The CEO Coach's Corner: Steal These Lessons From Real C-Suite Leaders

Read Time: 3 minutes.

Whenever we teach our live program, I share stories from CEOs I work with. It helps leaders better appreciate all it takes to run a company.

It also helps them feel better knowing that even those who've ascended to the top spot still face the same challenges leading a team.

Leading is lonely.
Until you realize you’re not alone.

Here are 3 lessons from just this past week.

How To Keep The Urgent From Crowding Out The Important

I have one CEO who feels like he needs to be more productive. Which is odd since he's more productive than 99% of people I know.

But uncommon results demand unreasonable standards.

And when we audited his time, he was right. Against his most important goals, he was spending less than 20% of this time each week.

When asked if he knew Warren Buffett's 5/25 Method, he said, "No."

So, instead of explaining it, we just did it. Show instead of tell.

• He listed out the 25 things that he thought were most important (he only got to 17).

• Then we worked together to cross off all but the most important 5. Some were dependent on others. Some were further down the road.

• The commitment: put zero effort or attention on the crossed-off list until you complete one of the 5 priorities.

Don't shortcut this method. The value comes from emptying your mind of all the possibilities and actively rejecting them.

And then structuring your time every day to relentlessly focus on pushing them to completion.

How To Get Teams To Embrace Change

Inertia is a powerful force.

Once an object is in motion, it takes a lot of force to change direction.

This law is especially true within organizations. Why?

Because humans crave status.

We design teams, set rules, and construct processes to preserve status. We may not do this consciously, but probe deeply into any bureaucracy, and you'll uncover this truth is the root cause more often than not.

So how do we get people to change despite this reality?

By making the reward for change greater than the cost of change.

Read that again.

The reward must exceed the cost.

The perceived gain in status must be greater than the perceived risk for daring to change.

We focus too much effort on the act of change:

• Change management

• Carrots and sticks

• New SOPs

We should focus on ensuring the alternative is better than the status quo.

So, if you're struggling to get people to change, examine if the new reality you're offering elevates the status of those you're asking to change.

Once it does, you won't be able to stop the stampede.

Play Games You're Uniquely Suited To Win

I work with an executive assigned to lead a function he has a) no experience in, b) a low affinity for, and c) little interest in developing.

While noble, it worked out exactly as you'd expect. Terribly.

Just because we can do something doesn't mean we should do it. I learned this lesson many times in my career.

With distance, we can all see it's a bad move. Because we'll never be as good or as committed as those who are committed to the craft we're selflessly pitching in on.

Which begs the obvious question:

What should we do when put in this position?

If you truly can't say no (and more often than not, you can), then you need to redefine success as a game you can win.

In this case, we caught the falter early. And while he is misaligned to lead the function, he is a well-networked superstar recruiter.

By making the primary goal of finding a new leader and the secondary goal of "keeping the lights on," he was able to succeed.

Let me know what you think.

And if you're a CEO looking for a coach, please reach out.

I have a couple of slots opening in the new year. They often get taken by founders and CEOs who take our MGMT Accelerator, so this is your chance to beat them to it.

What You Missed This Week

Did you miss last week’s Monday MGMT Minute? 

📌 I offered some hard questions you should be asking.

What about our free Lighting Lesson?

📌 We shared out playbook to manage up like a boss.

And here are our 5 most popular posts from this week:

1. The 5 Keys for High-Performing Teams

2. ⭐ 21 Phrases for Mastering Conflict

3. 11 Visuals to Transform Your Life

4. The Coaching You Need to Lead

5. 21 Leadership Lessons

Our goal is to build a community of 1 million thoughtful, curious leaders.

Your ♻️ reposts on any or all of the above are always appreciated.  

Thank you for reading. Appreciate you!

Dave & Mar