As a CEO, you’re asked to play many roles in the organization from visionary strategist to crisis manager to financial taskmaster. But are you also serving as an executive coach? Providing guidance and support to your senior leadership team is vital to strengthening your company’s internal talent pool and improving its prospects for long-term success. Depending on your leadership style, you may already be doing some informal counseling or making […]
If your company would like to operate more effectively, improve productivity, or realign the organization, consider adding a chief change officer (CCO) to the senior leadership team. Driving a major change initiative requires leadership from the top. So if the CEO needs to focus on other priorities, it’s important to designate an executive to lead and coordinate the effort. In some cases, the senior human resources executive can serve as […]
When a troubled manufacturing company needed an expert numbers person as CEO, the board of directors conducted a national search for an experienced chief financial officer with the ability to run the entire organization. When a U.S. sales company decided to open its first overseas affiliate, the CEO selected a sales manager from one of its largest domestic offices to run the new operation. And before a major children’s hospital […]
When companies plan to expand to international markets, one of the key considerations is the depth and strength of executive talent. Depending on the scope of the growth plan, additional managers may be needed to lead the new operations, and many organizations are creating new positions, such as Chief International Officer, to lead their teams. Careful evaluation of the leadership team’s skills, experiences and attitudes is crucial to making good […]
A stable senior leadership team is usually good for an organization. When everyone in the C-suite has worked together for a number of years, executives get to know each other’s thinking patterns, management styles and areas of expertise. When a major issue arises, the CEO generally knows whom to appoint to a committee or task force to find a solution. But there can be a downside to a longtime leadership […]
In the past decade, the power of innovation has been in the spotlight. Technology entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs built their careers (and their companies) by developing and launching innovative products at the right time in the market— at least most of the time. Today, start-ups emphasize their innovative solutions when searching for financial support or recruiting new executives. But not everyone is eager to join the innovation movement. In fact, […]
Successful executives have many skills and qualities that enable them to excel in their roles and create value for their companies. These might include strategic thinking, vision, creativity, leadership, communications skills, emotional intelligence and decision making—to name just a few. However, superior decision making is arguably the most important ingredient for success, especially in the C-suite. In fact, as a June 2010 Harvard Business Review article by Blenko, Mankins and […]
Many executives have no problem reprimanding a supplier for doing a poor job. They can easily pick up the phone and complain: “Your shipment arrived two days late and cost our company $10,000 in lost sales. What are you going to do about it?” But that same executive may agonize about how to address a performance issue with a subordinate. But hoping the problem will eventually go away is just […]
If you’re a corporate CIO or aspiring to move up from IT into the C-suite, strong translation skills are imperative. That’s means being able to explain the latest technology programs and initiatives in terms that business and financial executives will understand and support. Like all professional disciplines, IT has its own language, filled with jargons and acronyms that other techies understand but are largely incomprehensible to people outside the technology […]
When LeBron James entered the National Basketball Association a decade ago, he had enough raw athletic talent to be considered the potential heir to Michael Jordan. He began his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he carried his team to the 2007 conference final but faced criticism about his mental toughness and judgment, particularly after his 2010 nationally televised decision to leave Cleveland and join the Miami Heat. Since then, […]
