Why the real purpose of a CEO is helping others grow
Many people have their own definition of what a CEO’s main role should be, but experience shows that time and time again, the primary objective of a CEO should be to look after their people in order to fulfil the purpose and the goals of the company. Within the scope of profitability and business success, people are the central pillar on which everything rests. Only by investing in others, creating opportunities, caring for their mental health and facilitating everyone on different stages of the same path does a CEO find their real purpose.
Chief Servant Officer
Before becoming a CEO, many people can make the mistake that ‘being the boss’ would mean they would make decisions and nobody would question them. This quickly becomes obviously and painfully wrong as everyone questions your every decision, from the employees to the Board. You learn that your job is to serve the company and its people, to be like its servant. As the Chief Servant Officer , the expectation is that you will shepherd the company in the right direction, taking everyone with you in the process .
As a CEO or in any other executive role, you must have broad shoulders and a willingness to listen, collaborate and direct at the same time. On many occasions, what people need is your acquiescence. You are the boss, so agreeing with their thinking is more important than anything else. It will empower them to continue working in that direction. If you don’t agree with their ideas, you need to be a master persuader and show them a different, more suitable way. Being good at communicating, persuading and bringing people along is essential.
You need to listen much more than you ever thought you might. What your employees want is for you to know that they are also good at what they do. They need you to listen to and validate their thinking.
The Great Reassessment
We are currently living in the midst of an economic era being referred to as ‘The Great Resignation’, or what I prefer to call ‘The Great Reassessment’. In a post-Covid world, employees the world over are feeling disconnected to their companies and are reassessing their careers and their motivations. When companies worldwide had to furlough and lay off millions of workers, it was a true moment of clarity. It empowered us to think about what we wanted in life.
The largest recent impact to change in corporate culture was the move to working from home (WFH). Intermittent lockdowns, combined with increasing travel times and costs, made it easier to introduce the concept of hybrid working. Employees are demanding a changing work environment better suited to their lives. The pendulum has shifted.
As we create the workplace of tomorrow, we need to redefine its basic premises. With remote working, we need new rules as employees will no longer rely on a physical location for all their needs. Homeworking must include office equipment that the corporation needs to provide and pay for: high-speed internet, adequate office essentials, software and training. Productivity needs to be redefined with new KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) that better reflect that people are no longer 100% in an office environment. Meetings need to be hybrid: both physical and remote at the same time. Technology needs to adapt to this. Asynchronous working will become the norm and remote leadership needs to evolve as managers need to learn new skills to motivate, manage and develop their hybrid workforce.
During the two years of Covid-19 we have gone through an imposed revolution, a total disruption of existing processes and structures, and because this disruption is considered a positive one by most people, it’s here to stay. We have accelerated the way we work and live by at least twenty years. The trend towards flexibility of hours, flexibility of location and collaborative decision-making has now become part of the expectation rulebook of all employees, meaning leaders need to adapt accordingly.
Diversity & inclusion
As a CEO, you have the responsibility to represent and be an advocate for everyone in all parts of your organisation. Diverse teams make better companies, as they care for each other and the impact of the company on society and the environment. Diverse companies reflect society as it really is.
You have a responsibility for policy-making and how you set the tone of the company. Besides doing this internally, I recommend you also do this externally. You have a voice: speak up. I recommend transparency and advocacy.
The work ethos of a company should incorporate the values that the new generations are looking for. Diversity, equity and inclusion are fundamental for them to express themselves as individuals. They want to see themselves reflected in the company they work for and also need to know that they can be accepted and celebrated as they are.
As a passionate leader, you must use your powers of influence and your position to help others, and what better way than by making your company a better, more inclusive organisation where everyone feels they have a home to express themselves as they are? What’s the point of becoming a leader if you don’t use that leadership to influence and make the world a better place, one person at a time?
Social impact
Corporations have always had origin stories. Brands have always had heritage; but the idea of social impact is larger than a company itself: it means a company must consider how it fits into the rest of the world and what it gives back to society. The eighties paradigm of ‘bottom line’ has been replaced by the ‘triple bottom line’: people, profits and the planet. It is no longer just about measuring business
profit, but also positive social impact. This means that change begins in the boardroom and CEOs have a larger responsibility than ever before.
Given both the new consumer landscape and the information economy, we need to see businesses as a force for good – especially as a number of corporations have more sway and power than most governments in this world do.
Leaders who set examples with their own behaviour encourage good corporate governance and can pass on their ideas and beliefs not just to their own organisation, but to the larger economy in meaningful, impactful ways.
Passionate leadership
Ultimately, you can have natural abilities to become a leader, but you need so much more than natural predisposition. You must want to be a leader and be prepared to learn and grow every day. Motivating and inspiring others does not come easily to anyone.
If you want to help others reach their full potential you must believe in yourself. You need to leave procrastination at the door and be curious and eager to learn constantly from everybody, everything, everywhere. It’s important to be an evangelist of the company and its mission, as well as ensuring your company reflects society in all its diversity.
Passion is the key. You should aspire to infect other people with your vision and your passion, bringing the best out of people and sharing in a journey where everyone will learn their measure. We are all at different stages in our careers and our lives, but great leaders inspire others to do better, to be better.
Conclusion
Many people regard the role of CEO as one of grandeur or little real work. But, the reality is far from it. It can be lonely at the top, and you will always be worrying about other people more than they will worry about you. However you will progress as an individual, help others grow and fight for the wellbeing, mission and the future of the company and its employees. It’s a challenge worth rising to. Are you ready?
