From Combat to Corporate Life: Rethinking the Complexity of Being a CEO
“Leadership can be simple, but it’s not easy.“
The CEO position is complex and requires consistent critical and creative thinking skills. I appreciate ValiantCEO magazine providing me the opportunity to express my views and share my experiences in this article. This blog highlights a few key points on the topic, and I encourage you to read the entire article beginning with my opening quote.
The Power in Leadership
The simplicity in leadership begins with one critical attribute: legitimate power. When you understand the nuances of legitimate power, the other four sources of power: coercive, expert, reward, and referent, become less important, and some even unnecessary. Knowing your power source generally determines your leadership style. Not knowing your power source makes an already complex job even more precarious.
(Click the pic for the link to the full article.)
“Retired U.S. Army Colonel Dr. Burl Randolph Jr. transitioned from military service into the corporate world and recognized a critical gap. Many business leaders are expected to operate at a high level without ever being formally trained to lead at scale. After more than three decades in the military, including three deployments in Iraq, and earning a doctorate in management with a focus on organizational leadership, he now supports executives using the structured, mission-focused leadership principles developed during his service.”
Two Complexities of Being a CEO
Two of the many complexities in being a CEO may come from a lack of leadership education and development. The first challenge is,
“It (leadership) comes with no instruction manual, but that doesn’t mean it cannot be learned.”
Trait leadership was a novel concept in its day, but leaders are normally made, not born.
The second complexity presents itself as,
“Many newly appointed CEOs step into complex challenges equipped with data but without the leadership development required to navigate them effectively.”
“Education places your experience into context,” but “experience informs education.”
Formal education, combined with practical application and examples, is one of the best combinations for leadership development; however, it requires rethinking your leadership philosophies.
Leadership Requires Changes
This quote from the article best sums up this point.
“If you are still running a 500-person firm on pen and paper, the realities of today will hit you like a truck.”
When I was commissioned in 1983, there was no internet and very few computers in the Army. As a CEO, over 20 years later, I lived and died by the internet and the connectivity it provided between people and devices. Today’s CEOs have the power of AI – Artificial Intelligence. CEO leadership has been a challenge in every era. I believe this article offers several insights into how to rethink the complexities of being a CEO.
After you read the article, I welcome your feedback at info@mywingmanllc.com. Please Like and Share this blog and the article.
Dr. Burl Randolph, Jr., DM, Founder, MyWingman, LLC
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