When Tim Cook took over from Steve Jobs as the head of Apple, the expectations were higher, as his predecessor was a legendary innovator and leadership guru. When Jeff Immelt took over from Jack Welch as the head of General Electric, the expectations were higher, as Jack Welch was rated as one of the best corporate leaders in the world. It is a Herculean task for new CEOs to step into the shoes of CEOs, especially when their predecessors were legends. The job of a CEO is a highly challenging one. The position of a CEO appears to be easy and rosy for spectators, but it is not a cakewalk for participants. Although it is not a complicated one, it is tough to survive and succeed as a CEO in this cutthroat, competitive world.
CEOs who can make a solid first impression and deliver are destined for huge success. It is a great opportunity for these new CEOs to use this time to project an image—formal versus informal, hands-on versus hands-off. Hence, they must be careful during the first 100 days in office. The concept of the first 100 days in office is widely used in the world of politics. It is also known as the honeymoon period in some parts of the world. It is the period of 'make-or-break' for new CEOs. These are crucial and critical days, whether you are a chief executive or a politician. New CEOs must take precautionary measures during this honeymoon period to achieve leadership effectiveness and ensure organizational excellence and effectiveness.
A study shows that the most pressing challenges for CEOs are strategic alignment and speed of execution. Hence, new CEOs must address these issues earnestly during the first 100 days in office. If CEOs prove well initially, they succeed; otherwise, they fail miserably ultimately. All stakeholders refrain from criticism during this honeymoon period, as this is the grace time given for new CEOs to get adjusted and work at their own pace. The media will also refrain from criticism, but it observes everything under its microscope. Hence, the new CEOs must be careful to make use of this time wisely to connect with all stakeholders and create a great impression to survive and succeed in the corporate world.
Problems And Prospects For Insider And Outsider CEOs
Outsider CEOs encounter vastly different kinds of challenges vis-à-vis insider CEOs. Whether you are elevated internally as a CEO or hired externally as a CEO, you must take a series of action steps to achieve great success. If you are hired internally, you will have both merits and demerits. The merits include that you bring in your experience, your hands-on knowledge of the organization, and your already existing understanding of the pulse of the people and the organization. The demerits include a lack of experience as a CEO, and you have to get out of the perceptions of all stakeholders, which are challenging tasks. If you are hired as CEO externally, it takes time for you to understand the organization's climate and culture and get tuned to it, while the merit is that you are free from perceptions as people look at you on a clean slate.
A Blueprint For New CEOs
Do you want to do as the crowd does and struggle for a slice of life, or to bake your own pie and live on your own terms? If you want to bake your own pie and lead on your own terms as CEO, here is a blueprint for you:
The new CEOs must clearly focus on key areas aggressively. The crux of the issue here is how to spot the areas that need to be focused on. Hence, they must find out the key and core areas that need attention and energy and focus on them aggressively.
As a new CEO, you are always under the scanner of all stakeholders. Make sure that the first few days as CEO are highly organized and focused to create an everlasting impression as a successful CEO and leader.
The new CEOs must take lots of precautions to have clear-cut strategies and link them effectively with solid execution. At the same time, be cautious to present and project yourself professionally as a leader by blending your intelligence, trustworthiness, humaneness, courage, and discipline proportionately and judiciously. Also, blend your technical, business, and social acumen.
For a new CEO who undertakes this challenging role, there are certain dos and don’ts to stand out from others. Here is a template containing action steps new CEOs must follow to create a positive impact in the minds of all stakeholders:
Understand various aspects of the company, including its vision and mission.
Meet all stakeholders to find out their expectations and aspirations. If you are an outsider CEO, you must travel widely to connect with them. Get the big picture right.
Speak less and listen more to list out three major changes you would like to bring out to improve the company's bottom line.
Be transparent to build trust among all stakeholders.
Don’t follow the strategies of your predecessor, as what worked for him/her might not work for you.
Conduct an organizational assessment after taking inputs from all sources. Create a CEO template within your mind that must be flexible to execute.
Craft your own vision and use diversified communication vehicles, including email, memos, videoconferences, and face-to-face meetings, to articulate it effectively.
Identify the priority areas to improve the company's bottom line. Create an action plan, dividing them into short-term and long-term goals.
Create a winning formula based on your recreated vision.
Be a team leader. Build a strong team, capitalizing on their strengths and engaging team members effectively.
Make sure that the employees are rightly placed in their roles and responsibilities to leverage their strengths. At times, good employees are wrongly placed in the organization. Spot and place them properly.
Integrate the informal and formal elements of the organization.
Align people, plans, and practices with organizational goals and objectives.
Encourage innovative ideas among employees.
Provide input to your employees regularly, guide them, and inspire them.
Anticipate both internal and external threats and create contingency plans accordingly to counter them effectively.
Reorganize business lines to enhance operational excellence.
Accelerate the pace, but don’t be in a hurry to cut costs quickly, as you will not be able to know where the real problems may lie.
Be flexible and customize your leadership style as per the company’s vision and mission and the people around you.
Seek early wins and build momentum.
Analyze how you like to be remembered ultimately. Do you want to be remembered as a soft or hard, flexible, or situational CEO, or a CEO with a blend of both task and people orientation? And create your own CEO brand accordingly to stand out from others.
Whether you become a new CEO of a company or a leader of an industry or political party, you must follow these steps meticulously to achieve your goals and objectives. Manage internal organizational dynamics and external environmental threats effectively. Take your feedback regularly to bring about behavioral changes within yourself. Learn lessons from your own experience and from the experience of others to enhance your leadership effectiveness and soar like an eagle.
A good CEO must be a judicious blend of strategy and execution, as well as a proportional blend of business, technical, and social acumen. Hence, the new chief executives must proportionally mix all these qualities; meet all stakeholders; listen to them; create a corporate culture connecting them on one common thread; build effective teams; craft their vision; articulate it effectively during the first 100 days in their office to achieve everlasting success in the corporate world.
Reference
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