ONE OF THE HARDEST JOBS YOU'LL EVER HAVE TO DO

One of the reasons this job is one of the toughest for a CEO is because she or he will only do it once.  It makes it hard to get right or to learn from a mistake.
And it has huge ramifications for your organization. What is it?  Leaving!

Many CEO's don't get to choose when they leave a company. There is a sudden move on the Board's part or deterioration of power or a distancing from the ranks of the organization.  The choice is made for the CEO and the shift in power happens quickly and the organization adapts.  

Managing your own demise is a whole different animal. It demands the utmost
professional maturity and gracefulness.  I've seen it done seamlessly well and I've seen it done awkwardly awful. 

FACTORS?

—The organization senses when there is leadership change in the air. People talk and betray confidences, people observe,  people talk and surmise, the gossip  level picks up. Energy focuses inward rather than out to the consumer.

—Usually the CEO has given indicators of possible successors. They know it and everyone else knows it.  It's good to create a little competition and give challenges to see who steps up. It's bad to allow a 3-4 person slate last too long. People begin to align behind "candidates" to align their future career of in honest support. It becomes a silent but powerful campaign atmosphere not good for the business.

—Candidates get goofy when they smell the possibility of the top job. The get overly nice and politic.  They spend more time in private conversation with colleagues "plotting" strategy.  The two worst thing are that the possible successors get inauthentic and lose support or they become incredibly cautious and conservative in all arenas.  They are "on hold". Bad for the business.

—The CEO also gets goofy and deserves the right to be so. She or he has
been in a deep relationship with the organization for years. They are headed for a kind of free-fall of power. And so a CEO can get crabby and picky OR back off the role too soon and become a kind of good-will ambassador. Not great for the organization.

—Strategy can get stalled. Who owns it?  Who should create it?  The leaving CEO won't be there to support it and the 'candidates' won't seize the moment for fear of over-stepping.  Not great for the business.

—Timing is tricky. When to announce the CEO retirement or leaving?  How close to tie it to announcing a successor?  When is the change the easiest on the organization?  When does one know the choice is right?

—Who else will leave and what does that mean for the business? Planning for who you might lose is as important as choosing the successor.

See what I mean----the hardest job CEO's ever have to do and only one chance to do it right.

I'M JUST A CEO— WHAT CAN I DO?

Just a CEO!!!  Most of the people who work for you would be surprised to hear that sentence.  In fact, I wish they knew how powerless you sometimes feel and how very human you are.

Still, all of us need to be as powerful as we can be in the ability to influence people—in a good way.

I think work matters tremendously to people. Not just jobs or roles, but using personal energy to do something that matters.

You, as a top leader have the ability/ power to:
—Create jobs
—Model fairness in power for people who may not ever have experienced it
—Give people voice 
—Allow people influence over decisions that impact them
—Make work meaningful by including everyone in every way
—Create a system where people know how to work with and respect differences
—Inspire people to be the best self they can be

Yes, I'm thinking of Paris.  JUST a CEO?

HOW TO SPOT A FUTURE CEO

I've been involved with finding and growing talent for more than 25 years.
I'm seen quite a few of people I've helped hire and develop grow into the CEO position.  By quite a few, I mean twelve or so.
(Not everyone gets to be CEO)

Here's what I saw in them when they were still very much only on their way.
No scientific research.  Just--for what it's worth.

All "my" CEO's had this in common:

-- They all assumed they could do the job as well or better than anyone else.
It was a kind of "Why not me?" attitude. Not arrogant, but excited by the idea of leading from the top role.  

--They had a presence that stood out in a room of people from the time they were interviewed and along the path to the CEO role.  Some were charismatic.
Some were quite quiet. But what they said or didn't say weighed more than others.

--They connected with all levels in the company from their first day on the job.
There was an ability to adjust the nuances of interaction so that they could connect with everyone.  They were not putting on an act--just adjusting their communication to be effective

--How to describe this?  There was a brightness that was part being smart and quick and part just high vitality. To me, CEO talent, shone in some way.  I could 
see it and smell it, but maybe not describe it to you. But I would have bet on it.

--There was a restlessness in future CEO's to get things going, create movement, make 'it' happen. It was a kind of nervous energy waiting to be fully used. (With some future CEO's, this impatience caused them trouble and they had to learn to modulate) 

--I'd say the CEO's that I helped develop were stubborn. In a good way.  They would fight for an idea, take action without permission, and be sure they were right (even if they were not).  Maybe they were tenacious, not stubborn.  

--They were likable. Fun to go to dinner with, good company. Maybe there are effective CEO's that are not likable and use a lot of fear and distance as their power base.  Not my experience. 

--They seized the moment, grabbed the opportunity, took  the microphone and dominated center stage in meetings or whatever moment presented itself. They were opportunistic without being self-centered or selfish. They liked the limelight in order to get done what they wanted to get done.

Just a few thoughts for you to use when looking at the new talent in your company.  These are not the formal assessment traits, but they helped me choose the right person!

THE POWER OF JOY IN YOUR JOB

Living in the United States, I can't help but be aware of the presidential candidates. I'm not thrilled with any of them. But, I have noticed that I have a positive reaction to one characteristic regardless of politics. I like to see someone enjoy what they are doing. I like to see real smiles and pleasure in the process of those who are enjoying their campaign. 

I hope, that as a top executive or CEO, that you love your job and that you let people know it. It is contagious and models exactly what you want--people who enjoy their work. It creates confidence even during very tough times. "If we have to struggle, then let's enjoy a good fight".  

Joy does not mean foolishly happy.  I 'enjoyed' many tough moments that gave me pride and joy such as running a high integrity, highly supportive elimination of jobs (and the people in them--you never eliminate just jobs) or a fair and square fight about strategic direction.  I loved my job as EVP of Organizational Development and it showed.  

Joy in a job is a magnet for all kinds of good things--energy, talent, resilience in down times, optimism and more enjoyment for others in their roles.  If your joy in your job as a top executive is low, do something about it.  Joylessness in the workplace is lethal

DESIGN YOUR VERY TAILOR MADE CONNECTIONS.

CEO's are often viewed as privileged doing only what they want to do and the truth is often the opposite.  Much of a CEO's time can become full of obligations that are energy sapping and lacking in substance and deadly dull.

This is one area where I encourage CEO's to be ruthlessly selfish.
Do not give your time away to anything that does not help you run your business. Really helps.  I am talking about meetings, steering committees, Boards, blah, blah blah.

I KNOW YOU ARE OBLIGATED TO SOME 'have to do's'
But where and how and with who is an areas of self-care for you as CEO.

Try thinking about it this way--

--What connections do you need to keep you and your company going?

--Who do you WANT to talk to?

--How often do you want to connect with your constituents (I'm avoiding the word associate)

--What places do you WANT to go to make connections for your business?

--What people best keep you in touch with the business?  How do you WANT to connect with them

--Do you connect best one on one or in a group?

--What connections energize and excite you about your work?

--What connections do you want to 'create, keep or kill'?

--How do you connect with yourself--by talking, by reading, by quiet, by driving

--What connections actually hold the company together?  Kill all others.

You deserve and the company needs for you to spend your time on what benefits the company AND you.  See if these questions help you think about connections as something different from obligatory meetings.  YOUR CALENDAR SHOULD BE 2/3 full of things you look forward to for the good of the business.