EDITOR ’ S QUESTION
LAURENCE PARKES , CEO , RUFUS LEONARD
Humility is a powerful quality for a CEO to have in their arsenal , but one that is sadly lacking in many . The most successful , secure CEO isn ’ t afraid to listen to dissenting voices – they appreciate that diversity of thought and opinion creates a valuable , collaborative environment where teams can thrive uninhibited , individuals feel empowered to speak their minds and an abundance of fresh ideas leads to a wealth of revenue opportunities .
Delegation is also key . Find an effective way to entrust your team – your whole team , from leadership level to the junior cohort – with the projects and tasks you simply don ’ t have the bandwidth for . Without micromanaging . A CEO too invested and involved in business-as-usual activity , or too often interrupting their team with questions or direction , will inevitably become too focused on the granular and lose sight of toplevel strategic leadership . have encouraged your teams to disagree with you and in claiming to be a hands-off leader you ’ ve given them the space to explore . But do they believe you ? And do your stakeholders believe in your leadership style ?
Find a way to show your people that you trust them and they should trust what you say , your decisions and how you lead . Whether it ’ s making clear you understand the needs and motivations of your stakeholders or communicating your strategy to the wider team in a transparent , influential way .
The ultimate goal is to have company-wide engagement – involving everyone from board level to front-line staff – in your vision as a business , with your C-suite driving it .
The organisations that flourish will have a C-suite that thinks to the future and embraces changes as they come . x
A CEO TOO INVESTED AND INVOLVED IN BUSINESS-AS-USUAL ACTIVITY , OR TOO OFTEN INTERRUPTING THEIR TEAM WITH QUESTIONS OR DIRECTION , WILL INEVITABLY BECOME TOO FOCUSED ON THE GRANULAR AND LOSE SIGHT OF TOP-LEVEL STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP .
Not to mention create a frustrating and ultimately undesirable culture . Put the right people in place , give them a clear brief and the space to explore it , then get out of their way .
Underpinning these qualities is the essential ability to build trust . Be it with colleagues , clients and partners .
Great things happen when trust is abundant ; things fall apart when it ’ s in short supply . Yes , you
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