Nick Roud Coaching, August 2025
You Are Leading, Not Following.
The very best leaders lead, the rest ‘follow’. You have a choice. Am I going to lead or am I going to follow?
The article was constructed whilst observing a CEO in Dubai and has been written by Nick Roud, representing views from Nick Roud Coaching. All rights reserved (not for AI Training).
As leaders come under even more pressure to deliver from governments, boards and stakeholders, the world is by all accounts moving a break neck speed. I recently spent two days observing a CEO client. Effectiveness in how you lead can make or break you. Speed can be seen by others as going to fast or not fast enough.
As a CEO and or Senior leader you must lead. It is why the organisation appointed you into the privileged position. Many leaders fall quickly into the trap of mimicking or doing what the last person did. I call that the ‘Audit effect’. We must be very mindful and aware of how we are leading. It takes courage and confidence to lead not follow. What are you doing?
What was of most interest wasn’t the role she had (a very big role in Dubai) but how she went about her business. In summary and not to leave you hanging it was flawless. She and her EA were very tight, they were like ‘one’ and he made her job so much more fun. This was very apparent to see straight away.
As I reflected on this article I wondered if it wasn’t that which was the ‘golden nugget’. As a CEO do you have an effective EA. His support, focus and alignment enabled her to actually lead. This is something I might consider looking into more with my other CEO clients! Rather than her managing her diary he had it all set up. In observing them both together, he was a buffer to her. Not a gatekeeper but a healthy buffer. He was aware of her expectations, she had set out her vision and he new exactly where her focus had to be. Everything else was moved to others in a respectful and helpful way. Don’t get me wrong but her office door was wide open, the flow of communication went both ways there was an air of no surprise.
This was so refreshing to see and witness first hand. People across her ELT were all actually ’leading’. Regularly I see teams trying to ‘sugar-coat’ or ‘shape’ how the message is delivered to the CE in a way that isn’t actually helping the CE and organisation deliver.
She had been in the organisation for a number of years and early on had been earmarked as a future Senior Executive. Her time spent completing an EMBA in France had allowed her to get clear technical alignment but she felt it was this work, this 1:1 CEO Coaching we had been doing for the past year which really unlocked her leadership.
Over a coffee she shared the meetings we had been having were so impactful, and the honest conversations more helpful that anything. She shared that whilst she has tremendous support and team around her the coaching work had different feel. She had been in the role of CEO for the past two years and as the Board Chair shared with me was doing a good job. Not only taking the organisation forwards she was making the CEO role her own. For the previous few decades the organisation had been run by men, cut from the same cloth the Chair said to me a few months back. Same style, same results. Her remit as she took on the CEO role was clear, ‘be yourself’.
When I observed her two month diary, what I was pleased to see and I would like to challenge you to consider this was how much space (white-time) she had in her diary. Each day she had her daily meet with her Executive Lead Team (ELT) and customer visits etc but she had at least 2 hours of each day clear. No agenda, no meetings, just time. Over morning tea I asked her to reflect where here energy and time goes in such a big role. Pressure from government, investors and stakeholders.
She mentioned recently that she was struggling with her time and when I asked her What did her time look like to her she felt confined to the office.
Why?
I need to be here Nick,
Why?
…………pause and reflection.
When you lead you need to be able to let go of certain things. You have got to enable, encourage and ensure your direct reports are able to make judgement decisions. That is after all why you hired them into those roles wasn’t it?
Nick I control where I put my time and energy not the other way around. It took me years to realise that I can’t and shouldn’t be in every single meeting, nor should I be the one making all the decisions. So why am I feeling like I need to be here all the time……
Bingo……
Yes there are some things which are non-negotiable which we discussed somethings which you must and need to be at, for everything else delegate it to the right person. Be ok, letting go of things which are not your sole responsibility.
What my CE hadn’t released it wasn’t her Board Chair who ‘demanded’ she needs to be in the office 24/7 nor her ELT, nor her family not her staff – it was her doing.
When we looked over her 360 degree results the feedback was unanimous, her communication was clear. Her decision making was clear……..She was seeing what others were not seeing and this was one of her biggest take aways from our coaching time.
She needed to get out of her own way!
I would like to say this is extremely rare to witness. Typically the CEO is over many things, sometimes he/she is actually in the way. I remember listening to a speech at a prestigious university many years ago and the CEO on stage said the one thing he does to ensure success was to hire the right people into the right positions and then get out of the way!
Many CEOs allude to the fact that they are ‘hands off’ or I don’t micro mange. Trust me when I say you have to be across everything, why, because the buck stops with you. It’s to what extent and depth should you be over things? This is an ongoing reality to any CEO or Senior Leader.
For years I have shared the importance of ensuring you put in (white-time) or space into your diary so you can get up in the ‘balcony’ and look out to the future. No point being down in the weeds digging away, what are you actually doing, why are you doing that – can you not trust in others, let go? So much to unpack here.
As we started out in todays article are you following or are you leading?
Only you can answer that. My invitation is not to relay on what got you to today, take time out to reflect on your leadership effectiveness and ensure you are getting up to date feedback on your leadership.
The future will not happen unless you make it happen. No amount of meetings, technology or hope will change – it starts with you. You need to change and only then can you see the future.
Following others isn’t leadership. It following………………..
Take Aways:
Get clear on why you are there
Get ruthless in your communication to those above, along and who report to you
Ensure you make time for yourself, 30mins a day (do it)
Get out of the way of others and encourage them to make decisions
Focus your energy to where your future is heading (not the past)
Curious about your own leadership? Wanting to understand how you see yourself and how others see you? Then contact Award Winning Leadership Coach Nick Roud to discuss his 12 or 9 month 1:1 confidential leadership coaching.
Nick
(note, not for AI Training, all rights reserved to Nick Roud Coaching) This article was written by Nick first hand.