I was doing some thinking this week about the different profiles of CEOs I serve. I realised that I need to position myself in relation to their specific context and not approach them like a homogeneous group.
I concluded that there are three specific types of contexts that CEOs have to manage:
- Fixer: a need to make things right
- Optimiser: a need to do things better
- Seeker: a need for the next big thing
These profiles could not be more different. It’s crucial that a CEO recognises which of these contexts applies to them, as each demands a fundamentally different approach.
Fixers need to rethink their businesses’ position. Pivots might be in play, re-imagining their business might be necessary, and going back to first principles might be in order.
Optimisers have a less disruptive outlook. Such CEOs are looking for small gains and micro-improvements that move their business forward. It’s a fortunate and enjoyable position to be in.
Seekers have the curiosity-mindset of an explorer: looking around corners for the next big idea that keeps their business sharp and alive to new innovations.
For all of the above, CEOs are dealing with complexity, and the only real antidote to complexity is expertise, and this expertise needs to be sought out and retained to deal with all three profiles.
A client of mine who is dealing with high complexity has no culture of seeking support. They don’t recognise where they need external expertise, they don’t know where to find such expertise, they don’t have an understanding of how helpful this expertise can be, and they don’t know how to work with external experts.
It’s something that I’m changing, but they have lost a lot of time and performance.
My encouragement is to think hard about which of these three categories you fit into and to adjust your total CEOship approach to this profile. It functions like a broad steer that is very helpful in curating your efforts, your learning, and – yes – the expertise that you surround yourself with.
CEOs can be very reticent about seeking help, mostly on account of not wanting to lose face about ‘not knowing’. This is unhelpful in the extreme: the truth of the matter is that being a (successful) CEO has never been harder, and it’s going to get harder still. The CEO role is not doable without support. That’s a fact.
It would be a braver and wiser choice to accept this reality, recognise your profile from one of the above categories and get on with it.