Have you ever wondered how much you might have “left on the table” while leading a team or your company? When I ask client CEOs about what part of our work was most important or what I personally did that was most valuable, they often say I have a gift for getting them to push a vision’s limits. Some will say our conversations were the first time they took a structured approach to visioneering.
The outcomes made possible by this work include new divisions created, new markets reached and sometimes hundreds of jobs created. We also might think of the families blessed. For example, a single mother was jobless before a company’s growth began, and her young children personally thanked the CEO for making their lives better by “letting our mom work with you.” This all stemmed from the CEO thinking more boldly and clearly.
The Turnaround Mindset
I’ve always believed most companies’ greatest constraint to growth is the CEO’s vision and mindset. When I tell my client CEOs of this belief early in our relationship, they usually agree and see a lot of truth in it. Whether immediately or over time, the more mature, humble and daring CEOs will open up about where they begin seeing limitations on their thoughts and how to create a turnaround mindset.
Our relationship is often the first or only time CEOs have felt safe to open up and share visioneering thoughts and possibility thinking. Shame on their boards—for those who have them—for not prompting those kinds of conversations. I’m not sharing this to brag about my own talent because I believe many an internal or external adviser could help. In fact, I was in my 20s when I started challenging CEOs about the smallness of their visions, and I believe young millennial managers can do the same with mature, humble and trusting CEOs.
We all should challenge each other to think bigger, bolder and more strategically. But, like all growth, this only happens in relationships. The problem with too many CEOs is they are in a leadership bubble. It’s lonely at the top.
A Personal Advance
My top recommendation for making your next leadership planning meeting more effective is to go offsite—whether it’s alone or with a single adviser, mentor or visioner. Instead of a “personal retreat,” call it a personal advance where you leave your work or home and spend time in an inspiring environment. It doesn’t need to be far, but it should be fresh and without distraction.
I have many questions in my book “High-Growth Levers” to spark thinking about your vision. Call my office for a free digital copy. Bottom line, I recommend leaders first spend time away from their teams to consider what is possible and stretch their thought and belief about the vision as much as possible.
Your advance may become some of the most impactful time you invest in your company. A jobless single mother may be out there waiting for you to get your vision into gear. Her kids will thank you.
