One of the most foolish thoughts any leader can have is that of indispensability. In fact, I chuckle with sarcasm when I hear a leader attribute all the successes clocked in their career to personal ingenuity as against the collective brilliance of the team. Truth of the matter is, if you are a leader, by definition, you have followers. If in the course of your career you have been a consistent performer, kudos to you, but in reality, that is largely the outcome of having loyal and capable followers. The statement that you are only as good as your team is so true in leadership terms; because even if you are the master strategist, providing direction and guidance, you still need people to execute flawlessly.
In fact, there’s a school of thought these days that execution is much more powerful than strategy, not least because you can “download” strategy from “anywhere” but can’t do the same for execution (not even in the robotic world of today). You must not be misled into thinking you are some alien to whom the fortunes of the company are eternally tied. This leads me to the core of today’s script. The less exaggerated your perception of your value in the success equation is, the more realistic you are in positioning your (so-called) indispensability and the more open you are to road-mapping your exit and post-exit business life.
There are many CEOs today who have been in role for so long, they have become part of the furniture of the organisation. Their ability to create new possibilities for their organisation has diminished materially over time and yet they are clinging to their seats like the world would collapse without them, as many of our politicians do. If leaders truly want to be honest with themselves, they would be able to tell when their energy levels have waned, and idea generation ability has deteriorated. There is nothing more honorable than quitting when the ovation is loudest. I know times are tough and there is uncertainty out there, so quitting to an uncertain world doesn’t necessarily appear the wisest thing to do, but it’s a matter of when, not if, anyway. Additionally, it took a while, presumably, to get to the CEO level, and if you have stayed in this role for a while, the question is, what have you planned for yourself post-service? How can anyone be surprised that Christmas has come, when the date has actually stayed the same over the years. No organisation deserves to suffer the effect of a “furniture-like” CEO. There are times we need to freshen things up. I have seen CEOs turn from heroes to zeros almost overnight. They spent the best part of their tenure churning out impressive results, then one stroke of ill-luck like a strong macro-economic headwind, and they start experiencing a reversing performance trend. Suddenly, no one remembers their past heroics. So how do you prepare yourself for the inevitability?
1.) What’s your dream? If you don’t know where you are headed, why embark on the journey in the first place? No one is better placed to articulate your desired future than yourself. I dislike people with no ambition – and by the way, such people exist, and we must respect their persons even if we disagree with their principle. I have told the story before of a marketing director working with me in a multinational company, and who I had offered to mentor towards a potential promotion to MD level; as I was impressed with her quality of work. However, she was clear to me she didn’t have the “liver” to be MD. She believed it wouldn’t enable her to enjoy the work-life balance she so cherished. Fair enough, but if you want to experience big achievements, you must dream big. As it is said, aim for the sky – so you may (at least) hit the moon.
(2) Are you embracing technology? As this is a dynamic economic world, it goes without saying that the business leader must be super-dynamic. Where there is need to upgrade your tech-user skills, don’t hesitate to invest time in achieving that. The ability to respond rapidly to external challenges and operational opportunities is massively important for creating your desired future. So much is happening in the digital world – a platform that is connecting the global to local and creating new possibilities in e-commerce, fintech, etc. To latch on to that, you must embrace technology.
(3) Are you consciously investing in your growth? On the journey to creating your new world, post-exit of paid employment, you must be prepared to learn and grow. When you come out of your comfort zone of paid employment, unless you had prepared well in advance, you would discover there are many unknowns in the business world. You have to be vulnerable along the way, in the context of accepting that you are not too big to seek knowledge from whoever has it, even if that person is much junior to you.
(4) Determination to succeed: Don’t be deceived, there are thorns in practically every business forest you enter. This shouldn’t be new news to any “retiring” CEO or senior executive as most know already that several careers and professions have a yo-yo profile. However, being conscious of the fact that every roadblock is an invitation to new beginning is vital and having the innate resilience to ride the storm is the hallmark of a great leader.
5.) Run your own race: I say this all the time – it’s good to have a competitive nature (as I would think I do), as competition creates the motivation and impetus for growth. That said, be mindful not to mirror everything you see in someone you think is more successful. You cannot judge a book by its cover. You do not know the underlying governance around their success nor the ramifications of same. I am not suggesting not to have role models – far from it. It is however important to always remember that destinies are like DNAs – no two people have exactly the same destinies, and if they were to do, their paths would probably be different. You must always remind yourself – you are not a limited edition of your type, you are a sole edition. Make yourself your biggest competitor and that way, you would see the manifestation of adrenalin that propels you to be at your best and to always push the boundaries of professional achievements, without subjecting yourself to the agony of envying your colleague you think is better off.
Happy New Month.
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