by Nick Roud Award Winning Executive Coach
Let’s talk about CEO leadership – leadership that will last the test of time.
As CEO you will be judged on two key things;
1) How many people you have helped
2) How much help have you personally given those people to be successful
The CEO is responsible for many things but fundamentally get those two things right and the rest will be follow. Your job is not to be liked or feared, great CEOs around the world appreciate that tough calls have to be made, how you relate to your people during those tough calls should not just focus on better ROI (Return on investment) the calls should be for the good of the team. Balancing the hear and now and the long turn future are factors that need to be weighted up every single day and not just left to the annual review.
There is a glaringly huge gap between those CEOs who lead well and those who don’t . It boils down not to what school or university you went to, or what qualifications you hold, it boils down to the CEO being relatable and consistent. People are put first, meetings (relevant) are not moved or cancelled, regular conversations are had and trust across the organisation is put centre stage!
A CEO must be clear on his/her long term strategic plan (operating plan), the CEO’s job should be one of brining the very best minds and thought leaders together in order to make decisions that will benefit many. Constantly nurturing the culture, vibe and freedom for your people to excel in must be led from the CEO (behaviours, actions and deliver) people don’t want or need lip service.
CEOs do not need to be great in everything but they must be exceptional in one thing and to me that comes back to enabling others to be exceptional. Teams need to be loved, individuals need to be encouraged, the CEO should not be doing everything. When I observe a CEO who is doing ‘it all’ then alarm bells fire off in my head. Question I put to the CEO include, why have a team of people if you are not going to let them breathe life into a thought?
CEO leadership is a tough gig, not everyone should, or is cut out to be a CEO the ones who are leading from the front are not afraid to say I don’t know and they are certainly not taking up all the oxygen in the room.
CEO leadership of the future will require subject matter people skills. Skills that bring teams together more importantly will be the ability to keep peoples heads held high. People do not need to be sheltered from the truth, CEOs today and into the future need to be able to articulate in a language that is highly relatable, to the Board room and to the factory floor. A CEO that hides behind spreadsheets, reports, analytics whilst neglecting the human element of leadership will be unable to steer the ship forwards. Getting the buy-in from others will take the CEO to places he/she is not comfortable with and that should be seen as a massive opportunity, embrace these learnings.
Get away from the political side of leading a business and get to the heart of your business, get to the people who are ‘doing’, get alongside them, sit with them, learn from them and never allow yourself to feel you are above that.
CEO Leadership will always be about your people.
Nick Roud is an award winning executive leadership coach who lives and works in Auckland, New Zealand. His clients are CEOs, Senior Executives and future leaders. Nick is a Master Certified Executive Coach (MCEC)
You can contact Nick on +6421375630
