The UK has long been criticised for not producing the leaders that exist in other developed countries. Ensuring that the right Chief Executive Officer (CEO) achieves success at the beginning of their tenure amidst these turbulent economic times has never been more important, and in our experience these techniques will maximise the chance of this happening:

  1. Find the talent - There is a clear difference in outcomes if the new CEO focuses first on getting the right people in place before ploughing ahead with new strategies and plans. Effective CEOs spend significant time reviewing the people already in the organisation and identifying 'talent'. They don't just focus on the board of directors; instead they look for key people throughout the organisation in order to provide these people with more challenging and responsible roles.
  2. Remove barriers - Conversely, they identify people who are barriers to progress and either move them out or move them sideways. Individuals who don't contribute value to an organisation do unfortunately exist and successful new CEOs ask people to face up to the challenge.
  3. Get the vision right - Soon after their appointment, successful new CEOs come up with a clear and simple picture of what everyone is there for, empowering individuals to make their choice about how to do it and what to do.
  4. Understand the business - The successful new CEO takes time early on to connect and communicate with a wide range of people, naturally building relationships with their management team. Really effective CEOs get out and meet people at all levels, to help them get a handle on what is going on in the business, provides a real understanding of how it works and identifies the key issues. The process builds credibility for the new CEO and generates trust, whilst also helping the CEO identify priorities for later action.
  5. Understand the bottom line - In both the private and public sectors, the bottom line is vital to any and every business. Successful CEOs don't get caught up in the financial detail. They quickly compare the profit and loss statements and balance sheets of previous years and identify the stand-out issues and trends. Then they ask questions that get people thinking and engaged in dialogue about the business; strengths and weaknesses. All the strong CEOs we have observed demonstrated an absolute understanding of the key financial drivers for their organisation.
  6. Understand measures affecting the whole business - We can be quite boring when it comes to measures, yet we find that successful CEOs don’t just evaluate financial metrics but also focus on understanding the underlying data that indicates performance in relation to customers, production/operations, and the organisation's people. They embrace the financial data but also identify and review measures affecting the whole business and not just the money.
  7. Ensure costs are under control - Organisations that grow, develop and are successful tend to loosen their spending controls. This can add value but it can also become non-productive and costly. Successful new CEOs understand this and quickly get their heads around where spending is effective and where it is not. Handled properly this discipline builds a culture that focuses on ongoing improvement. But be careful: managing solely for low cost can have dire long-term consequences.
  8. Develop a first-rate business plan – With the pieces now in place, effective new CEOs make sure there is a clear road map for everyone in the organisation to follow, namely a business plan. The differentiator for successful new CEOs is that they make sure each manager's plan is peer reviewed by other managers. This can be challenging and needs to be carefully handled to ensure it is positive rather than damaging. The discussion and debate delivers ongoing learning across the management structure, increases team ownership of plans and, increases innovation and the generation of new ideas.
  9. Provide feedback on outcomes - Successful new CEOs make sure key groups in the organisation obtain full and open feedback on outcomes. The board gets full summaries of progress against the strategic and business plans which enables directors to carry out their governance role. Effective CEOs make sure the management team receives accurate information on the business' key performance indicators and that this is regularly discussed and reviewed. Finally, and most importantly, they make sure everyone working for the organisation has access to information. That transparency lets them see how the business is going against agreed plans and how they personally are contributing. It also empowers individuals to identify and act to keep the plans on track. And it creates a strong sense of ownership and engagement, both of which are vital to ongoing organisational success.
  10. Manage people for performance and development - Successful new CEOs implement and maintain an effective performance management process linking individuals to the business plan. Performance management meetings are held monthly and focus on identifying what is going well or not so well for the person. This more coaching-based culture delivers behaviour that leads to continuous learning and change. It also provides a forum for identifying individual development needs which in turn leads to building organisational capability. Most of all, it delivers individual recognition which is a critical ingredient in building long-term engagement.

Moving forward the successful CEO should quickly get to grips with their role and the organisation but then need to invest time in making sure the right systems are in place to support the business plan and strategy. This is an essential success ingredient in today's IT and knowledge-based world. Successful CEOs show they have a good grip on modern technology and the opportunities it provides when delivering the right information to the right place at the right time. They also demonstrate personal behaviours that act as a role model for the organisation and are aligned with the ten themes identified. They also reveal an underlying desire to provide individuals with a sense of ownership of the business at a personal level that creates an environment which is both engaging and challenging.

 

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