Foundations matter.
Good foundations allow building and advancement. Poor foundations are shaky, movable and unstable.
This applies to how you’ve set yourself up as a CEO. Your foundation will largely determine your efficacy as a CEO and there are some clear best practices that will guide you on this particular topic.
Below are the 5 core elements that I believe make for a great CEO platform – or infrastructure.:
1. A CEO strategy
- A personalised game plan (for you, not for the business)
2. A slick exco
- Your smartest people who give you coverage and leverage across your business
3. An organisational game plan
- A strategy or a vision that is well interrogated and names the forward movement of the business
4. An outlet for your personal and professional growth
- A coach, a mentor, a board of advisors that is easily activated
5. A business performance gauge or dashboard
- Allowing you to monitor your business’ overall performance in a snapshot kind of way
These are dense, high-impact assets as a CEO and, together, they will make a marked difference to the quality of your CEOship.
Q: What’s the quality of your infrastructure?
Q: What does your answer suggest about your approach to your CEOship?
Q: Which of the 5 elements is most negatively impairing you at the moment? (if any)
Q: What is the first move to make to activate your remedy for the above?
Long-term, the most important question is the second. If you are locked inside a concept of what being a CEO is that doesn’t work for you, you’ll likely repeat that pattern going forward. So taking a step forward in your infrastructure will likely catalyse a broader, more powerful approach to your business leadership.
We all form theories and approaches – consciously or unconsciously – that need refining and this might be the opportunity to change a pattern or two.
The pitfall here is turning the page on this provocation and continuing forward with what I call ‘the grind’ of CEOship. It can easily be that way.
But one small move toward a new and better approach will pay big dividends – that’s the nature of being a CEO: small moves equal big results.
If your gut feel is that your infrastructure needs attention, make a move.
