Not holding teams accountable can stall strategic initiatives, produce backstabbing and even sabotage, and lead to the exit of talented and motivated executives. Here’s how you can introduce accountability in the workplace.
New businesses that tap into large and severely under-met needs are destined to grow rapidly. But if the founders starve the company of capital, their conservativism eventually will kill growth. Even more important, it will burn out the founders.
Indecisive CEOs of midsized businesses squelch the decision-making latitude of their leadership teams, who in turn go back to their “wait for the CEO to decide” mode — a sure growth killer.
IT “dashboards” can be highly seductive to CEOs, but they can’t replace good old-fashioned management techniques.
Too many CEOs try so hard to avoid the old-style command and control, “Donald Trump” style of management that they just aren’t tough enough on poor performance. Last week IBM’s CEO publicly criticized her sales function, and I think she was right to do it.
There are thousands of Lance Armstrong-like people working in companies today. People who have a win at any cost approach, who poison teams, destroy a company’s sustainability and ultimately harm the company’s mission.
Is there a Lance Armstrong on your management team?
Far from the popular demonizing of CEOs as arrogant and greedy, too many mid-market CEOs actually think too little of themselves. They do not require their executive teams, business partners and boards to treat them with respect.
Being a loyal CEO can be deadly. But isn’t loyalty good? Admirable? Yes, but not always. Not when the CEO is loyal to people who aren’t loyal to the company.
What a waste when bright, competent senior leaders who report to the CEO hang back, and fail to lead their company assertively. When they tiptoe around the CEO and wait for permission to take charge.
Last week I ranted a bit about how CEOs shouldn’t listen to the “time-wasting” bad rap that meetings have, but instead should make their meetings powerful, where they leverage the collective wisdom and experience of their top teams. This week I’m enumerating specific techniques to make meetings produce real results.
Robert Sher is founding principal of CEO to CEO, a consulting firm of former chief executives that improves the leadership infrastructure of midsized companies seeking to accelerate their performance. He was chief executive of Bentley Publishing Group from 1984 to 2006 and steered the firm to become a leading player in its industry (decorative art publishing).