Monday's brief post was a quick mention of the beginning of a CEO transition in which I'm involved. This is the third such CEO transition engagement during the life of my consulting practice. It's always energizing because of the potential impact as well as the variety of activities involved.
What People Forget and What You Can Do
As you can imagine, with the entrance of a new CEO comes "What does he want?" and "How does he want it?"
Reasonable questions from people who are focused on performance. But as I watch and participate, I realize that on Days 1 and 2 they are the wrong questions. The right questions are:
"What do you need?" or "How can I help you?"
Think about this: When you walk into a new situation where everyone else knows each other, already has long-time relationships, and understands the lay of the land, what do you look for?
A little help with what you need to get acclimated, maybe?
The CEO or any other executive in transition is looking for the same thing. Sure, they have a sense of who they are and what their role is. But the higher up you are, the more people tend to see you as a "role" instead of a person. It can be, in fact, lonely at the top.
So the next time you're close to an executive change, ask "How can I help you?" Just asking the question will be helpful.
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