
This much I know: 9 leadership lessons from global CEOsâŻÂ
From absorbing stress to finding your authentic voice, nine leaders of global companies share the wisdom that has helped them excel in their roles.⯠...
by Michael D. Watkins Published March 28, 2022 in Brain Circuits ⢠2 min read
Newly appointed CEOs and other senior leaders must concentrate their energy on getting the right people around them, as failure to act quickly can have serious consequences. What is the most common regret I hear from senior executives who have transitioned into new roles? Regardless of whether they were promoted internally or hired from the outside, the answer is the same: not moving quickly enough to get the right team in place.Â
Executives who learned this lesson the hard way noted three main consequences:
An overload of work: They didnât have the people they needed to develop and realize their vision and strategy, so they and others on the team had to shoulder more of the load themselves.
An opportunity for politics to interfere with the agenda: A failure to move fast opened the door to divisive political maneuvering by underperformers trying to delay the inevitable, or disappointed rivals still fighting the last war.
Loss of credibility: This is more subtle but can be the most damaging effect of not taking swift action to set up your own team. Executives who failed to do this have noted it raised questions about their ability to make hard calls. Remember â people will be watching and will know when you arenât moving fast enough to fix obvious problems.
Further reading:Â
The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter, Updated and Expanded by Michael Watkins
Why you must move fast to get the right team in place by Michael Watkins
Professor of Leadership and Organizational Change at IMD
Michael D Watkins is Professor of Leadership and Organizational Change at IMD, and author of The First 90 Days, Master Your Next Move, Predictable Surprises, and 12 other books on leadership and negotiation. His book, The Six Disciplines of Strategic Thinking, explores how executives can learn to think strategically and lead their organizations into the future. A Thinkers 50-ranked management influencer and recognized expert in his field, his work features in HBR Guides and HBRâs 10 Must Reads on leadership, teams, strategic initiatives, and new managers. Over the past 20 years, he has used his First 90 DaysÂŽ methodology to help leaders make successful transitions, both in his teaching at IMD, INSEAD, and Harvard Business School, where he gained his PhD in decision sciences, as well as through his private consultancy practice Genesis Advisers. At IMD, he directs the First 90 Days open program for leaders taking on challenging new roles and co-directs the Transition to Business Leadership (TBL) executive program for future enterprise leaders, as well as the Program for Executive Development.
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