Why you are good enough to succeed in your first-time role as a CEO… (with a little help)

“I wasn’t a Pan Am pilot or any other kind of pilot. I was an imposter…”. Frank W. Abagnale, on whom the movie Catch Me If You Can is based, was a genuine fraud. People who get through a selection process to become a first-time CEO are not.

 

Everyone is in the same boat

“I’m a specialist, I don’t have the general skills needed to run a company”

“I’m a generalist, I don’t have the specialist knowledge needed to run this business”

How can you have the necessary experience to run a company when it’s your first time? The word to focus on here is ‘necessary’. And you have already ticked this particular box as you have been appointed to the role.

Congratulations.

Too many first-time CEOs are obsessed by their own, somewhat paranoid, perception that stops them from being able to do the job well: lack of experience, knowledge, credibility etc. This obsession is baggage and a distraction. They know their attention really needs to be on how to run the company successfully and what they need to do to be able to accomplish that. Building that experience, compiling that knowledge or knowing where to source it, and involving others in order to make the best decisions that get good results as a consequence. But there’s a huge, invisible block.

 

I look confident to others but I am confronted by fear every day

This is often the dilemma and it can compound the problem. People assume that you don’t need or perhaps want help.

So, who can you talk to?

Your boss gave you the job and wants to know that he or she made the right decision. You may be worried that asking questions may expose a lack of experience that you believe your boss thinks that you have – are you a different person to the one they think they hired?

Your direct reports often think that they should have got your job.

If you were promoted from within, then up until your recent appointment they were your peers and they may not take reporting into you well. Many department heads consider their function as the most important in the company, therefore that makes them the best person to be chosen to run the company.

Becoming the CEO makes you realise that every department is critical and the role is more akin to an orchestra conductor who brings out the best in every section while ensuring that every contribution is coordinated to deliver the best overall outcome.

Being a generalist is a specialist skill in its own right – few understand that.

Being a specialist means you probably need help developing your general management skills.

If you were brought into the company from outside, there are several criteria that your reports will assess you on. What do you know about/can you handle our industry/sector/company? How do you measure up to the previous incumbent?  In the dark world of the negative outlook, doubt and potential mistrust can work both ways. Do people really believe what they are saying or are they just trying to please you by agreeing with your view? What are they all saying when they leave the room? Are they motivated to help drive the company forward under your direction?

The need to prove yourself is a powerful preoccupation.

 

 

The right coach/mentor can be a lifesaver

The key to breaking through this Imposter Syndrome is to have access to a skilled and experienced coach/mentor. Your first 100 Day Plan, building and developing your team, opening channels of communication both ways with your team and your clients – all these things are important. But an equally critical resource that helps immediately is a genuinely independent ear.

There is no personal jeopardy in unloading all your concerns. You will have plenty of evidence why you are capable of doing the job you have been given – you just need reminding of it. You will probably know the best option you should take when trying to achieve a specific step – you may just need to think it through with someone safe before you raise it elsewhere. Ideally with someone whose experience could help shortcut the process.

It’s a creative process to discuss your ideas on what are the best ways to approach a problem, convince a colleague or board, or to develop a strategy for the future. Many people think at their best when talking out loud; this may involve going up a few blind alleys along the way and making some U-turns when you feel it is necessary. That’s absolutely fine, and totally risk free.

The help that an experienced, independent coach/mentor provides is remarkable and produces quick returns. Support at this vital watershed point in a career can make the difference between stalling at this first attempt at the top job or making a success of it and going on to bigger and better things over decades. It’s a minor investment with a major payback. And it’s never too late to start – the stress and doubt can still hold you back after some time, when the label of ‘first-timer’ has passed in the eyes of others, but the symptoms still are present.

As a coach/mentor it is a wonderful experience to help people perform at their best. The certain truth of skills being transferrable is evident. I specialise in first-time CEOs, MDs and GMs – I find the more senior the person being coached/mentored the better, and the less familiar I am with the industry, the easier it is to see the important patterns rather than making assumptions.

 

David Roche

image credit: Richard Harris