The five biggest CEO career mistakes

Neil Waters - Egon Zehnder International

Often we see CEO's making large career mistakes. These mistakes are the result of a divergence between fact and fiction, between what CEO's believe they can do and the facts at hand. They start to believe their own rhetoric, which is the first sign of hubris on the horizon. Here are the five biggest career management mistakes.

Not knowing what you are good at

A bit of success does tend to dull the senses a little. Arrogance sets up camp. There is a sense that success will itself breed success in any situation. The facts are quite different. In general CEO's tend to excel in one part of the business cycle (turnaround, growth etc). Choosing to move to a company in a very different part of the cycle is a risk, and the person should do so being explicit about it, not thinking "I was successful at A and I will be successful at B".

Being blinded by prestige

Many CEO's decide to move too quickly, blinded by the prestige or scope of an opportunity. The person needs to think through two enduring truisms. He or she should be able to leave their current role with their heads held high and confident in the future of that company. Any short cuts in this regard cloud achievements and prompt questuions about judgement. He or she should also not be blinded by the shiny lustre of the new job…all that glitters is not gold. In our experience very few CEO's do enough due diligence in moving between organisations, particularly in identifying the style and preferences of direct superiors.

Not seeking advice

Confidence tends to reduce the felt need to share problems. Why do so when the answer is always obvious? I trust the point here is self evident, namely that every executive must be aware of their own weaknesses at each point in their career and be working on their resolution. Great CEOs make it safe for their staff to provide candid feedback on their performance, and how to improve. They also use mentors extensively, giving time for open and honest discussions about their life journey. Poor CEO's will generally surround themselves with people who are worse than them and seldom disagree.

Hasty decision making

More haste, less speed. Poor management decisions can end a CEO's career, and one of the biggest issues in regard to management decision- making is the presumption of the validity of the 30,000 feet view. Some CEOs fail to understand the real organisational context and culture which has led to the current situation. Others do not invest the time to understand the core issues behind a problem, preferring to skate across the surface and draw a conclusion.

Poor people judgement

Every CEO thinks he or she is a great judge of character and career potential. But ask yourself how you do it, and really what your success rate is. Very few clients in my experience adopt a rigorous process in candidate interviewing and evaluation. And yet it is critical. Poor CEO's also make appointments for reasons other than the person being the best possible candidate. Are those reasons really legitimate?

All of this smacks really of a lack of self-awareness. There will be no shortage of people telling the CEO what a star he or she is. The big question is are they right? Only you know that. Just make sure you ask the question, rather than believing the headline.

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