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divisions: urban malls, premium outlets, leasing management, and construction and development.The board had assured her that she would have license to revamp this group, and within weeks of arriving at Highstreet, she knew she wanted to replace the CFO%u2014who had lost the trust of investors and analysts after several consecutive earnings misses%u2014with an experienced former colleague of hers. But to give herself time to develop a comprehensive restructuring plan and better understand the long-term suitability of other top team members, she had so far kept that decision to herself.She knew she had to handle changes with care. Removing any leader would disrupt that person%u2019s team and customers, and hiring and onboarding a replacement could result in slowing down the initiatives she wanted to move onquickly.Justin certainly felt like an impediment to the transformation she hoped to drive. But she hadn%u2019t been able to identify an internal or external candidate who could easily step into his role, and losing his institutional knowledge and client relationships would be costly. She had often felt on the brink of firing him but hesitated.She held a similarly negative view of Jane Nasser, head of the leasing division, which served mall owners that outsourced day-to-day operations to Highstreet. Although asset-light, the unit had seen revenues and profits drop steeply. And Shannon sensed that Jane was closely allied with Justin%u2014they had gone to college together and always sat next to each other in meetings. At the most recent meeting Jane had echoed Justin%u2019s determination to stay the course. %u201cOur mall clients are still suffering from a post-Covid hangover, but they%u2019re bringing in new tenants, the department stores are rolling out new turnaround plans, and I expect to see better results in a few quarters,%u201d she%u2019d said. Shannon had a replacement in mind: a strong leasing expert she had previously worked with and deeply trusted. But since she was already planning to replace the CFO with a former colleague, she wondered if she would be perceived as stacking the team with her own people.Shannon%u2019s third quandary involved Chris Wang, the leader of the global group, which focused on major South American and Asian cities with historical links to European ones. He had less than a decade of experience at Highstreet, but he had clearly demonstrated both a keen eye for untapped opportunities and the agility to capitalize on them. For example, to lure shoppers back to malls, his team had embraced experiential retail, including boutique fitness studios, Topgolf, arcade bars, and wellness clinics.6 %u201cOur malls should be