Don’t hire a dog and expect to do the barking
Part three of my Leadership on a tightrope (continued) series.
Putting the right people in the right seats and empowering them has never been more important.
This has always been a core job of the CEO, but the world keeps getting more complex. Technology is changing too fast. The CEO cannot be everywhere and know everything.
Warren Buffett, to whom the title quote for this article is attributed, is known for empowering the executives at his portfolio companies with both resources and authority. This approach allows these companies to thrive under their own leadership while benefiting from Berkshire Hathaway’s resources and support.
Investing in an existing, successful business is one thing. However, for many of us, recruiting people with the right skills is always a challenge. In our annual Disruption Index, three quarters of CEOs say that new employees do not have the skillset necessary to succeed, and two thirds worry that the pace of change is making employees’ skills rapidly obsolete. Almost 90% of CEOs say they need more personal and professional advisors to be successful.
Establishing the right systems and controls is also essential for delegation to work. If you have the right guardrails in place, you can move faster and more confidently, while still encouraging innovation, excellence, and rapid execution.
I have heard an anecdote (perhaps apocryphal) about Hank Greenberg, the former CEO of AIG, who was known for his intense and hands-on management style. He was deeply involved in the company’s operations and was something of a one-man risk management department. After a trader in Tokyo made a relatively modest loss by the standards of a company with $800 billion in assets, Greenberg personally flew to Tokyo to get to the bottom of how the loss had occurred and prevent it from happening again.
On the one hand, this attention to detail is admirable. On the other, one wonders whether, once he was removed as CEO in 2005, the necessary controls were in place for a company of the financial complexity of AIG.
In any event, I know from personal experience here at AlixPartners that the complexities of our much smaller organization are too much for one individual to manage. Over the course of my tenure as CEO, I have been privileged to have partners in whom I can entrust many responsibilities and who are experts in their fields in ways I could never be.
Rather than a threat to my role as CEO, I know that makes us as an organization better able to create value for both our clients and our shareholders.
That is the power of effective delegation.
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Business Analyst, People Mentor, Scrum Master, Technology Problem-solver
3 周Thank you, Simon! Delegating can be scary but it's healthy and productive to acknowledge we can't grow if we're committed to being a one-person show. Please keep writing on leadership!
Managing Director for Boels Rental | Construction & rental | Civil engineering | Sustainability & growth
3 周Well said! Delegating has always been tightly knitted with the team the CEO surround themselves with. Finding the right people is always a challenge, but it is the most crucial step in being able to delegate efficiently.
Principal, Director Market Intelligence, Retail
4 周Well said! Thank you!