Not Everyone can be CEO

Sounds harsh, no? But it’s true in many ways. First, to excel in this role, individuals need fluency in a unique blend of difficult skills, qualities, and experiences that enable them to navigate the complexities of the business world. Second, the role is incredibly scarce compared to the number of individuals seeking it. Finally, even the ones that reach the top are not guaranteed to be successful. Becoming CEO should not be every employee’s ambition. Rich and happy careers don’t require reaching the top. In this post, I’ll focus on this path to the top, specifically why it is ok to tell people they’re not CEO material.

P.S.: Thanks for your patience during this summer hiatus, I needed a well-deserved summer vacation. Also, thanks to everyone who gave me feedback for the previous posts and asked for more posts. Happy to oblige ??.

#management #humanresources #careers #personaldevelopment #culture #innovation #ownershipmindset #flywheelsofexcellence #ceo #expert

In every organizational performance review (OPR) I have implemented and conducted in companies over the years, it is mind-blowing how often managers resist stating that someone in their team has reached their leadership potential.

Somehow it sounds like an offense, something that will necessarily result in a confrontational conversation with the employee, and that will cause a valuable employee to seek the exit door.

That’s not because these managers disagree with the assessment. They seemly believe that avoiding that conversation is altogether a better outcome than coming clean and being fully honest with their employees. They fail to understand that avoidance is a ticking bomb.

Employees, who up until that point had not gotten an honest indication of how their manager sees their career progress and potential in the organization, or even worse, might had gotten empty promises of career progression, are locked in a Career Limbo Trap (see article).

Regardless, these same employees can be great contributors in their current roles. They have valuable specialized knowledge; they are functional experts with unparalleled depth in their area and are go-to resources for complex challenges. SMEs (subject matter experts) are critical resources in transformations and other strategic initiatives.

And (surprisingly for some managers) these experts can drive innovation through their in-depth understanding and unique perspectives, if given autonomy and are prompted to contribute more.? Their lasting presence in the organization is critical to retain knowledge.

As such, they should be valued more, not less, and their compensation should reflect the value they bring to the organization.

Being a senior manager might not be a necessity for them to have a satisfying and fruitful career. It requires a different set of skills, ones that might not be easy for the functional expert to excel in. The higher up in the organization, the more people to lead, the more locations and functions to cover, the higher the complexity, the pressure, accountability, and resulting stress.? Few individuals truly enjoy and thrive under this pressure.

And that plus having the required strategic mindset, vision, decisive high-level decision-making, effective communication, strategic networking, and ultimately a high level of emotional intelligence to lead a large and complex organization in a competitive backdrop.

Even freelance professionals, including doctors, dentists, and others, can be extremely competent experts but have difficulty in the management side of their business.

Individuals that display potential in critical learning agilities, such as People, Mental, Results, and Change, should indeed be considered for promotion and stretched in ever more challenging leadership jobs, and ultimately seek the CEO role.? It is an attractive career track, but not the only one.

In Flywheels of Excellence, employees are fully informed and happy about their place and status in the organization (if they are unhappy, they ultimately leave).

That can only be achieved when companies run OPRs the right way. They are honest, timely, candid, and transparent in their feedback to employees.? These companies think differently about how to value different career tracks and compensate accordingly, they commit and follow through on assessments of career potential, ultimately building the required trust for an ownership-minded culture.