The CEO Squeeze
Do you feel stuck in the middle of your stakeholders?
In post-pandemic, post-Brexit Britain, the pressure on leaders to Get It Right has never been higher.
Already walking a fine line between creating a sustainable workplace culture and meeting the demands of the business, after two years of instability and imposed change, leaders are exhausted.
The uncertainty we’ve already been through now compounded by the Great Resignation and impending economic downturn means that as we forge new ways of working there are still so many unanswered questions from all angles.
Employees are looking for job security, as well as trying to find the work-life balance and navigate their personal path post-COVID, demanding more empathy and development from their employers than ever before. Whether they need to hybrid work for personal reasons (lockdown puppy, anyone?) or want more control and autonomy in their development
Investors need to know that the leader is steering a steady ship so that their investments are safe.
Senior Leadership Teams are under pressure from their own departments
Contractors struggling with the supply chain and ever increasing prices
And everyone’s looking in one direction for answers - the CEO.
Is it any wonder that a record number of senior executives are thinking of joining the Great Resignation themselves, "81% said improving their own equilibrium is more important than advancing their career right now." And as this report by Deloitte points out, the workforce are also looking to the CEO to set the example of work/life balance, and often finding their leaders falling short.
So how can the CEO maintain that work life balance? How can you be demonstrating their commitment to employee well being when you’re under enormous squeeze?
How can you have all the answers if you still feel you are winging it?
Take Sarah, a successful CEO in a creative agency. Her employees are struggling to fit back into the into the workplace, the talent drain means struggling to find good freelancers, shifts in board members creating communication issues. She’s feeling pulled in all directions, and she’s worried it’s making her look incompetent.
Or Matthew, who's managing the acquisition and integration of a new company into the business trying to align two very different sets of employees with very different team dynamics and value sets.
Johnny is navigating a new landscape himself having been brought in as the CEO six months ago but he’s also also managing problematic teenagers’ response to his divorce, and elderly parents as a member of the sandwich generation now.
Leaders need to be setting an example in the workplace for mental health and work life balance as well.
Something's Got to Give. Let's hope it's not you.
“Too many leaders think times of crisis mean they need to be always on.
But the opposite is true: What we need from leaders isn’t powering through exhaustion but wisdom and judgement - the first things to be depleted when we are running on empty. It’s the quality of our decisions that matter, not the quantity.”
3 Ways to Realign Your Leadership
If you are feeling the squeeze, here’s some tips to loosen the vice.
Communication
Is your drive to answer the endless questions making you less empathetic than you may need to be, especially when you’re not giving yourself a break? How well are you able to navigate difficult conversations in the workplace and the boardroom?
By looking at your own communication style first before means that the message you need to deliver will be received in a better and more timely manner.
Understanding what it’s like to be on the other side of you will increase your impact and positive influence, making decision-making easier to implement.
Alignment
After so much change and turbulence how aligned are your teams your stakeholders to the common goals that you are working towards? Do any of you remember why you get out of bed in the morning?
Consider creating a forum to discuss your company's mission and vision and values with stakeholders from across the business. Invite the quiet employee voices you rarely hear from, board members and key investors to openly discuss the company's mission.
A simple but effective task is to look at the company’s values, and ask those in the room to put them into a sentence that reflects where they fit within the company’s values, or how they see the company demonstrating these values.
An organisation’s mission, vision and values were probably set in place years ago. Does it still resonate in the current landscape? Are the company values still relevant? Understanding what those values mean for your employees will mean everyone will want to pull together in the same direction, giving your team leaders more autonomy and confidence to work together, rather than always looking to you for those answers.
Find a safe space
Where do you find the headspace you need to work on your own well being and be a better example for the rest of the organisation?
Find yourself a sounding board someone you trust and has expertise in the areas that you're struggling with. Who can help you navigate this together?
Whether this is a peer in a different industry, a NED or a mentor, realising that you are not in this alone can make all the difference.
Seek out a professional space like the Leader’s Council, or a qualified leadership coach to reduce the CEO squeeze.