Fundamental self-belief and being comfortable with not knowing are key to succeeding as a first time CEO, says David Roche
In a 2022 Deloitte survey of employees and executives in the US, UK, Canada and Australia, 41% of executives reported “often” or “always” feeling stressed and 40% felt overwhelmed (https://bit.ly/4dwZu63).
Too often we expect executives to have the answers to every problem and this expectation can be crippling, especially for new CEOs who we assume come pre-loaded with all the necessary experience and skills required for the job. However, despite the lofty assumptions of others, seven out of ten leaders are said to suffer doubts about their experience or skills being adequate.
Given that according to the Harvard Business Review (https://bit.ly/3XaqrXD), two out of five CEOs fail within their first 18 months, why are they not getting the support that they need?
In this article, I discuss how coaching can support first-time CEOs, including to boost their confidence effectively by building proactive relationships and taking off the restricting mask that they have been wearing as a form of self-defence.
New CEOs might feel equipped for the practicalities, but often they’re unprepared for the psychological and emotional intricacies and impacts associated with the role. Trying to cope single-handedly can quickly isolate first-time CEOs and cause stress levels to rise even further. This is where the guidance of independent, professional coaches and mentors becomes invaluable in keeping a calm head.
Whether your client is a first-time CEO, an experienced leader or aspiring to become one, having a sounding board to help them think things through is crucial. A coach or mentor can provide a safe and independent space to voice stresses, challenges and concerns separate from their workplace and free from judgement.
New CEOs can struggle to see the best route forward, however, a coach/mentor can help shift the mindset and mentoring can help surface practical answers, especially if that mentor is someone with former business experience.
Often, when mentors introduce a real example from their pasts, it can unlock a parallel problem the current client is wrestling with – not with exactly the same answer, but often with a lightbulb moment that helps them see their issue differently. The power of this can be extraordinary. When a new CEO’s problems seem insurmountable, the answer can seem miraculous.
Break down the unnecessary suit of armour
First-time CEOs typically boast an impressive career trajectory and often seem destined for the leading role, giving the impression that everything comes naturally to them.
However, the reality is that these new CEOs often find themselves far outside their comfort – and possibly their capability – zone and in unfamiliar territory, facing a position of responsibility that they have not experienced before to this degree.
As a consequence, some choose to wear the armour of a supremely confident image despite what’s going on underneath. However, by never acknowledging any weaknesses or stress, leaders are creating an unhealthy workplace culture where others won’t feel comfortable speaking up about their challenges either.
Similarly, if CEOs give off the vibe that they work best alone, this also rubs off on others and by rejecting offers of help, these individuals will leave you to it, increasing stress levels.
Fatal flaw
Believing the CEO needs to have all the answers.
Make it work
Encourage these ‘soloist’ individuals to think more collaboratively. As coaches, we need to help CEOs instead to be able to ask the best questions, and learn to embrace openness in seeking answers, acknowledging when they’re unsure. This will help them mitigate long-term stress and involve their teams. We should support them to lean on the skills of others by asking key questions and listening intently to their expertise and experience.
Help the CEO realise that admitting they need the support of others should be viewed as a genuine strength. Help them be a proactive role model. Coaches and mentors can also encourage this.
Managing stress is a fundamental skill of the most successful first-time CEOs as it empowers them to grow and thrive in their new role.
Start the transition early
CEOs having confidence in themselves is important, but instilling confidence in their abilities in the eyes of their boss is also critical. Individuals don’t need to be given a title or position to demonstrate their leadership abilities. When they’re being interviewed for their first CEO position, everyone on the shortlist is likely to be capable of carrying out the role to a reasonable extent. The question is less, ‘Can they do it?’ and more, ‘Can they be trusted to do it?’ There’s plenty that future CEOs can do in advance to build evidence for the latter.
Fatal flaw
Waiting to be given permission to ‘drive’.
There’s no guarantee that an individual will be told what to do or what is expected of them. Help your client realise they shouldn’t wait to be given the keys to show they can drive.
Make it work
What a boss wants to see is the rising stars stepping up – and into – more senior roles as part of their development, rather than as a result of formal promotion. Demonstration of capability that they can do the job may help clinch it – and that’s more difficult to see at the time than it sounds.
Specialists feel they lack the general management skills to run a company – many scientific industries have traditionally promoted their most able technicians into senior executive roles without providing the necessary management training. General managers feel they lack the specialist skills needed in a particular industry, but that’s not really a problem.
Being a generalist is a specialist skill in itself. Help your client be curious about what other departments do and how the whole jigsaw fits together.
Fatal flaw
Not nurturing relationships.
Make it work
Be proactive in cultivating relationships.
In my book, Become a Successful First-Time CEO, I identify the CEO winner’s circle (Figure 1) which outlines the essential relationships that first-time CEOs should establish, both internally and externally in the company. Recognising that the common denominator in every relationship is your client, this is where they should place initial focus.
Figure 1: The CEO’s winners circle
Relationships often are marred by the people in it not speaking the same language – too infrequent meetings, too little detail, not enough context. The coach and mentor can be the adaptor that helps the new CEO understand what’s required in a particular relationship and how best to manage it.
Key relationships also include those outside the company as well as within, and the CEO’s reputation and standing is important for the company’s own status and in attracting the best talent to work for them.
Conclusion
McKinsey (2023) estimates that $1 trillion of market value is lost from the Standard & Poor’s top 1500 companies in the US every year as a result of poorly managed CEO and C-Suite transitions. Induction and transition are two different things. Why wouldn’t everyone do their utmost to ensure that the person filling the most important position in the company is given the optimum support to succeed in the role? No wonder it’s lonely at the top.
Coaching is essential rather than a ‘nice to have’, while mentoring provides a shortcut to best practice and avoiding mistakes. CEOs are busy people. When done well, coaching and mentoring is an immensely powerful combination.
I believe passionately that professional, independent coaching and mentoring should be compulsory for every first-time CEO. It’s a relatively minor investment but with a major, long-term payback, both commercially and personally. In turn, this will also develop the next generation of leaders that the world needs so much.
About the author
- David Roche is a professional executive coach and mentor at Grey Area Coaching, and works with first-time CEOs across many sectors. He also works as a consultant with startups entering the book industry and lectures at NFTS. Roche was previously CEO of Borders & Books, product director of both Waterstones and HMV, and group sales and marketing director of HarperCollins Publishing.
Passionately empowering the first-time CEO in his book Become a Successful First-Time CEO (Rethink Press, 2024), David has distilled decades of hands-on business leadership and coaching expertise into an accessible and strategic guide for those looking to thrive in the C-Suite.
Reference
McKinsey & Company (July, 2023). Sending it forward: successfully transitioning out of the CEO role: https://bit.ly/4cvgLv7