Five Temptations of a CEO – II : The Second Temptation

Too much of travel and arrival of a new born....my sister had a baby boy after some complications in the first week of June (whose pics are there on my facebook)....resulted in a too long a break from my blog !! I had been penning my thoughts on scraps of paper....was unable to put them in context on the blog. Though pace in life has picked up, I can’t use it as an excuse to not do what I enjoy doing....write ! I really appreciate the comments that were posted encouraging me to write. Thank you.

That brings us to the 2nd Temptation of CEO

Even CEOs who resist the temptation to overfocus on protecting their status, resist taking hard decisions and not holding the people who report to them directly accountable for delivering on the commitments that drive results. This happens because they succumb to a different temptation : The desire to be popular.

Self Analysis

Some questions that will help identify your susceptibility to this temptation ‘Choosing popularity over accountability’ Et tu Brutus !!

1. Do you consider yourself to be a close friend of your direct reports ?
2. Does it bother you to a point of distraction if they are unhappy with you ?
3. Do you find yourself reluctant to give negative feedback to your direct reports ? Do you ‘sugar coat the pill’ when giving a negative feedback ?
4. Do you often vent to them about issues in the organisation ? Or while expressing some issues - Do you refer to your staff as ‘We’ and the other employees as ‘They’ ?

Wanting to be liked by peers is understandable but a serious problem. It stems from the fact that the direct reports are usually of the same age or more. As they also spend considerable time together, they develop a sense a camaraderie. As a result, some of the direct reports may also end up being the ‘sounding boards’ of the CEO.

Empirical evidence of this phenomenon is that CEOs conduct performance reviews for their direct reports far less diligently than do managers at other levels. It‘s not because they are too busy or lazy, but because they do not want to deal with the prospect of upsetting one of the peers.

All Executives need people they can vent to about the challenges they face in their organisation but should try to avoid any sense of favouritism that may be perceived when accountability is being discussed. Even a slightest hint of favouritism or unfairness can cause an avalanche of negative reactions from other. This usually manifests itself in staff meetings in comments such as, “When will these people stop questioning us and start understanding what we are doing ?”

Ironically, the very same CEOs will not hesitate to ultimately fire a direct report when his / her performance level becomes too costly, thereby severing the relationship completely. But they fail to provide constructive or negative feedback along the way. CEO should not forget that he is the manager of the team and should tell them in clear terms what he expects and remind them of the expectations and the consequences, financial or otherwise, constantly.

Simple Advice for the CEOs

Work for long-term respect of your direct reports, not for their affection. Don’t view them as a ‘support group’, but as key employees who must deliver on their commitments for the company to produce predictable results. Last but not the least, your people aren’t going to like you anyways if they ultimately fail !!