Leadership Development
Few people understand the demands on a leader in the "unusual" and unique circumstances of 2023. Plus, the relentless daily decisions and challenges and the level and frequency of things going wrong that shouldn't.
The sheer intensity and the demands on your time. People!
You have to get so much right. There's no time for rehearsals.
You have to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow, but you also have to predict where the puck will be next year and the year after and work towards that. And you need to be right.
All eyes are on YOU. You are the Leader.
The Unusual Challenges of Being a Leader in 2023.
Few people understand the demands on a leader. Nobody who isn't there now has experienced the intensity of being a leader in 2023 and the period since COVID struck. COVID, the challenges of leading remotely and working from home (WFH), the new global mobility and awareness of opportunities open to top talent, geopolitical uncertainty, supply chain challenges and rationalisation, currency fluctuations, the Russian war on Ukraine, the massive changes in the cost of raw materials, the constant battle to find skilled and qualified and conscientious people.
May you all live in "Interesting times" - that's now a reality. And that's before the challenges and/or opportunities of embracing and implementing AI with all the associated people and systems changes - robotics was just a warm-up act.
The Relentless Routine of Being a Leader
Against these multiple backdrops, comes the "par for the course" relentless daily decisions and challenges and the level and inevitable frequency of things going wrong - particularly in startups and businesses needing to pivot.
You have to bring in the business and meet the payroll and the overheads but monthly, quarterly and annual results are like incoming missiles aimed at you. You have a Chairman, a Board, investors, analysts and the media to keep happy - as well as your Senior Leadership Team. And your clients. And your people. Always the people.
But you also have to see into the future. Because last year's results mean nothing. Last year's business model might not even be viable anymore. You have to lead your business to where the puck is going to be. Not where it was or is.
People. Always People. The Biggest Challenge for A Leader.
"Technology is easy. People are tough." CTO
In between the short term deadlines coming at you like meteorites and your attempts to look into the future, you have to inspire, persuade and engage people. Whatever tomorrow brings, you are dependent on having the right people, with the right skills and abilities, engaged and enthusiastic about the challenges you are facing today and able to deal with the challenges you will face tomorrow. Your tomorrow is dependent on the decisions they make today.
"There are only two problem in business: people problems and problems that you haven’t yet realised are people problems..." Award winning CEO
Personal Development for Leaders - How can Leaders Find Time to Learn and Grow
Although I have only run and turned around a small group of companies with 140 staff, I understand the time pressures and the nature of the job of a business leader. I have also worked with business leaders across a range of industries in different countries and cultures and with a range of different business models and circumstances. This wide-ranging experience coaching business leaders and the resultant cross-pollination of ideas and my ability to work with you when it suits you, makes me an asset who fits in with your needs and your schedule. I have worked with time-strapped CEOs in the backseat of their limousine on their way to see employees, on Sunday mornings preparing for an AGM speech, in the evenings preparing for a major pitch.
How do we make personal development workable?
The Challenges of Being a Newly-appointed and Youthful CFO
I was approached by a newly-appointed and fresh-faced CFO of a growing FTSE 100 company. His youthful looks were potentially unhelpful as CFO of a high profile listed company. Young and inexperienced vs. young and energetic and innovative. This was made even more stark as the long-term CEO was retiring and the designate-CEO was also young.
The senior leadership team was flying in from around the world to a big company event and he was the keynote speaker. He needed to reassure and inspire and engage. He also needed them to change their focus and that change needed to be accepted and sold by them and filter down throughout the company.
Weeks later, he had to deliver a version of the same presentation in office visits around the world. This was his first C-suite role and the reaction of the SLT was important to him, the company and the share price.
We spent time working on the content of his presentation and his delivery for his internal audience.
Later we worked on his delivery for his initial meetings with appropriately smart and cynical financial analysts.
I've worked through the speech. It's excellent. Just need to do it justice now... (afterwards) wow... excellent! Thank you! ... (later) I've continued to give presentations globally.. including Asia and it continues to go down VERY well... thank you, you're a proven Master!
If you have any questions about how this coaching works, feel free to reach out directly or book a call over on Calendly.
The Filtered Out Book Series
Are you looking for a way to avoid being filtered out at your next interview? Order my two books "Filtered Out" and "Filtered Out The Workbook" so you can prepare to get the job you deserve.
Let's see if we're a good fit. Easily schedule a free intro call on Calendly now:
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