CEO KNOWS EVERYTHING SYNDROME .

CAN SUCCESS MAKE

 A CEO  SELF DECEPTIVE?

Arrogance often threatens a CEO.

 If he also comes to believe that the CEO title grants infallibility, watch out!!!

Repeated studies have concluded one characteristic of powerful and successful leaders is high levels of self-confidence. Unfortunately, the researchers say, the higher the self-confidence, the less likely these leaders are open to advice and feedback.

CEO KNOWS EVERYTHING SYNDROME .

Arrogance often threatens a CEO. If he also comes to believe that the CEO title grants infallibility, watch out.  “Because I am CEO, I must know the business better than anyone else.” It has been said, but it just isn’t true. No CEO can be an expert in all functional areas. A CEO who is doing her job is spending time with the big picture. If he knows the details better than his employees, he’s either hiring the wrong people or spending his time at the wrong levels of the organization. It’s appropriate for a CEO to manage operations if absolutely necessary, but he should quickly hire good operational managers and return to leading the whole business.

CEOS CAN STOP LEARNING WELL.

Of course, once infallible, there’s no more to learn, and a CEO may quietly stop learning. Without daily oversight and high quality feedback on how he does the  job, he can mistakenly believe his actions lead to success. In reality, he may be doing the wrong thing, but his staff may be working around the clock to cover for his.

OPPORTUNITY IS LIKE THE ICEBERG

A CEO who does an adequate job, but far less than he could/should have done—goes unnoticed. Missed opportunities don’t get noticed... a 1000 crore rupee could have been a 5000 crore rupee company but this not never looked upon as a failure...which is flaunted that the 1000crore company was a personal achievement of the CEO Missed opportunities are sins of omissions of a CEO. Can they be  highlighted?

Setting vision is the CEO’s job, but nothing tells his if his sights are too low. He isn’t penalized for missing the grander vision. Such sins of omissions are a CEO’s worst enemy. He can be lulled into mediocrity by not knowing what would have been possible. Many inventions & technological breakthroughs were considered impossible…until someone ran it. Now, it’s commonplace. Likewise, a CEO may limit himself by not realizing he can do her job better.

 HONEST  FEEDBACK IS DANGEROUS?

They also make the point that powerful leaders seldom get useful feedback in their organizations. Nobody wants to take the risk especially with a dominating personality type. Subordinates are loath to give bad news or critical feedback (in any organization upward feedback is anti-gravity and does not more upward) and many boards are not diligent in seeing feedback for performance improvement, particularly relationships, as important as other things, such as financial results.

WHY IS THIS LEADERSHIP CRISIS HAPPENING?

The biggest leadership crises is the gap between how leaders see themselves and how others see them. Call it self-awareness. These blind spots can be limiting the possibilities of growth beyond the glass ceiling. The wider the gap, the more resistance there is to change. It also makes it difficult to create a positive organizational culture where openness and honesty are not encouraged.

Good leaders make people around them successful. They are passionate and committed, authentic, courageous, honest and reliable. But in today's high-pressure environment, leaders need a confidante, a mentor, or someone they can trust to tell the truth about their behavior. They rarely get that from employees and infrequently from board members.

THE FOUR  HIDDEN PERILS OF BEING AT THE TOP

 Based on my experience here is a few of the confessions of   CEO’s of what he experienced at important inflection points in their  career at the top...

1.    Life is lonely at the top: I do not have friends at work. I am an introvert (believe it or not), but that does not explain it all. I cannot sound my nascent ideas before my heads-of –department. I would be exposing myself to ridicule and appear weak before them

2.    Building consensus in  decision making: In my opinion, the higher you get as a manager the more decisions you have to make… But the tougher they are. when a manager really decides, not everyone will agree with the decision. Thus, “having everyone happy” and building consensus is important since their buy-in is need to implement the decision.

3.    Giving Feedback is Hard:  Part of a CEO’s job is to point out the behaviors that need to change; which, at least for me, is quite difficult. I remember a specific case: We had a very good conversation until I asked this person to change a behavior that I saw several times. The answer was pure denial, “But I always do it the way you suggest, I do not need to change”. Leading needs patience.

4.    CEO has nowhere to hide:  After several years leading I understood (yes, I am sometimes slow) that a lot of people are watching. A lot. That my agenda and my calendar must be transparent and coherent with my words. That if people are important for me, I have to spend time with people, and not hiding behind my PC. That my concerns are visible in my face, and people draw conclusions. That there will be rumors. And that most of the time they will against the cause I stand for.

CONCLUDING

Many suggest that a CEO needs a coach....to hasten the pace of learning; to crystallize the decision making process; to resolve decision dilemmas; to ensure direct and even blunt feedback  This really  summarizes the self-awareness and self-analytical approach to role improvement for a CEO

However will your CEO admit he needs a coach??? Why do CEO’s at the peak of their career and battle-hardened by experience and trial need a coach? Previous generations managed without them. Is coaching just another fad; which will eventually fade away? If a CEO openly admits he formally has a coach will he be considered inadequate and immature? Questions like this zoom in your mind! Having a coach is like having a soulmate. He is able to drive you at the difficult dilemmas all top level people face and have no one to talk to

The greatest quality great CEO’S must have...HUMILITY AFTER SUCCESS IS A UNKNOWN QUALITY... it happened to French emperor Napolean; the Shah of Iran  and the pages of history show umpteen cases of leaders who dug their own grave after success gave them a notion of infallibility

"I don't understand ..."

Similar to the pursuit of truth, good leaders also pursue understanding. Someone without good moral character might just pretend to understand as a way to move on. There's a curiosity to good leadership, and having character that says, "I want to understand the right answer ... always."

"That's a great idea ..."

Honest leaders won't ever steal an idea and make it their own. They recognize when someone on the team comes up with something worthwhile and gives due credit.

"I'm sorry ..."

Great leaders know how to apologize. It is part of their DNA. If they make a mistake, instead of pretending it's not a big deal or casting blame, they own up to the mistake

“I need to learn...”

Great CEO never stop learning by asking, listening and reading; they don’t feel embarrassed to ask their peers or suborindates for ideas; the don’t pretend to be know-alls or fake attention when other try to share new ideas. A powerful statement is “ I don’t know you tell me...”

With best  compliments

Dr Wilfred Monteiro