#DYK: Just 6.8% of sitting CEOs in the S&P 500 and Fortune 500 companies were promoted from the CFO position (WSJ) Intel’s new CEO, Bob Swan, is now a member of an exclusive club of former finance chiefs who have ascended to the top leadership role.
Why CFOs, and some other CXOs miss out the race to the top?
1. They are recognized and rewarded for their current role, for example, the financial acumen in the case of CFO. But not considered for top roles.
2. ‘If you do your job too well you will get stuck’, is an old joke. But then, often we forget our no.1 responsibility:
As leaders our main job is to create more leaders
3. Another important reason why some miss out on their race to the top is, do they really want it?
If yes, are they willing to work for it?
4. And what would that entail? To fine-tune strategic and leadership skills required to move from CXO to a CEO.
5. Very few are lucky to be part of an organization system that nurtures their leaders and more specifically a boss who would mentor and coach (both are different) to prepare them for the next role. It could happen through some ‘stretch’ assignments to expand their strategic and leadership thinking, and also build a voice in the boardroom. Personal branding matters too.
6. While we unanimously agree, leaders are not born but made.
“Leadership skills got to be developed early. Difficult to develop later”
The nurture starts very early in life. Nurture vs Nature.
Once chosen, then it is delivering explosive growth: “The difference between low growth and explosive growth is having the ability to capture the hearts of every stakeholder”
Next steps:
1. Set goals, dreams, purpose: What we need to be aware of is, ‘what got me here, will not get me there’
2. Work towards living the dream: Manifest magic, don’t settle for anything lesser
3. Be part of a system which nurtures our dreams at a transformational level, not just keeps us ‘engaged’ with promotions, stock options, recognition and salary increase.
4. Find a Mentor, and Coach (they are different, as mentor here being a subject matter expert, and a coach, who is trained, certified and credentialed to coach the #iCFway.
It is my personal responsibility to work towards my purpose. For I have a choice… But in a way that is win-win-win, or #I2We2He (‘He’ being the Divine)
Coaching is partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential (ICF).
We coach the #iCFway
Find a coach to fulfil your dreams at https://www.regalunlimited.com/executive-and-leadership-coaching. We coach the #iCFway. We use some great tools like creative visualization, reflective journaling, Regal@60 to partner with you to manifest your dreams. Choose bliss, to #beregal.
