Listening to the CEOs

There are plenty of good books ("Good to Great" by Collins and "CEO Logic" by Johnson come to mind) on the topic of executive leadership, but no one ever learned to ride a bicycle from a book. So... I took the opportunity over the past couple of weeks to talk to health care CEOs. Some of the discussions were quite formal (I felt like Larry King) while others were more casual. In some cases, the intention was preannounced, namely that I wanted to pick their brains on what they had learned since becoming CEO. At other times, the discussion began differently and meandered toward this topic. One CEO leads a $6m organization, another a $2b sprawling company. Some lead not-for-profits, one a for-profit. A few had been hand chosen and one was specifically groomed for the job. Two had been hurled into the position unexpectedly when their current leader vacated the job suddenly (one died at her desk). I found the discussion helpful, fascinating. In the last few meetings with the CEOs, I jokingly stated that I ought to post what I learned to a blog. At the time, I had no intention of doing so.

Funny how life turns out, though. Here's a blog and here's that post. In no particular order, these are 10 lessons I gained from listening to the CEOs:

1. It actually is lonely at the top. For most of your career, you have the luxury of thinking, "well, if I was in charge, I would...". Several of the leaders spoke of becoming acutely aware of this fact and needing to adjust. Seeking interested, but uninvolved, peer groups was recommended as the antidote.


2. Understand the culture. It's easy to form quick impressions and to feel the need to act quickly. Better to listen and learn and gain the pulse of the organization first, then act.


3. Don't wait too long. A few CEOs bemoaned the fact that they did not make changes early and act upon their first impressions. If #2 and #3 seem a contradiction to you, it did to me too. When asked about this, the CEOs stated that it is a good idea to be clear on expectations... to establish the fact that you will observe and learn for, for example 3-6 months... and then be prepared to act.


4. It's all about vision. Leave operations and day-to-day matters to those who understand them better than you do, but be clear about your vision for the organization. Talk it up. Everyone inside the organization needs to have little doubt on where you see the company headed.


5. Be approachable, be personable, be yourself. Too many leaders feel as though they are at the top of the organization and need to act like it. That means, some say, that it is important to put some distance between yourself and those around you. People in the company will understand that you are busy and sometimes flying from meeting to meeting, often outside of the company... but they would like to know that you are present and that you have a good sense of how the organization actually works. And they want to know you are a real person.


6. If you don't know the answer to a question, say you don't know. Seems basic, but several of the executives mentioned this.


7. Narrow the focus. It's easy to become overwhelmed with everything that's happening in the organization, to try to address every single problem and to make inroads on all of the key strategic initiatives. Instead, it's far better to pick your top 2-4 goals and to focus more specifically on them.


8. Adapt. Establish goals and make sure you stick to the ones that are "make or break" for the organization, but as the environment evolves and as you learn your job, don't be afraid to take a step back and to adjust as needed.


9. Be external. It's hard to develop and move toward a vision if you are disconnected from the outside world. BUT... there's a fine line here, as you can easily become too oriented to what's happening externally and lose touch of the internal reality of your company.


10. Stay ever connected to your customers. Make sure that their voice is the loudest one heard inside the company.

It was a great and unique opportunity to have been able to discuss these lessons with the CEOs, many of whom stated that they appreciated the opportunity to reflect on these issues.