Longer hold periods are redefining what it takes to sustain alignment and performance. As strategies shift mid-hold and leadership teams face new operating realities, firms are reexamining how to build systems that keep leaders, boards and investors moving in sync from entry to exit.
That challenge was the focus of a recent panel led by our colleague Courtney Hamilton from The Miles Group (TMG) during the Private Equity International Operating Partners Forum in New York. Panelists Jonas Leddington (Snapdragon Capital Partners), Randy Patterson (Blackstone), Courtney Hagen (Littlejohn & Co.), and Stephanie Caspar (Summa Equity) joined to discuss how sponsors, CEOs, and CHROs can strengthen leadership systems for long-term value creation.
A shared theme came out of the conversation: alignment isn’t a moment in time. It’s a discipline that must be built, measured, and maintained across the lifecycle of ownership.
Alignment starts with trust built early. Firms that invest early in listening and open dialogue are better positioned to adapt as strategies and conditions evolve over the course of ownership. Establishing the “essentials” upfront, including shared planning processes, OKRs, and organizational health surveys, creates a foundation for communication and accountability before challenges arise.
Together with our colleagues at The Miles Group, Council Advisors supports sponsors and CEOs in this critical early phase, aligning expectations, communication norms, and decision systems that strengthen performance over time.
High-performing firms build alignment into the way they operate every day. Regular board and strategy reviews, at least twice annually, give leadership teams the opportunity to recalibrate purpose, priorities, and performance.
Our colleagues at TMG often work with operating teams to codify this discipline, introducing diagnostics, playbooks, and assessment tools that measure alignment. Teams that establish alignment early create space for open debate, disciplined decision-making, and ongoing learning that strengthens performance over time.
As portfolios mature, the remit of the CHRO at portfolio companies is expanding, from HR operator to strategic architect. Today’s CHROs must combine strategic insight with the ability to influence, challenge, and drive performance. AI literacy, talent analytics, and organizational scaling have become baseline expectations.
With this expanded toolkit, CHROs are better equipped to operate as true partners to CEOs and operating teams. When those relationships are grounded in transparency and trust, the CHRO can translate strategy into daily behaviors and decision systems that connect board priorities to front-line execution. That alignment helps teams stay coordinated through change and build the enterprise mindset that long-term success requires.
Maintaining alignment is a leadership discipline built through consistency. Leaders who institutionalize listening, clarity, and feedback, supported by systems that reinforce them under pressure, create a durable advantage over long hold periods.
Across Council Advisors and our colleagues at The Miles Group, SSA & Company, and High Lantern Group, we help leaders design the systems that keep strategy, leadership, and execution aligned, so performance endures long after the playbook changes.
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