In this episode, Rob Sher talks about his history as a CEO and subsequent shift to consulting directly for other CEOs. He shares wisdom from his book Mighty Midsized Companies, and Jeff Hunt and Rob discuss two challenging “silent growth killers” as referenced in the book and why midsized companies are especially vulnerable to these if they are not addressed.
Midsized companies spend a lot of effort on external recruitment but often fail to recognize raw talent already within their company. Often times, they lack staff training departments and don’t devote the time and effort required to develop staff and plan challenging development programs to bring out their best.
While most talented employees inevitably find their way up the company ladder, many others get stuck in dead-end jobs and trapped in a comfort zone that does not help them get ahead. What can those with high potential do to ensure they are challenged, developed and ultimately successful in their careers?
When moving up from executing tasks to managing others, leaders find themselves one step away from “the action” and risk becoming detached. Unless they get regular, honest feedback from their followers about their abilities as managers, leaders can’t expect to become stronger leaders.
Do you know high-potential executives who just aren’t working their way up the corporate ladder? 360-degree reviews may be the solution.
When every decision, large or small, has to pass through the CEO, midsized companies develop an overwhelming bottleneck to growth. It takes a team of strong, focused and aligned leaders for companies to keep growing.
Midsized companies can’t be run like an old-world family with one all-powerful matriarch or patriarch. Growth requires an empowered c-suite who are actively growing the leadership capabilities of their teams.
Forcing up-and-coming leaders to sink or swim in the pool of real experience is a sure-fire method to drown some managers who have real potential. Investing in selected high-potential leaders is crucial. Read why this investment is so important and some steps you can take to upgrade your high-potential leaders.
Many CEOs of private midsize companies are reluctant to share financial details of their firms with the rest of the company. But read why sharing those numbers is crucial and one approach to opening the books that works well.
In 2011, Jeffrey Glazer was handed a rare opportunity: the chance to once again lead the company he had founded 26 years earlier. Like a parent whose wayward adult child moves back home, Glazer saw things he didn’t like.
Glazer decided he had to alter the culture fast, and he did so by rebuilding his senior leadership team, promoting talent inside the organization, putting his new team in charge of several dozen big accounts, and not expecting mindsets to change overnight.
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).