‘I didn’t realize how important it was to prepare for
the top’
When Jeremy concluded the board meeting an hour later than
scheduled he felt exhausted. There just seemed to be low energy in the
executive team, and much cynical laughter. Why, he wondered, did the
team tease David about his passion for fitness? David at least had run
the Marathon in April and raised £5,000 for the blind dog association.
As he drove home he realized what a strain he had been under since
moving into his new role four months previously: CEO of a major
food retailer. He had wanted to run a business for years, and had
come through the classic route of operations, marketing and strategy.
Moving into the CEO role should have been easy. Why then was
business slowing and growth in revenues dropping from 9 per cent
to 4 per cent? He felt that he was under the microscope and
constantly visible.
He realized, like many other managers – some 45 per cent, according
to the survey quoted above
2
– that he hadn’t really prepared himself
for the role. Respondents to the survey who weren’t prepared for
their new role missed their old role more and were more likely to
regret the move than those who had taken the time to understand
the structures, culture and values in an organization. Like Jeremy,
they missed old friendships and emotional support. It was hard not
having those informal chats with his old team, and sharing some of
the dramas of the day. Executives in the boardroom seemed so much
more distant and unfriendly.
Previously, as head of operations he’d had real clarity about what he
was there to do. It was logistics and pricing, staffing and margins,
and he had been really good at it. He’d struggled to find a strong
person to replace him, perhaps the one thing he’d not been good at
was finding a successor. No wonder the transition had been so
It was hard not having those informal chats with his old
team, and sharing some of the dramas of the day.
difficult. He was still doing the operations job as well, as his
replacement had only been in the job six weeks. The guy was going
to take at least another two months until he got the hang of it.
Like 47 per cent of the respondents in the survey, Jeremy continued
to work in a way that had served him well in the past. He often
found himself thinking ‘when I was head of ops . . .’ Perhaps that
was why one of the non-executive directors had pulled him aside
over coffee and said, ‘Jeremy, you need to begin to shine as the leader
of this group. You’re not just in charge of operations any more.’
By the time he reached home Jeremy, like many of the respondents to
the survey (75 per cent) reflected that he felt only moderately satisfied
with his achievements. His relationship with the chairman had got off
to a very good start, but now appeared to be a bit rocky, and slower
growth was certainly a worry. Perhaps he was not as clear as he should
be about his role and goals. His predecessor had only been focused on
cost-cutting and hadn’t really paid much attention to succession
planning or growth. Now there was nothing left to cut. Perhaps he had
to start to think about changing ways rather than just cutting.
He arrived home, and tried to unwind as he showered, changed and
began to relax. Some things were becoming a little clearer as he
focused on nature of the daily challenges that confronted him, and
the manner in which they differed from those he encountered as
head of operations. His problems seemed to be about relationships
and people skills – not something anyone had warned him of before
his ascension to CEO. As head of operations there were more tasks
and a more clearly defined role. Now his role was more like that of a
politician; persuading, building constituencies and relating to people.
No wonder he had found it tempting to slip back into a more task-
focused role; perhaps the lack of experience of his replacement was
just a cover for his tendency to interfere?
He began to realize what new skills and behaviours he needed in
the job. He had to manage his relationship with the chairman and
non-executive directors, and this was new to him. He was also
required to meet with investors and journalists; another new role.
momentum complete leadership chapter one
9
pages 8 /
Above all, he had to develop a strong top team. It was time now to
think about new ways of behaving. The question was how to do it all.
After months of struggle, however, fortune was about to take a kinder
turn. He was in his office early the next morning. First visitor was his
human resources director, a friendly, able individual whom Jeremy
had not generally credited with prophetic powers, but who chose that
very morning to suggest that he and the team explore the potential of
coaching. The HR director’s idea was that the top executives needed
development to enable them to guide the transition of the business
from its cost-focused phase to a more expansionist, outward-looking
strategy. Like many executives (51 per cent in the survey reported
above), Jeremy had never worked with a coach; in fact, the thought
had never seriously entered his mind.
The answer he had been struggling for was a little closer. Initially,
however, Jeremy felt deflated at the prospect; almost like a failure.
After a few months struggling with the senior post, seeing revenues
down, here was the HR guy suggesting an intervention that sounded
almost like remedial training. He recalled also that in his last
company his boss had had a coach and was fired four months later.
He had a vaguely defined but powerful mental association between
coaching and failure.
But he was also curious; recognizing that he had no idea really about
what coaching was about. In the discussion with the HR director he
realized that he needed to spend time reflecting on his new role; and,
of course, just the evening before he had reached the conclusion that
his political and interpersonal skills needed sharpening; if coaching
did not help directly with that, it might at least inform his
developmental needs more specifically.
He acknowledged, like many others who move into new senior roles,
that he should have taken time to stand back and understand the
He acknowledged that he should have taken time to
stand back and understand the dynamics in the
boardroom.
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