As the saying goes, “Only do what only you can do.” If you find that your calendar runs contrary to that simple tenet, then there may be a bigger problem that should be identified and solved. The fact is, it’s common to find even middle market CEOs involved in areas of the business where they shouldn’t be.
There are many reasons for this, however it typically comes down to a lack of clarity around the core function of a CEO for any organization. In my experience of working with thousands of highly effective executives, it’s twofold…
- Create and communicate the Vision for the organization
- Put the right people in the right seat (RPRS) to accomplish the vision
Any other investment of a CEO’s time could reveal potential gaps in their:
- Team
- System
- Process
- Strategy
- Their inability to effectively communicate their vision to the rest of the team
For example, CEOs who find themselves in meetings that involve anything that doesn’t directly support Vision or RPRS should ask themselves “Why am I here?”. What can they contribute that others can’t, sometimes even better. Granted, if there is a new initiative that comes from a change in vision that the CEO wants to show executive sponsorship & support for, then of course they should be in the initial meetings. My advice for that CEO would be to empower and encourage a leader to quickly take control of the initiative so the CEO can elevate to other things…only things that only they can do.
Easy to say, hard to do. This is especially true if you aren’t sure if you have the right leaders around you to take part of the burden off of you. Everyone has a gift set (or superpower). So, it’s in a CEOs best interest to KNOW how their leaders are built to perform over time and under pressure.
Leveraging a Behavioral Analytics instrument is a great place to start with quickly diagnosing a team. Using valid data driven from an 8-minute survey, today’s CEOs can quickly understand WHO they have and in turn, WHAT they are built to do at work. Leveraging this data for strategic team design and work allocation are the beginnings of unlocking additional scale for both the organization and the CEO.
For more information, contact us for a complimentary team analysis to better understand your leaders and organization as a whole through this critical lens.
