A familiar saying asserts that "it’s lonely at the top." If asked to relate this adage to business leaders, most people might think first of CEO's of Fortune 500-type companies. These executives sit atop far-flung operations and large, remote organizations, with hundreds or even thousands of employees they never meet face-to-face. They face intense pressure to maintain quarterly earnings growth and unstinting public and press scrutiny.
Unlike their Fortune 500 counterparts, CEO's of emerging middle market companies typically know all their employees personally. But they have their own reasons to feel lonely - and in need of assistance.
Why It's Lonely at the Top for Emerging Middle Market CEO's
The responsibilities they face are in their own way no less daunting than those of their large company counterparts. The struggle to get a company off the ground and then past No Man’s Land can be all-consuming of a founder CEO’s energy and time. Today’s dynamic entrepreneurial economy presents a bewildering array of imperatives and options: cope with ever faster strategy and product cycles; create alliances; leverage the cloud; outsource non-core activities; deploy social media faster and more creatively than the competition - to name a few.
Then there are longer term priorities like potential exit strategies or raising capital. The entrepreneurial CEO has to balance (sometimes contradictory) commitments to investors, customers, employees and other stakeholders. They must present an appearance of being confident about the company’s direction, even when they don’t feel that way. And all this is before the demands of balancing business responsibilities with family and other personal commitments.
Difference Between Entrepreneurial and Large Company CEO's
One difference between entrepreneurial and large company CEO’s: the backgrounds of their direct reports and other close associates. Fortune 500 companies can typically fall back on vice presidents and other corporate staff for advice and counsel - who themselves have impressive business experience and credentials. The gap in business experience between a middle market CEO and his or her direct reports is typically much greater. A private company’s finances are often closely intertwined with their personal and family finances - so they must be careful what they disclose to their associates. The CEO’s of the largest companies can afford to use costly consultants from McKinsey or Bain as sounding boards and confidants - not so the CEO’s of middle market companies.
In view of this picture of the over-stressed entrepreneurial CEO, a recent survey as to the need and desire of CEO’s for advice and assistance is particularly timely. According to a new study of CEOs, board directors, and senior executives of public and private companies in North America conducted by Stanford Business School and several other organizations, nearly two-thirds of CEOs do not receive coaching or leadership advice from outsiders. Almost half of senior executives are not receiving any advice.
According to the survey, this is not because CEO’s don’t want advice. On the contrary: the survey found that "nearly 100% of CEOs in the survey responded that they actually enjoy the process of receiving coaching and leadership advice." The study therefore concludes: "there is real opportunity for companies to fill in that gap."
But exactly what kind of help do CEO’s want and need? The next part of this article will explore that question.
About the Author
Mark Rosenman has deep experience developing processes, systems and content to create value from intellectual capital. Serving as the Chief Knowledge Officer at Tatum, he successfully drove strategies to develop, capture, share and deploy the knowledge and experience of the firm's professionals. Contact or learn more about Mark here.
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