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In The News

Published October 2007

Seven Common Leadership Complaints from CEOs

  MediaTec Publishing

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Chief executives make seven classic complaints about their leadership team, according to BlessingWhite, a global consulting firm based in Princeton, N.J.

The complaints are clear signs that the senior management team is not functioning well, the firm said.

“As a rule, such gripes or comments made by the president or chief executive officer reflect underlying interpersonal issues confronting the leadership team,” BlessingWhite CEO Christopher Rice said. “Among them is that the CEO gets too much agreement and too little candor, and this is the most frequent reason for a leadership intervention to help with strategic alignment, team building or comparable exercise.

"The challenge is to encourage every team member to speak up, to facilitate more back and forth, even if it means dissent from the CEO’s point of view.”

The firm paraphrased the top seven complaints they most often hear from CEOs before a leadership development initiative is implemented:

● “Everyone always agrees with me, and that makes me uneasy.”
● “All I get is data, but not much insight.”
● “We focus so much on competence that the senior team never gets emotionally charged up.”
● “All we talk about is results, but we don’t change the way we do things.”
● “I find myself talking strategy ’til I’m blue in the face, but my team doesn’t get it.”
● “Some of my best people have left, and no one tells me why.”
● “A lot of change is happening, but people don’t see how it all fits together.”

Lack of candor among senior teams, Rice explained, is unavoidable to some degree.

“The CEO may be so charismatic that no one else is comfortable contributing, or sounding a discordant note," he said. "CEOs, however, tend to be intuitive and recognize when they’re not hearing all they need to hear. It’s usually the CEO who sees that something needs to be done to shake up the team.”

Another frequent issue is lack of emotional engagement by members of the team, Rice said.

“This may occur even when an organization is doing well, that is, when the right numbers are coming in," he said. "In these cases longer-term behavioral issues are often overlooked amid the good news. The great CEOs are the ones who don’t wait for earnings to tail off but intervene so that all the top people are truly involved on a visceral level.”

Many leadership teams become so focused on results and data, said Rice, that there is a natural tendency to overlook fundamental person-to-person issues.

“Top people are inundated with data, daily if not hourly, and if it’s not data, then it’s a torrent of e-mail," he said. "So team members often find they’re not actually talking with one another but just messaging or trying to stay on top of things.

"Then after a year or two, the CEO gets the sense that team members are drifting apart, that the overall picture is less distinct and it’s time to everyone to get together and speak frankly.”

Comments

Posted By Ron Ernst Monday October 29, 2007 09:18:51 AM So typical of the unaware yet successful leader who has hit the wall. Here is what I hear when I talk to "the team" ● “Everyone always agrees with me, and that makes me uneasy.” You're uneasy, you should be sitting where I'm sitting. Did you ever ask yourself why no one speaks up? You hired us, you pay us and YOU keep us silent. Take a look in the mirror, please. ● “All I get is data, but not much insight.” The last time I offered my input you quickly dismissed it as impractical ● “We focus so much on competence that the senior team never gets emotionally charged up.” Right, emotions are not valued by you, only rational thought. ● “All we talk about is results, but we don’t change the way we do things.” God forbid I make a decision on my own. The interrogation you'd put me through ● “I find myself talking strategy ’til I’m blue in the face, but my team doesn’t get it.” Who wants to disagree and be made wrong. You are the worse listener i've ever encountered. ● “Some of my best people have left, and no one tells me why.” Hello, anyone home? Just shows you how unaware you are. ● “A lot of change is happening, but people don’t see how it all fits together.” Of course we know how it fits together. You need to lead us not just tell what to do. Each leader's company is a direct reflection of that leader's personal growth. Looking in the mirror, a little self reflection and a lot less projection of your weaknesses onto "the team" As they say there are two sides to every story. ALL leaders will hit "the wall" just like the marathon runner. What you do at the wall will determine your company's future. I suggest personal reflection on you, the leader. You created the situation you now find yourself in. After all you are the one in charge. Don't abandon the ship; you'll be the last off anyhow

Posted By Melissa Karwowski Monday October 29, 2007 11:08:04 AM I completely agree with Ron on every point. I'd be curious to see an article covering the top leadership complaints employees have about Sr Mgmt also. It would be very intersting to see what similarities and differences appear.

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