
We have all heard the phrase “He can’t see the forest through the trees.” When people say this about leaders, it is certainly not meant to be positive. The suggestion is that the leader gets so bogged down in details that he can’t see the full picture; he can’t see or articulate a vision.
We have all heard the phrase “He can’t see the forest through the trees.” When people say this about leaders, it is certainly not meant to be positive. The suggestion is that the leader gets so bogged down in details that he can’t see the full picture; he can’t see or articulate a vision.
Paula Phelan writes about the importance of seeing the forest AND the trees…but not getting too involved in the individual trees. She documents her list of “5 Essential Attributes of Successful CEOs”. Here is the list, along with my commentary. I have a link to her full article at the end of this post.
- Ability to focus on the vision and to communicate the vision to stakeholders.
My take: CEOs often have less ability to actually DO things THEMSELVES than anyone else in the company. Generally, they can only influence people to actually do things. Yes, this influence could be in the form of persuasive threats (“Do this or be fired”), but it is still influence, as opposed to doing. The best leaders are the ones who can successfully identify and communicate a clear vision that their teams can understand and use as a guide in their own day-to-day activities.
- Awareness of operational details, however, not involved in them.
If the CEO is spending his time on trying to manage and direct minute details, than he cannot possibly have the time or ability to focus on the vision. Rather than focusing on trying to understand and live out that vision, his teams are likewise more focused on trying to do the very specific tasks that the CEO tells them to do. The phrase “teach a man to fish and he can fish forever” is applicable here.
- On top of industry trends – an avid reader.
Phelan writes that “staying on top of industry trends…is essential. The ability to see into the future in invaluable for steering clear of potential threats and capitalizing on future opportunities.” The CEO’s ability to communicate the future is an effective tool for gaining buy-in from their team as well.
- Hires strong management teams and supports their decisions.
Great CEOs hire strong people, who in turn are effective leaders in their realm of influence and control. But CEOs can often forget that the same strong leaders they hire also want the ability to lead without feel constrained by undue micromanagement. (Note the emphasis on “undue” micromanagement.) Every strong team member should appreciate the importance of subordination, so they generally accept some level of micromanagement. But if the CEO is micromanaging too much, then the subordinate leaders can give up and simply decide that they don’t need to focus on decision making, because the CEO will change their decisions anyway.
- Meets with customers and can articulate customer needs, challenges and business goals.
My father-in-law, Darryl Thompson, was a terrific CEO from whom I have learned a great deal. The biggest lesson I learned from him is the importance of making sure that the CEO is constantly in touch with customers and uses that customer knowledge as the basis of leading the company. I will write more about “Outside-In” product and concept development later, but the essence of that philosophy is that knowledge of customer needs and desires should frame the foundation of great product development and service delivery.
Here is the link to Paula’s article.