http://www.trainingzone.co.uk/item/135280
trainingzone.co.uk

Porter, Lorsch and Nohria (Harvard Business Review, Oct 2004) list seven likely surprises in store for new CEOs.

1. You can’t run the company
Gaining a prestigious new role brings with it great bursts of enthusiasm. This often leads to unrealistic self-expectations. New CEOs may try to deal with multiple demands, from shareholders, board members, politicians, and everyone else. It can’t be done, because there isn’t enough time, and it’s impossible to know all the relevant details.
2. Giving orders is very costly
Getting proposals together takes a lot of work from a lot of people. This includes seeing where there might be problems later, and removing the cause at an early stage. This swallows a great deal of time, and should be done before the proposal reaches the CEO. The CEOs role is feedback and support, and ensuring the proposals fit with organisational strategy.
3. It’s hard to know what’s really going on
There is enough information to fill a battleship, but which of it is relevant, which is reliable, and which is dross? Other people choose what information they let through. Their decisions may be based on wisdom, sincerity, and good intentions. On the other hand, they may be influenced by mistaken beliefs, their own goals, or wanting an easy life.
4. You are always sending messages
Not all messages will come out as intended. CEOs have high prestige, and their words are heard, and spread around. These may grow and change into something diametrically opposed to the views of the CEO.
5. You are not the boss
The organisational chart has the name of the CEO at the top, but that doesn’t give supreme power. The Board of Directors has the final say as to whether decisions are ratified.
6. Pleasing shareholders is not the goal
Shareholders, on the average, are interested in the next dividend rather than long-term strategies. It may be that strategic goals have no immediate impact on dividends, but in the long-term, will lead to higher success.
7. You are still only human
CEOs have the same human needs as everyone else, and will fall by the wayside if these needs are not met. As well as meeting corporate demands, you need to ensure that your life-balance is good.

Trans4mation designs and delivers programmes for leadership development at executive and director level.

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http://www.employeeonlinesurvey.com/news.php/news/32
employeeonlinesurvey.com
by spherica

by Michael E. Porter, Jay W. Lorsch, and Nitin Nohria

Most new chief executives are taken aback by the unexpected and unfamiliar new roles, the time and information limitations, and the altered professional relationships they run up against. Here are the common surprises new CEOs face, and here’s how to tell when adjustments are necessary.

Surprise One: You Can’t Run the Company

warning signs:

* You are in too many meetings and involved in too many tactical discussions.
* There are too many days when you feel as though you have lost control over your time.

Surprise Two: Giving Orders Is Very Costly

warning signs:

* You are in too many meetings and involved in too many tactical discussions.
* There are too many days when you feel as though you have lost control over your time.

Surprise Two: Giving Orders Is Very Costly

warning signs:

* You have become the bottleneck.
* Employees are overly inclined to consult you before they act.
* People start using your name to endorse things, as in, “Frank says…”

Surprise Three: It Is Hard to Know What Is Really Going On

warning signs:

* You keep hearing things that surprise you.
* You learn about events after the fact.
* You hear concerns and dissenting views through the grapevine rather than directly.

Surprise Four: You Are Always Sending a Message

warning signs:

* Employees circulate stories about your behavior that magnify or distort reality.
* People around you act in ways that indicate they’re trying to anticipate your likes and dislikes.

Surprise Five: You Are Not the Boss

warning signs:

* You don’t know where you stand with board members.
* Roles and responsibilities of the board members and of management are not clear.
* The discussions in board meetings are limited mostly to reporting on results and management’s decisions.

Surprise Six: Pleasing Shareholders Is Not the Goal

warning signs:

* Executives and board members judge actions by their effect on stock price.
* Analysts who don’t understand the business push for decisions that risk the health of the company.
* Management incentives are disproportionately tied to stock price.

Surprise Seven: You Are Still Only Human

warning signs:

* You give interviews about you rather than about the company.
* Your lifestyle is more lavish or privileged than that of other top executives in the company.
* You have few if any activities not connected to the company.

“Seven Surprises for New CEOs,” Harvard Business Review, Vol. 82, No. 10, October 2004.