Finding Your Right Hand: How CEOs Can Hire, Trust, and Scale With the Perfect Second-In-Command

Heather Stone, PhD, MBA, is the Founder and CEO of Practical PhD, a leadership consultancy that helps CEOs and their second-in-command executives build effective, scalable partnerships. As a four-time company president, two-time business owner, and award-winning instructor, she created the Getting the Right Hand Right leadership training program, which offers frameworks for executives to structure, measure, and manage the COO or VP role. Heather is the co-author of the upcoming book The Problem of Togetherness and the author of Getting the Right Hand Right. 

In this episode…

Many business owners reach a point where they know they need support at the top, but hiring a second-in-command can feel risky, even threatening. Questions of identity, trust, and control hinder the decision, and leaders often misstep. How can you structure and manage a second-in-command role to strengthen your leadership?

Leadership strategist Heather Stone has developed a five-part RIGHT framework — responsibilities, interaction, governance, heads-up, time/place — to help leaders clarify expectations and build high-functioning partnerships. Rather than viewing delegation as relinquishing responsibility, she encourages leaders to reframe it as managing risk wisely, urging them to define their goals before hiring. The key trait in any right-hand leader is a genuine commitment to helping the CEO execute their vision.

Tune in to this episode of Industry Edge as Danielle Neely chats with Heather Stone, PhD, MBA, Founder and CEO of Practical PhD, about building effective second-in-command relationships for CEOs. Heather explains how to create clear role structures, time your hire appropriately, and customize the role to your growth stage.