Some expert advice contributed to economic 'meltdown'
The crescendo of advice to CEOs continues to ratchet up. To quote just a few headlines:
• “CEOs must overcome denial,” Harvard advice not to overlook competition.
• “Every CEO must be chief listening officer,” Forbes.
• “Help your CEO pull his head out,” BNET (Harvard again).
Then there’s the new Patrick Lencioni book, Getting Naked, which is about how CEOs and other senior executives should show vulnerability, admit limitations and seek input.
Everyone wants, and apparently feels qualified, to tell CEOs how to run things — or rather how not to run things. I have to admit to having done the same in my last blog on Canadian HR Reporter — encouraging CEOs to listen, step back from giving orders and encourage people to put forward their ideas to test. Somewhere along the line we’ve concluded CEOs have messed up big time. Wonder how we got that idea?
At the same time, CEOs shouldn’t have to shoulder all the blame for the fading, but still damaging, meltdown. There were plenty of experts they listened to and things they tried that they didn’t personally invent.
So listening is great, but to whom? Everyone, of course, thinks “me.” That is, in fact, part of a real CEO job. Board members have ideas, shareholders have ideas and staff have ideas. Someone is stuck with the unenviable job of deciding what to try first, second and third — with the certainty that, whatever the order, those whose ideas didn’t get tested first time out are going to point out exactly what’s wrong with what the CEO chose to do.
No one could blame CEOs for longing for the old days when they just told people what to do. Actually those aren’t the old days. CEOs are chosen for their ability to do exactly what they think is right no matter who tells them. They’re not shrinking violets.
Fine, but then they definitely have a responsibility to weigh and compare suggestions to find a reasonable path forward that is innovative, but less risky than other options. Whichever side they err on — too innovative/too risky or too mundane/low return — they can be certain they will be criticized.
Instead of turning over CEOs an average of every 2.5 years, perhaps we need to devise a better approach so they can build experience and contribute more just as we want all these other stakeholders to — with common sense, rational thinking and care — rather than rattling their cages every three months about the public shareholder report if it isn’t “up, up, up.”
Given time to breathe and think, it seems likely even CEOs could come up with some good advice for organizations. As it is, we’re hammering them with so much, it’s no wonder they aren’t listening as much as we’d like.
Dave Crisp is a Toronto-based consultant with a wealth of experience, including 14 years leading HR at Hudson Bay Co. where he took the 70,000-employee retailer to “best company to work for” status. For more information, visit www.crispstrategies.com.
