Who Supports the CEO?

The CEO is responsible for a great deal more than the performance of the business.

Of course, there are financial results to deliver, strategic decisions to make, customers to serve, Boards to satisfy and stakeholders to consider.

But there are also people.

Depending on the size of the organization, there may be hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands of people whose working lives are directly or indirectly influenced by the decisions, behaviour and judgment of the CEO.

The CEO sets the tone for the organization. Their behaviour signals what matters, what is acceptable and what gets rewarded. Their decisions influence not only the future of the business but also the opportunities, livelihoods and experiences of the people who work within it.

That's an enormous responsibility.

And it's one reason I believe that every CEO should have people in their life who help them become a better leader.

Experience doesn't eliminate blind spots

By the time someone reaches the CEO role, they've typically accumulated considerable experience. They've navigated difficult situations, made consequential decisions, led teams and demonstrated their ability to deliver results.

But experience has its limitations.

The very experiences that have shaped a successful leader's judgment can also reinforce assumptions, preferences and habitual ways of seeing the world - their perceptions, as I’ve described here in past posts.

And as leaders become more senior, the opportunities for candid feedback often diminish. People become more careful about what they say. They may hesitate to challenge the CEO's thinking or raise concerns that might be unpopular.

Even a CEO who genuinely invites disagreement may not always hear what they need to hear.

The result is something of a paradox. The greater a leader's influence, the more consequential their blind spots become, and the less likely someone may be to point them out.

The CEO needs people who aren't dependent on the CEO

A strong executive team is essential. So is a constructive relationship with the Board.

But neither entirely solves the problem.

The executive team reports to the CEO. Board members have governance responsibilities. Both relationships involve expectations, accountabilities and interests that inevitably shape the conversations. They are, as we coaches like to say, “attached to the outcome.” They are not objective.

They also represent audiences and relationships that must be navigated with care. Which means there are things a CEO may need to explore before they're ready to discuss them with either group.

These aren't necessarily problems requiring solutions. Sometimes they're questions that need to be examined, assumptions that need to be challenged or situations that need to be understood differently.

And for that, the CEO benefits from relationships outside the organization's reporting and governance structures.

Different kinds of support serve different purposes

There's no single model for what that support should look like.

Peer communities such as YPO can offer CEOs the opportunity to learn from others who understand the demands of the role. There's tremendous value in discovering that other capable, successful leaders wrestle with similar questions, and in hearing how they've approached them.

Mentors can provide perspective informed by experience. Someone who has navigated comparable challenges may recognize patterns, offer useful cautions or share lessons that would otherwise take years to acquire.

Trusted professional advisors can contribute expertise in areas where the CEO needs informed guidance.

And an executive coach serves a different purpose.

A good executive coach isn't there to tell the CEO what to do or provide a ready-made answer. Far from it, in fact. The coach helps the CEO examine how they're thinking, what they may be overlooking, where their assumptions are limiting their choices and how their leadership is affecting the people around them.

None of these groups or relationships are exclusive of one another. Quite the opposite. They can all play a valuable role, used for the right reasons at the right times.

What matters is that the CEO has access to people who can offer perspective without needing to agree, impress, protect or please.

Leadership development is ongoing

Organizations invest substantial resources in developing leaders who might one day become executives.

But what happens once they arrive?

There's a tendency to treat the CEO appointment as evidence that the development work has been completed. That the individual has demonstrated the necessary capability and judgment. That they’ve made it.

Yet the CEO role involves new demands, new complexities and new consequences.

The need for learning doesn't diminish with seniority. If anything, the stakes increase.

And the CEO's development isn't exclusively a personal matter.

When a CEO becomes more thoughtful, more perceptive, more willing to question their assumptions or more capable of navigating difficult relationships, those improvements can influence the entire organization.

The benefits extend well beyond the individual.

Support is part of the responsibility

I don't believe every CEO needs the same kind of support, or even the same support throughout their tenure.

What serves a newly appointed CEO may be different from what serves someone leading a major transformation, navigating a crisis or preparing for succession.

But I do believe that every CEO should take responsibility for ensuring they have people who will challenge their thinking, broaden their perspective and help them continue to grow.

Because the people who depend on their leadership deserve a CEO who is continuing to learn, and who is committed to always doing better.