? Does it make you curious to hear more?' Luna: And if they say no, you go back to the writing exercise. Lucas: Right. The first version is rarely the right one. David's first draft was still too apologetic. It took three iterations before he had something that felt authentic but powerful. Luna: What about the medium? Are we talking about a written narrative, or is this just the story you tell verbally? Lucas: Both. You need a written version that you can share with a recruiter or a board member ahead of time — think of it as a 'narrative summary,' about two paragraphs. And you need a sixty-second verbal version that you can deliver in an elevator or an interview opener. But the core structure is the same. Luna: I've seen some executives make the mistake of being too detailed. They try to cram in every achievement. Lucas: That's the résumé trap. The narrative is not a list of accomplishments — it's a story with a plot. The plot should have tension and a resolution. If your narrative sounds like a series of bullet points, you're doing it wrong. Luna: So give us an example of a good versus bad narrative for a hypothetical senior finance leader. Lucas: Bad: 'I spent ten years in finance at three different companies, where I led budgeting, forecasting, and process improvements that saved five million dollars.' That's a bullet point. Good: 'I came into a finance function that was struggling with outdated systems and fragmented data. The conflict was that the board was losing confidence in the numbers. I led a two-year transformation that standardized reporting, automated forecasting, and restored credibility — and saved five million dollars in the process.' Luna: That second one is so much more compelling. You can picture the challenge and the impact. Lucas: And it sets up the next question naturally. The interviewer will ask, 'How did you get the board on board?' or 'What was the hardest part of that transformation?' Now you're in a real conversation, not a recitation. Luna: And I think the timing of this is crucial. Most leaders start working on their narrative when they're already in the job market, under pressure. But the best time to build it is before you even start looking. Lucas: Absolutely. The pre-transition career narrative is a strategic asset. You want to craft it when you're calm and thoughtful, not when you're scrambling. David started three months before he even sent out his first résumé. That gave him time to iterate, test, and refine. Luna: And what about the risk that your narrative becomes a straitjacket? You define yourself too narrowly and miss opportunities that don't fit the story? Lucas: That's a real danger. The narrative should be a guide, not a cage. I tell people to think of it as a 'strategic direction' rather than a fixed label. It should be broad enough to encompass a few different types of roles but specific enough to give a clear signal. David's narrative worked for chief transformation officer, but also for COO roles and turnaround consulting. Luna: So you need to test it against different target roles. Lucas: Yes. Map your narrative to three different roles you're considering. If it feels forced for any of them, you either need to adjust the narrative or reconsider the role. That alignment is a good sign you've got something that works. Luna: And I've also seen leaders use their narrative to reframe not just their past, but their future. They talk about 'the kind of problem I want to solve next.' Lucas: That's a powerful closing move. The resolution of your story should point forward. After David's turnaround, he said, 'I'm looking for a company that's at a similar inflection point — where operational complexity is masking real value.' Suddenly, he's not a candidate who needs a job; he's a specialist who can see a problem and wants to solve it. That's a completely different dynamic. Luna: It flips the power balance. You're recruiting them as much as they're recruiting you. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the ultimate goal of the pre-transition narrative: not just to get you in the door, but to position you as the person who can solve the problem they didn't even know they had. Luna: You know, this kind of deep career work takes time and thought, and it's exactly the kind of thing we try to do here. A quick honest thing — a handful of listeners chip in monthly through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, and that's literally what funds making this many of these episodes. Lucas: Yeah, we don't run ads, we don't do sponsorships. It's just listener-supported. So if this show has helped you think through a career move or a decision, that's the way to keep it going. Luna: And we appreciate every single supporter. Now, back to the narrative — one thing I want to add: after you build your narrative, practice it out loud. Record yourself. It should feel natural, not scripted. Lucas: Great point. The best narratives sound conversational, not rehearsed. You should be able to tell it in slightly different words each time, but the core arc stays the same. That's how you know you own it. Luna: So to sum up: write your narrative early, test it with your personal board, iterate, and make sure it points forward. That's the pre-transition career narrative. Lucas: And if you do it right, it'll change not just how others see you — it'll change how you see yourself.