If there is a strategic executive to drive the company’s growth, it is certainly the CEO. The reputation of their responsibility in corporate operations is fully justified, after all, it is the CEO who makes difficult decisions and defines the strategies and governance that will be followed based on the set goals. A heavy chair, but also one that often gives them a certain superhero syndrome when acting alone in their work – something that can be quite detrimental to their deliverables.
C-Suite’s major moves represent 45% of a company’s performance, according to McKinsey data. However, at the same time, it is an extremely demanding and stressful job, in which 68% of them do not consider themselves prepared to take on the position; and only three in every five prove up to performance expectations in the first 18 months.
It is not easy to take on such responsibility in a business. Just consider how many external factors influence – in greater or lesser degree – corporate prosperity: global trade reconfiguration; geopolitics; constant advances in digital transformation, sustainable demands, leadership in times of uncertainties, and increased concern for the mental health of teams, as an example.
All these agendas constantly visit the work of CEOs, with a very small and acceptable margin of error within organizations. After all, all of their decision-making is designed for short and long-term, establishing robust governance and culture that structure continuous and prosperous growth of the company in its segment.
With great power comes great responsibility. But how often can you see this executive seeking support from another colleague for a specific task? Who is their support network? Who can they truly count on to stand by their side?
No matter how prepared this executive is, no one deals with so many responsibilities alone. He needs to have a support network ecosystem, analyze the scenario he is in, and whether he has a team ready to help him in these demands, if he is with the right people to walk this path alongside him. If not, he will have to take difficult actions in this regard, either by changing teams or hiring new talents.
In order to mitigate any possibility of risks in his attributions, a CEO should not have a superhero syndrome and act alone, but reflect deeply on which competencies he lacks and where to look for professionals who add their knowledge and experiences to help him on this journey. It is these relationships of trust that oxygenate and encourage us, each other, to grow and prosper continuously.
Question the top leadership about this need and analyze your legacy as a CEO where you are. Where do you want to go? What actions will you need to take to reach these goals? Hiring new talents, creating different areas, intensifying a specific culture to promote better team performance? And what technical and behavioral skills do you need to strengthen in professionals by your side to build this journey with greater assertiveness?
The corporate ecosystem must survive beyond this single ID number, reinforcing the business environment in terms of culture to sustain it in future challenges. As much as the CEO sets an example in terms of behavior for others, greater communication and unity are needed in the efforts that will be directed, so that collective gain is increasingly better and surprising to drive the business as a reference in its segment.
