Lonely at the Top: For Private Equity Backed CEOs, It Can Be Even Lonelier
Written by: Samantha Allison and Taavo Godtfredsen
In our experience working with CEOs, we often hear, “it’s lonely at the top.” There is no denying that it is even lonelier today as executive teams work tirelessly to push their organization forward in the middle of a pandemic and a social equity crisis. It isn’t just the long hours filled with added responsibilities. It is the tidal wave of stress and the emotional toll that accompanies layoffs or furloughs and preparing the business to “weather” the crises. These actions are justified of course, and as one of our CEOs shared with us in the simplest of terms, “with no margin, there is no mission.”
For a private equity backed CEO, there is the added challenge of creating value in a compressed time frame. It all rests on your shoulders – or does it?
As we coach, advise, and facilitate CEO peer groups, the following are common themes that we have heard from our most successful CEOs and how they manage being at the top.
#1 Make Leadership a Shared Responsibility
The pressure and stakes are high, but it is a choice to lead alone. As CEO, you cannot micromanage your way out of a crisis – you must create a shared responsibility and be the great enabler of others. Lean on your leadership team’s expertise – that’s why they are on your team. The CEOs we are working with say they have never been more connected with their senior team and by extension, to the rest of the organization. They are aligned, communicating frequently, deciding effectively and even injecting timely humor and fun in the most difficult of times. The compassion, creativity and candor has been inspiring.
A perfect example of this approach is Alan Mulally, the former CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes and Ford Motor Company who was celebrated for successfully leading his respective organizations through 9/11 and the financial crisis of 2008. For Alan, “leadership is having a compelling vision, a comprehensive plan, relentless implementation, and talented people working together.”
#2 Make Your Board Work for You
A strong board provides guidance and advice to the companies they serve without taking over. Typically, there are one or two board members that you, as CEO, connect with more than others. Leverage these close relationships and you will be rewarded with sound advice and support. Soliciting opinions from board members and seeking alternate perspectives can bring value while building buy-in for the company direction and decisions. Remember, they know your business and if they have been in a CEO role previously, they know what you are going through.
This amplifies the need to have a board with skills and experience that you can leverage, not just a “name” that looks good on your website. For example, a board member made introductions to state governments to support their company’s pivot to COVID-19 applications for their product, opening opportunities that otherwise may have taken months to reach. Another CEO’s board member engaged with the leadership team as a sounding board to support crisis management efforts. This helped the team move faster and act with more confidence and speed.
#3 Get Back to the Future
In addition to protecting value, your board is expecting you to create value – quickly. It is important to ask yourself and your executive team, how much time are you spending in the present versus shaping the future? Your job is creating the vision for the future. Be careful not to over index on the present and lose sight of this in the day to day of crisis management.
As one of our CEOs summarized, “Looking ahead at reopening and being focused on what our ‘new normal’ might be has motivated our team and raised their spirits. We see a path forward.”
#4 Successful Athletes Have a Strong Coach … and Leaders Should, Too
While your board and team are vital inputs to your leadership approach, an outside coach or trusted advisor can provide additional support and enhance your efforts even further. A professional coach brings an objective perspective along with techniques that can get past your fears and help you move forward. Someone who is familiar with your strengths and shortcomings can help identify patterns of behavior that may be impacting your leadership approach. A good coach will “hold up the mirror” and help you see what is creating and limiting your success.
While conducting a 360-feedback process recently, an executive team member commented, “I’m so glad you’re getting feedback. This needs to be said, but none of us are in a position to say it.” A good coach will help you to adapt to the evolving needs of your business and your team. That can be hard to see for yourself, and your executive team may not be comfortable calling it out.
#5 Join or Create a CEO Peer Group
To shape the future, you should consistently spend time outside of your own organization to get insight. It is beneficial to share challenges and ideas with others and who better to collaborate with than other CEOs?
One of our private equity clients shared with us, “our CEOs are going to have PTSD after this crisis”. You cannot overlook your energy and well-being. You need to ensure that you are also taking care of yourself. As we have seen with our CEO groups, they are able to share the unvarnished story of how they are doing personally and challenges with their business – free of judgment and evaluation. As a result, peer CEOs are in a much better position to provide insight and support. In fact, our members are connecting now more than ever outside the confines of the group structure to get specific support in areas where another CEO has experience and/or expertise. There has never been a more important time to leverage your network or a CEO peer group. It goes beyond idea exchanging; other CEOs can refine your thinking and bring much needed objectivity.
Be proactive, join an existing group, create your own group, or leverage your own CEO network to gain much needed perspective and guidance. You do not have to go through this alone.
We invite you to share in the comments – what has been most beneficial to you as a leader during this time?
To learn more, go to https://advantageceo.com/.
