In order to walk the talk with you – my fine tribe of fellow-CEOs – I work hard at my own CEOship. Recently, I became aware of an aspect of it that was not up to standard, and probably never will be.
I realised that I am not able to think creatively enough to conceptualize what Lockstep looks like in a larger, global, scaled form. I have been able to grow the business locally, but for some reason, my thinking gets ‘small’ when it comes to imagining the next evolution of the business into a global leadership force.
A few years back, I came across this very useful framework called the Cynefin Framework, which is used to explain leading in complexity. One of the many takeaways from this framework was this: that external expertise is the only true mitigation to complexity.
My personal realization is that this was an aspect of my CEOship that I simply wasn’t able to be world-class at and I needed to get external assistance by way of sounding-boards, consultants and subject-matter experts.
The net result is that Lockstep has embarked on a global expansion and scaling process that, whilst not perfect, is leaps and bounds ahead of what I put together on my own.
To be honest this was a humbling experience for me as it publicly acknowledged what I have come to realise for myself: that I could not be good at everything as a stand-alone CEO.
Ironically, this is what I’ve been sharing with my CEO audience for a while, so it stands to reason that it should be true of me. The mistake I made was to suffer in silence and insecurity when I should have immediately reached out for support.
That ego is a powerful beast …
My invitation is to look hard at what total skill-set you need, look hard at what skills you don’t have, and fill the gaps with expertise as fast as you can.
Rowan Belchers
