CEO

Since you will be leading employees, yet are an employee yourself, this is a good time to emphasize the importance of employee retention. You will be setting up the structure of the firm in such a way that employees feel appreciated and retention rate is high. Of course, this will apply to you as well. Suggesting better pay, vacations and other spiffs may not reflect well on you, so mention them only with caution if at all. Politely weave into the conversation your desire to work for a company that is forward looking, substantially growing as well as committed towards offering their employees a better place to work in and their product partners a better product to offer.

Challenge yourself to learn to get more done with fewer hours and fewer resources while creating a more balanced life for yourself.

These are just a few of the things you can do to increase your chances for success as a senior executive. I also believe in working with a coach to identify and overcome blocks in your performance. Success can be had with many different skill sets. The more you learn about yourself and your capabilities, the better you will be able to shape a job that works for you. The more you learn about the capabilities of those around you, the better you will be able to build teams that produce spectacular results.

Interview customers, competitors, analysts and others in your industry to know how your company and products are perceived. Make sure you are gathering feedback that will not confirm your beliefs about the world, as much as confirms it.

Example:

If you think you are number 1 in your market, do not just ask customers why they like your products. Ask what other products they use and how your products fall short.

To raise the bar hold yourself to higher standards next year than you did this year.

Call a CEO you admire and invite them to lunch. Exchange tips and adopt tactics that others have found useful. Read books like first, break all the rules, which are broad based studies of habits of top-performers. Adopt at least one new habit a month.

Ask, can someone else in the world do my job better than I am currently doing it? If the answer is yes, seek out that person and ask for their guidance in getting better. If the answer is No, validate that answer by asking your advisors, competitors, suppliers, customers and employees. Many companies have crashed and burn because they believe they were the best for no good reason but pride and ego.

3 steps for learning well as a CEO:

☛ Study excellent CEOs

☛ Create systems for gathering feedback

☛ Spend time learning about the fundamentals of a CEO's job

These coaching assignments will help an executive avoid some of the pitfalls of the CEO job. They are simple, easy and will not take much time. They will help a CEO stay connected with workers, keep himself/herself humble and increase his/her learning while becoming more successful. The suggestions strive to be quick and easy to do, while still producing real results:

☛ Make space to practice these assignments

☛ Staying connected with the little people

☛ Staying humble

☛ Learning well

☛ Raise the bar

The CEO's success at team-building can often be measured through the team. Teams usually know when they are effective. They can also rate their team using assessments that measure specific behaviors.

Example:

"I can trust my teammates." "My teammates deliver their part of the project on time." "Every member knows what is expected of them." Regular team self-assessments can help the CEO track the team's progress and hone his/her abilities to keep the team running smoothly.