Never a Dull Moment!

By Peter Sarasyn - January 15, 2020 

My first-time CEO lessons learned

After drawing on years of experience as consultant to CEOs, at the end of 2018 I decided to move forward on my professional journey by taking on the role of CEO myself. Now, more than a year down the road in this pinnacle role of leadership, I can honestly say that I’m very happy that I took this leap of faith and with this LinkedIn post I’d like to share my lessons learned in order to help and inspire others.

Being CEO means definitely never having a boring day! Every day you need to expect the unexpected (especially on a Monday, don’t ask me why), do a thousand things, take difficult decisions and set priorities, also for others. But time is a precious resource and so you need to narrow your focus to succeed, since the more you try to achieve the less you will actually accomplish, I quickly learned.

A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor

Hereafter are some of the most important lessons I experienced in my first year as CEO.

1. Plenty of surprises and no downtime for the CEO. This lesson didn’t took me long to realize because as CEO you can never stop communicating to make sure that everyone understands and connects to your vision, strategy and implementation plan. Communication drives alignment, and alignment drives team effectiveness, which in our organization is vital especially because we are an industrial incumbent doing business in the furniture sector which is in full transformation, and hence we are faced with quickly changing customer preferences and competition from new entrants with disruptive business models.

2. Last month marked one year since I became CEO, the very first external CEO of a family holding company, after a 3-month leadership transition with the former CEO who was the son of the founder of the company and who was in charge for the past 35 years. Looking back, I’m very glad that we both took the transition process serious since it also influenced the people that were used to work with my predecessor and because I found it key to rapidly connect with my direct reports, build trust with my management team, and have client-facing encounters.

3. Interaction with the Board of Directors serving as a sounding board. At the end of the first quarter we were able to agree a new vision and strategy with the Board of Directors and the family shareholders, and through this process I came to know and respect them deeply. After 6 months and some people change resistance issues to deal with, we installed a new organizational structure and operating model, fixing span of control issues and endorsing new individuals, from both within and outside the company, to take on new responsibilities, and in some cases even new roles. We also decided to launch a journey of transformation focused on Culture, Leadership, Innovation and Customers, and we started an Implementation Roadmap based upon a portfolio of critical change projects like new product development planning, improving sales and marketing effectiveness, keeping track of cash planning and optimizing working capital, and applying a multi-channel go2market strategy. 

4. Taking the lead as CEO also means taking tough decisions every day and saying more “no” than “yes”, to a lot of people. Luckily, I work with very dedicated people who help me make the right choices for the organization, our people and our clients. But still, it is not easy. It takes a lot of courage in the face of prominent risk and opportunities, and it requires a trusted and close relationship with the Board Chair.   

5. During my first year as a CEO, I experienced a lot of emotions, both with me and with the people I work with. Relief and excitement, sometimes anger and disappointment, but at the same time, especially in the beginning, the feeling that made me most uncomfortable was uncertainty about the completeness and accurateness of the information I received from so many people I didn’t know well yet. Afterwards, looking back, I am really happy that I didn’t took any decisions because people told me to do so, and that I decided to make up my own opinion i.e. based upon an Ishikawa-analysis of our competitive position. The latter learned me to appreciate not only the position the company is in, but also to make a distinction between the sources I could trust and the others that were less open and more focused on self-interest.

6. One thing’s for sure, there is a lot involved with being a CEO not all of it sparks satisfaction and pleasure. Hence the importance to seek things that bring energy like developing teams and bringing purpose to the professional lives of more than 800 colleagues, or spending time with customers, and analyzing customer experience with the marketeers and sales people. The past year tested me (and also most of my management team members) in many ways - physically, mentally, and emotionally – and made me clear that we all need to adapt our habits to better serve ourselves, our colleagues and our family. Hence at the beginning of the new year we agreed to remind and help each other to try to sleep and exercise more, and to do our best to take breaks and eat once and a while during a work day. I now understand much better why strong leaders manage their energy, not so much their time.

7. I also have realized that, as CEO, I need to be aware of the impact I can have on the people around me. Every dialogue I have with colleagues, no matter how small, is a symbol that is amplified and listened carefully throughout the organization. My words and attitude can be a powerful source of inspiration and energy, but equally, can cause disruption for many people.

8. Keeping perspective. When I took on the CEO role, I saw an opportunity to transform the organization based upon a clear vision and purpose making the efforts of everyone involved, meaningful. I’ve learned however that transforming a larger group of people takes patience and consistency.  

9. Never be afraid to ask for advice. At particular times the responsibility of leading an organisation can weigh heavily and feel lonely. I consider it my biggest blessing not to be afraid to ask for feedback and to consult if necessary my network of mentors because I’ve learned that there’s always someone who can shed a light. Thanks a million to those who are always available to listen and help.

10. Use the power of the coalition of the willing because you can’t do it all by yourself. Already soon in the process I  understood that I could only deliver through others.  

You’re only as good as your team

No doubt, leading is very different from advising. When you transition from consultant to become the CEO of an organization you have to know that the stress level will be higher, you will have less time to reflect, and the “lonely at the top” reality and responsibility may be unsettling. On the other hand, when you get the trust and opportunity to lead with a vision, to orchestrate a talented group of people, you quickly forget the hard work and lack of sleep because it also brings a lot of joy, reward and fulfillment.

I want to express my gratitude to my family and to everyone who engaged himself and who supported, challenged, energized and inspired me this past year. Special thanks to my Recor Group colleagues, and in particular to my management assistant and cultural change #weareRecor ambassador @petramaes for helping me to succeed every day (even when my agenda is impossible) I’m grateful for and humble to learn and become a better leader, every day and for everyone involved. As a former soccer player I learned many times that I’m only as good as my team and hence as CEO I consider it as one of my most important tasks to make all the people I work with successful in what they do.  Needless to say that I am the first to support them in their own personal development, whether they are managing a team or themselves.

The CEO’s job is as difficult as it is important. After all, it's about improving the odds of success. In my next posts I will share some additional insights on this and on the importance of a strong collaboration and alliance between the CEO and some key roles in his organization, especially when faced with a (perfect) storm and with the need for a digital business transformation. So my final  advice for today is, don’t take anything for granted and work with talented people you trust. Know that strategy, culture and leadership are crucial in every organization, but rest assured that the difference between success and failure sits in the execution and transformation achieved by real actions made by people. According to a Harvard survey, only 8% of leaders are very effective at both strategy and execution, 63% of them are rated neutral or worse in at least one of them, this is a worry that I try to solve by teaming up with hands-on people that are engaged to achieve more together.

Without a doubt, shareholders value and/or business performance can be achieved, even in downturns, if you are given sufficient time and room to implement necessary changes and make a strong alignment and collaboration with your direct reports. In my case, in my first year as CEO I took the decision to appoint a new Group CFO, Patrick Wirix (after 6 months) and from day 1 we made a powertrain to tackle some of the most pressing and pivotal management challenges. Many thanks to @patrikwirix to tell me what I need to know (not always similar to what I want to hear).

Stay tuned to hear more!