"NOW"—A VERY NEGLECTED RESOURCE

I read widely.  Those of you who have worked with me know I always had some book or concept to recommend. Sometimes you liked it and sometimes it drove you nuts. I haven't changed. Still I kept my interests mostly separate.  Business was business.  Art was art. Philosophy was philosophy. Literature was literature.
But, sometimes I didn't and that was usually the best discussion generator.

So, today I have been reading in Eastern philosophy and religion practices.
Yep, I have.  The emphasis usually circles around experiencing the "now" of life because everything else is "past or future", "regret or yearning".

Thinking of top C-level leadership, I wonder if you leverage "now" very much.
I didn't.  I learned from the past as we picked apart failed initiatives or reviewed what top talent had "done in the past".  And we certainly focused on the future.
What should our growth be, what is the strategy to get there, what skills will be needed?  We highly valued urgency which is simply rushing the future to get "here" sooner than it would naturally. Lots of "pushing the river."  

What if you managed to use the present (now) better?

What if you truly entered into every one on one conversation you had?
Would you pick up cues for possibilities for or unrest in your company?
Would you see talent more clearly?  What could you help to make right "now"?

What if you experienced the "here and now" of your customers?
What would you see and experience?  Neglect?  Artificial niceness?  Defeat with your product?  Generosity that builds loyalty?  What if you watched the customer experience for an hour—alone, no one to distract you with their own observations, no cell phone, just you watching customers in their "now".
What might come clear to you? How would  you make that "now" better?

What if  enhanced your every "now" moment in the company? Your morning entry to your office, the discussion in your staff meeting, your top talent
review, the visit of analysts could all shift to better results. You would be truly "present" giving what you have to give consciously and transforming the future with every good moment, letting the "now" do its work rather than only straining for the future and for different.  Step out of "more, better, faster" into the "now" in front of you and transform it. The rest will follow.  There is power in the "now" moments especially for leaders at the top.   

LEADERSHIP TOUCHSTONES

— Would you do the same job for half the salary?

— Do you have something preposterously important you want to get done?

— Do you think about 'better' or 'different'?

— Do you look forward to developing, thinking with, being demanding of, 
infusing with enthusiasm, your direct reports?

— Does the idea of contact with the core of your business excite you or
bore you?

—Do you take reality into serious consideration but not bow to it?

—When people see you coming, do they want to do good work and after you leave, do they want to do their best work?

— Do you often realize that you owe your privileged role to every person in your company and does it make you determined to make them proud of you?

WHERE THERE IS A YES, THERE IS A NO

And vice versa.  Where there is a 'no' there is a 'yes'.
This is true like a law of physics

The laws of 'yes' and 'no':

l. A 'yes' always has a partner that is 'no'.

2. The bigger the 'yes', the bigger the 'no'.

3. Too many times the partner is invisible.

4. The hidden 'yes' and 'no' can be a very bad surprise.

5. It's important to make the invisible partner to 'yes' or 'no' visible

6. The 'yes'/'no' is not simply a trade-off.

7. The shadow of 'yes' or 'no' is a given, never goes away. 

8. When a decision is painful and avoided, look for the hidden 'yes' or 'no'.

Think about this for:
-marketing decisions
-promotions for people
-budget decisions
-meetings you attend
-outside demands
-long term strategy
-your own growth and development

CEO QUALITIES I'VE WATCHED THAT WORK

I have studied and taught and assessed leaders using all kinds of models.
I was going to look up a few to stress the differences and to see how outdated they are, IF they are.

Instead, I decided to share what I have seen work for outstanding CEO's.

l.  They are in touch with the business they head. They go in close to customers and to the associates who touch the customer. They stay in touch with the trends in the business and explore new options. They watch the world and see its impact on their organization. 

2. They walk the thin line between bold and protective. They put pressure on needed change while protecting what is working right. They are graceful in bringing about change--even drastic change. Their timing is impeccable.

3.  They know the gossip of the company. Oh, yes--gossip. They stay in touch with the hidden stories behind the overt action. They do this through day to day contact and being great listeners. They have a cadre of confidantes they can ask for the underbelly discussions taking place in their company.

4.  They are constantly making course corrections of every kind without losing the focus of the primary targets. They correct and encourage and get mad at poor judgment and actions but never ever punish or shame a person.

5.  They are fair in hiring and promotions. They have a spelled out process and stick to it so that people understand what is needed to get hired and how to develop that skill. People know they have a fair chance at any position. Hiring and promotion discussions could go out on youtube and would be respected.

6.  They tell the story of the company so that history and context make sense of the position and challenges of the company in the present. They make strategy
clear, (no business babble) worth the effort, believable, steady and satisfyingly
possible.

7.  They create hope and optimism. They are hopeful and optimistic. Even in crisis or a horrible hit to the business, they see the way clear and convey it a through their person more than their words.  

8.  They ring true as a person.  They are congruent in thought, behavior and 
words.  This doesn't mean they aren't odd, or have goofy habits, or are not annoying.  It means they make sense as a person and can be counted on and known.  There is a kind of security in relationships.

Models galore exist for leadership.  These are some of my observations from up close work with CEO'S.  For what it's worth.

CEO NIGHTMARE—OTHER PEOPLE'S PROJECTIONS

I've seen CEO's come and go under good circumstances and not so good.
I've watched a company breathe a sigh of relief or gasp with dismay as one top leader goes and another is announced. It is one of the more delicate transition moments in an organization's life.

Here is something to remember.  It's difficult to see clearly as the top leader at any time. But it can take up to eighteen months for your company to get a real grip on who you are as their top leader—even if they have known you as a colleague.

You are often seen as the flip side of whoever proceeded you.  She was all about cost. You are seen to be all about growth. He was formal and distant. You are seen as informal and accessible. You aren't wanted and are viewed as evil and the downfall of the company. You are magnificent and readily embraced and viewed as the Knight in Shining Armor.  

In other words, perspective is distorted and stays that way for a while when a new CEO steps into the role. The old mantra of team development holds true. "Form, storm, norm, perform". The 'forming' is fun and often false due to the misperception I talk about above.  So know— that no matter how you enter into the CEO position, it is the storming that you want and it's not fun. It is the moment when things get real. You are seen for who you are plus and minus and people begin to adjust around it. You are talked about, mulled over, criticized, and courted too. The 'storming' comes when it all blows up, when a crisis rips off every one's polite cover, when the discontent pours out. It takes guts to allow and/or create the storm. 

It means you are a CEO who doesn't take cover, who allows for critical feedback,
who doesn't hide behind denial, and who can tolerate very tough interpersonal moments. (All of this should be part of a CEO job description)  And this storming seems to be a needed stage of development in a CEO's tenure, whether you bring it on yourself through straight talk or it comes to you in a grand dysfunction. Some new top leaders avoid this moment for years until under performance is the norm. Please don't. Wrestle your company norms to the ground through real contact with people and begin to perform with the power that comes  from making it all real.

WHO TAKES CARE OF YOU?

I don't have a one size fits all answer for this question.
I just know you should have someone who takes care of you professionally, someone on your side, able to talk straight to you, and cognizant of the demands of your role.

I write this on a Sunday night and remember the Sunday night heaviness of an imperfect Monday morning looming. I know that for the most part you don't ever put the entire burden of leading a company down from your shoulders.I know that you have the hardiness for the job. And still. Because you have the ultimate power and perks, your job looks good to others from the outside. Also, you want the role and are used to holding this responsibility.  Worse, you may buy into the idea that you don't need nurturing or support or care. Wrong. But how and where to get the care isn't so easy given time constraints, confidentiality issues and the need to appear oh -so- strong.

My wish for you is:

You have a Board Chairman who wants to see you develop as a leader and takes time to assess situations with you and sees your need for growth and expansion as part of his/her job, not fixing something broken.

You know that a spouse or partner can be a safe haven but not a person who
can objectively support and advise you

You don't rely on your team or a few team members to become your confidantes  for your self-confidence boost or for intimate conversations. Lean into them for
colleague-ship, not friendship.

You have a great long term friend who doesn't care what role you have at work, but that makes you laugh and is safe for any topic.

You have something that refreshes you that is not work related whether that is mysteries books, piano or golf.  

You know the symptoms of self-neglect--losing your temper in public, being anxious about how you are doing, chronic health issues, loss of enthusiasm about the business, finding ways to run away from work and still look legitimate, avoiding critical people and conversations to name a few.    

You have a very tough job. Take care of yourself. No one else will.
They already think you are taken care of.

ANOTHER CEO DILEMMA--AS IF THERE WEREN'T ENOUGH!

You know how your direct reports (and probably theirs as well) manage up.
You have enjoyed and benefited from their skill.

Well, here's what I know from my own experience as an EVP and from having many many confidential conversations with associates at all levels in many companies.

Many of your direct reports are literally a Jekyll and Hyde phenomenon.
It is not at all "what you see is what you get".  
What 'you see'–is a reflection of what people think you want.
What 'they get'–is a hidden reality that you can't experience.

Before you fight back, because most CEO's are sure they are in touch with their organization, assume the truth of the above statement.

Then the question is, "What do you do to get a glimmer of what goes on without becoming the dreaded spy CEO or turning your HR person into the spy for you?"

I would love some answers