Perry Maddox shares what happened when he invited people to ask a CEO anything, reflecting on the trends and sharing his answers.
I recently invited people to ask a CEO anything.
Excitingly, people weren’t shy, and across their questions, several interesting patterns came into focus.
People asked:
- How to build great teams and talent
- About the best, worst and surprising parts of the CEO role
- How I handle work-life balance and burnout
- About the skills CEOs need
- How to lead change in the world
Here’s what I told them.
Ask a CEO how to Build Great Teams and Talent.
Q1: What is the one quality your specifically look for in a team member?
Just one?!
That’s tough, but I’d say a hunger to learn and to grow with others around them. We rarely fail when we hire people who want to learn and to grow.
Q2. How to make an ordinary person a leader?
First thing is to treat them like a leader. Respect their agency and nourish their potential. Show them you believe in them.
Second, get to know them. What drives and motivates them? What could they become amazing at?
Now set them up for success. Get the right person in the right role where they will flourish. Give them the right support when they need it, but also push and stretch them to grow. Above all, help them to reflect, process and learn from the journey of leadership.
Always honor them as a person. Learning to lead isn’t easy. Care for them on this journey.
Finally, help them to multiply leaders around them. Teaching is the best way to learn.
Ask a CEO about the Best, Worst and Surprising Parts of the Job.
Q3: A misconception you had about CEOs before you became one?
I didn’t know how different it would feel compared to serving as an interim CEO.
It’s very different to play this role for a few months with a finish line than to lead with an open horizon ahead. It took me time to understand and accept the lasting responsibility accompanying the full-time CEO role.
When when you do it long-term, with an open end date and an infinite mindset, the whole feel changes. Leading into that ambiguity and knowing that you must sustain quality, come what may, is more challenging.
More rewarding, too.
Q4. What’s the hardest and easiest part of being a CEO?
The hardest part comes from people who feel entitled to dump on me – little comments, nasty emails, snarky remarks, venting their problems upwards – as if it doesn’t hurt my feelings or as if it comes with the territory.
The easiest? Trusting talented and committed people to lead in their areas of expertise.
Q5. What’s the biggest surprise about being CEO?
How much investment governance requires.
I’m always surprised by how much time and energy it requires to properly engage with our boards. No complaints there – we get plenty in return – but I was surprised by how much time a non-profit/charity board requires.
Ask A CEO about Work-life Balance & Burnout.
Q6: How do you balance your life while working?
I try to be “all-in” on work when I’m at work and “all-in” on life when I’m not. Focus, productivity and efficiency go a long way to leaving on time.
Q7: What do your work hours look like? Is it exhausting?
Most days I keep reasonable hours. I’m best that way, as is my impact. Some days I need to work longer, but I avoid unnecessarily long days as a habit. Overworking reduces impact.
My days vary a lot, really. Some start early with global calls, so I try to end early in the afternoon. Some go later with evening events, so I try to start those days a bit later.
If I don’t model a good work-life balance, it’s bad for everyone.
Q8. Do you ever experience burnout and how do you handle it?
Of course I’ve felt burnout.
I look for the signals, like lack of enthusiasm for work, a shorter fuse, or overly focussing on the negatives. We all have different triggers and signals, and learning to recognize them is the first step. Then act on them.
I build rest into my life, scaling back out-of-work commitments to create space. And I create little rituals like my morning routine of yoga, meditation and prayer that is my daily foundation.
Above all, I give myself permission to get it wrong, learn and adapt.
Q9. Can you ever shut off fully?
Definitely. I wouldn’t last if I didn’t.
Being with our family is the key for me nowadays. They help me to switch off. Younger me leaned on sports, books and video games. Find what engages you.
But I do think about work. It’s natural. I’ve learned to assess whether it’s healthy or not. If I’m worrying about work, that’s no good. I try to acknowledge those negative thoughts and let them go.
Yet most of my best, creative thinking happens outside of work, so I’ve learned not to castigate myself for these thoughts either. Instead, I acknowledge them, scribble them down for later, and get back to life.
Ask a CEO about the Skills a CEO Needs.
Q10: Are you a specialist or a generalist? How do these traits support your leadership?
As a leader, I need generalist knowledge of the specialists I manage (ie finance, fundraising, human resources, programs), but my true specialism is enabling these folks – who are all more expert in their technical areas than me – to thrive together toward a shared goal.
In other words, my specialism is leadership.
Q11: What skills or attributes do you feel get most flexed daily in your work?
Flexibility itself.
Learning when to step back versus to push. What to help my folks prioritize versus what to help them to pause. Toggling between supporting and driving.
Leadership is a constant adjustment to what’s happening and to how I can best serve my team and mission in a changing world.
Leading Change in the World
Q12: What are the lessons you’ve learned from growing and supporting movements?
I remember, above all, that CEOs, non-profits and NGOs don’t create movements.
People do.
From there, try to stay out of movements’ way as an organization. Instead, look to support movement leaders as individuals. They’re the experts, so listen to what movements and leaders want in terms of help. Avoid competing with movements for resources, and instead look to complete each other by leveraging the unique strengths of movements and organizations to create bigger change together.
Q13. What do you become angry about?
Injustice.
Poverty and inequality. Racism, sexism and ageism. Climate breakdown. Terrible political leaders. Greed, and so much more.
That’s where my fire comes from.
Putting it all Together.
As ever, the questions we ask are more instructive than the answers they elicit.
And what do these questions tell us, leaders? They tell us that people want to know how to:
- Prepare for senior leadership, both in the skills needed and in knowing how it feels.
- Maintain a healthy work-life balance without burnout
- Build teams and to grow talent
- Create bigger impact in the world
Stop for a moment and think about those 4 topics. I can’t think of a much better set of pillars around which to develop leaders. So it begs the question, are you developing your teams for leadership by preparing them on these areas?
If so, great. If not, I’ve got a final question for you:
What are you waiting for?
4 Comments
Great post, both format and content. No 10 really resonated – not something I’ve seen said elsewhere, or at least not so succinctly.
Number 10 was my favourite too. I’ve never that one before, and it really packs alot, tidily, into a powerful little question! Glad that you liked this post, as it’s a bit of a different format that I hoped would work!
“I give myself permission to get it wrong, learn and adapt” I really like this one as most of us leaders think we should be perfectionists and this trickles down and across the teams we work with thus exerting too much unnecessary pressure on ourselves and others. Keep it going Perry!
Thank you Richard! I think you’ve hit the nail on the head with ‘unnecessary pressure’… and when we compare that with the freedom to make mistakes, learn and grow from them… that’s a big impact we can create, model and benefit from, all through a relatively easy step of acknowledging that we’re not perfect!