Governance-grade alignment for leadership transitions that stick.
I help private and PE-backed companies reduce executive transition risk between selection and Day One by clarifying decision rights, success criteria, and operating cadence, supporting clearer execution from the start.
Dr. LaVasha Cain-Lobbins, NACD.DC, PMP • Creator of MerAlign™
In private companies, especially first-time CEO and founder-to-CEO moments, the highest risk is often invisible: unclear decision rights, unspoken expectations, slow escalation, and early execution drag.
MerAlign™ strengthens the conditions that determine whether a transition sticks: clarity, governance discipline, and execution rhythm.
Leadership transitions are among the highest-risk moments for private companies; especially first-time CEO appointments and founder-to-professional CEO moments Research consistently shows elevated risk in the first 18–24 months of a new executive role, often driven less by capability and more by misalignment with expectations, decision authority, and operating context.
Founder transitions carry even higher complexity. Studies suggest these moments are two to three times more likely to result in failure or performance decline, underscoring how critical early alignment is during the transition window.
The Hidden Risk
Transitions don’t fail from lack of talent. They fail from misalignment.
MerAlign™ exists to address what traditional transition approaches often overlook: the merge and alignment work between boards, leaders, and operating realities before misalignment shows up as execution drag, fractured trust, or lost momentum.
MerAlign™
Most leadership transition work focuses on who is stepping into the role and what needs to get done. What often gets missed is the merging and alignment work that determines whether execution actually holds once the transition begins.
MerAlign™ addresses the gap between appointment and performance, where unspoken assumptions, misaligned expectations, and unclear decision authority quietly undermine momentum.
Grounded in doctoral research on board decision-making and CEO succession, MerAlign™ reflects a consistent finding:
Transition risk is rarely caused by lack of capability. It is driven by misalignment between boards, leaders, and operating realities early in the transition window.
The
METHOD
MerAlign™ provides a structured way to surface and resolve these gaps before they show up as execution drag, stalled decisions, or fractured trust.
- Success criteria are often implied, not explicitly aligned
- Decision rights shift but are not recalibrated
- Escalation norms remain unclear during early execution
- Boards and leaders assume alignment without verifying it
A governance-grade diagnostic that surfaces alignment risk and transition readiness so the incoming leader and key stakeholders start with clarity and speed.
Outcome: Transition Alignment Brief + recommended path forward
Entry Point
1.
Services
MerAlign™ Transition Audit
A structured pre-Day-One alignment engagement that ensures leadership transitions stick by installing decision rights, escalation norms, and a disciplined operating cadence.
Designed For: First-time CEOs and founder-to-CEO transitions with board/sponsor visibility
Flagship
2.
MerAlign™ -Day One Integrator™
A facilitated alignment session designed to accelerate clarity, trust, and execution for CEOs and leadership teams during moments of transition.
Half-Day or Full-Day
3.
MerAlign™ CEO + Team Alignment Lab
- Decision Rights Map
- Escalation Norms
- Operating Cadence Templates
- Commitment Charter
- 30–90 Day Alignment Plan
An executive-ready dashboard that highlights decision-quality risk signals that can distort succession selection and other high-stakes leadership decisions plus practical governance countermeasures.
Positioning: Optional add-on in proposals; part of the MerAlign™ system
Ideal for: Board chairs, lead directors, and governance / succession committees
Add-On Module
4.
Board Succession Decision Quality Dashboard™
* Labs are scoped based on team context and timing.
A diagnostic framework designed to surface alignment risk early-before misalignment shows up as execution drag, decision frictions or board tension.
Leader Edition (Lite - free)
5.
Digital Tools: Aligned Index™
- Individual diagnostic
- One-page alignment snapshot
- Top 3 risks + next steps
- Early access delivery
The Lite edition provides a fast signal.
The Full edition is designed for leadership teams and boards where alignment must be installed, not assumed.
Facilitation Edition (Full - limited)
- Multi-stakeholder version
- Stakeholder map + risk hotspots
- Decision-rights & escalation prompts
- Executive-ready summary output
- Offered by invitation / after Audit
Client Stories
Arthur Steier
client for the past 6 years
Karen & Jeff Russell
clients for over 1 and a half years
“[LaVasha’s] business acumen and strategic perspective is highly valued on our team as we make important decisions for the organization.
Over time, she has become my trusted confidante who provides sage wisdom and leadership guidance. I also appreciate the thought-provoking questions she asks me to ensure the decisions made and solutions implemented are well thought out and sustainable.”
— Monica, Board President, NHRA–OC
Venture-Backed Digital Health | $140M Enterprise Value
What was delivered:
- Built an executive-facing CEO Awareness Dashboard to pinpoint leadership risk signals and leverage points
- Led a focused alignment session to reset expectations, roles, and execution priorities
- Installed practical follow-through mechanisms to keep decisions moving and reduce friction
Outcome:
Faster traction at the top-team level, improved delegation and decision flow, and momentum that supported a successful acquisition outcome.
Client Impact (Venture-Backed Digital Health, $140M Enterprise Value)
Leadership alignment and execution discipline supported a critical growth phase and contributed to a successful acquisition outcome, reinforcing how early alignment protects enterprise value.
Signals of Governance Credibility:
NACD.DC • PMP • Governance leadership within PDA SoCal • Former professional association board director roles
MerAlign™ in Practice
Representative Engagement
First-Time CEO Transition | Corporate-Backed Strategic Venture
Reduce transition risk before it shows up in execution.
Start with a MerAlign™ Transition Audit.
Dr. LaVasha
Dr. LaVasha Cain-Lobbins, NACD.DC, PMP is a governance-informed advisor who helps private companies make leadership transitions stick, especially first-time CEO appointments and founder-to-professional CEO moments where expectations, authority, and execution rhythm must be aligned early to protect momentum and enterprise value.
She began her career in a multi-generational family-owned manufacturing business, giving her early exposure to private-company governance dynamics, succession realities, and stakeholder complexity.
Her work sits at the intersection of board governance, leadership transition strategy, and execution discipline. With 20+ years of experience across complex, high-stakes environments, she has partnered with executive teams where decision clarity, stakeholder alignment, and operating discipline materially shape outcomes.
Dr. LaVasha is the creator of MerAlign™, a transition alignment system designed to address the “merge and alignment” work often missed in transition playbooks, where unspoken assumptions, unclear decision rights, and miscalibrated operating rhythms quietly undermine Day One performance.
She earned her EdD in Organizational Change and Leadership from the University of Southern California, and her doctoral research strengthens her perspective on the boardroom dynamics that shape leadership outcomes. Dissertation title:
Boardroom Psychology and Decision-Making: Rethinking CEO Succession Through Leadership Self-Awareness and Strategic Insight.
She also brings a strong execution lens through her background teaching project management and execution discipline at the University of California, Irvine, and through her contributions as a guest speaker in Chicago Booth School of Business (University of Chicago) Executive Education focused on board–executive interaction and governance dynamics.
Dr. LaVasha founded Own You Leadership, LLC, the parent company behind MerAlign™, to apply her experience and research to practical tools, advisory engagements, and alignment labs that help boards and CEOs enter critical transitions with clarity and deliver results with discipline.
Credentials: NACD Directorship Certification (NACD.DC) • Project Management Professional (PMP) • Private Company Governance Certification (PDA)
Education: B.S., Business Administration & Marketing • M.Ed., Human Resource Development & Adult Learning (Organizational Learning & Leadership Development) • EdD, Organizational Change and Leadership (USC)
ABOUT
BOARD + LEADERSHIP INVOLVEMENT
- Private Directors Association (Southern California) — Sponsorship Chair; Leadership Team
- National Human Resources Association (Orange County) — Former Board Director; Business Excellence Chair
- Former Board Director (additional): American Marketing Association • Association for Talent Development • American Diabetes Association • Fight Stroke Now • Healthcare Communicators of Southern California
She recently presented at the Private Directors Association (PDA) PRISM National Conference at the Disneyland Hotel, participating in a featured session on CEO succession and board readiness.
Featured session:
Selecting the Right CEO: How Private Boards Can Align Readiness, Strategy, and Culture
The session addressed the realities boards face during high-stakes leadership transitions, including:
- Elevated CEO turnover in private equity–backed companies
- The risks of misaligned readiness criteria, culture, and expectations and how they derail outcomes
- Practical approaches boards can use to strengthen succession decisions and reduce disruption
Dr. LaVasha’s perspective draws on her experience as a board member, governance advisor, and researcher examining how boardroom decision dynamics shape CEO succession outcomes.
She is also available for podcast interviews on leadership self-awareness, identity, and decision-making, drawing from her Own You Leadership platform and research on high-stakes transitions.
Select engagements only. Inquiries by request.
Invited Board & Leadership Forums
THE
"REAL YOU" CHRONICLES
with
Who are you really?
Leadership transitions are high-risk moments. Multiple widely cited studies estimate that about half of executives fail within the first 18 months in a new role, often because the environment, expectations, and operating realities don’t align early.
I’m currently inviting select guests for the Boardroom Edition, including:
- Board Chairs & Lead Independent Directors
- Operating Partners and PE Portfolio Leaders
- First-time CEOs and Founder-to-CEO leaders
- Board Members of family-owned and multi-generational enterprises
- Governance, succession, and nominating committee leaders
- CHROs involved in CEO succession and board-level decision support
Decisions under Pressure
If you’ve navigated a leadership transition, succession moment, or boardroom inflection point, and you’re open to sharing lessons learned with clarity, I invite you to request an invitation.
BOARDROOM EDITION:
A three-episode, invitation-only Boardroom Edition of The Real You Chronicles.
If you’re preparing for a CEO transition or supporting a first-time CEO stepping into a higher-stakes governance environment, MerAlign™ provides the clarity and operating discipline to protect momentum and value.
Make the transition stick.
