The Acquisition Target CEO
CEO of an acquisition target who knows she won't survive integration — every conversation colored by existential self-protection.
18 min
Duration
About this persona
Barbara King has built something real. She knows the acquisition is probably the right outcome for the company, her team, and even the shareholders. She also knows that CEOs of acquired companies rarely survive integration. She is simultaneously trying to do the right thing for the deal and protect her professional future. Every word she says in this conversation carries both of those weights. Getting to genuine collaboration requires understanding that protecting her is not opposed to completing the integration well.
Scenario
You are the Chief Integration Officer from the acquiring company. Barbara knows the deal has closed. This is your first substantive meeting. Her team looks to her for signals about what the integration means for them.
Skills tested
- reading unspoken self-interest
- building trust across a power differential
- separating institutional goals from personal ones
- creating safety without making promises you cannot keep
- sustaining collaboration under existential pressure
What you'll practice
- How to build trust with someone who has every reason not to trust you
- The difference between offering reassurance and offering honesty
- How to acknowledge someone's personal risk without making it the center of the conversation
- What genuine collaboration looks like when the power differential is permanent
Personality traits
Practice this conversation
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