The Secret to Improve CEO performance
If you’ve ever found yourself agonizing over whether you’re going too fast or too slow, you’re not alone. Leading a business is an endurance sport. You can’t outrun your ability or lose steam before the finish line.
I recently completed my 30th Half Ironman, a challenging one-day event consisting of a 1.2-mile swim, 56 miles cycling hilly terrain and a 13.1-mile half marathon. The cycling and running piece went well. But the swimming, which does not come easy to me, taught me that effort is more important than natural talent. Putting in the hard work to reach my goal didn’t only make me a better finisher; it made me a better strategist.
Even if you’ve never set foot on a starting line, you’re no stranger to endurance. But faced with shifting markets and complex deliverables, even with the best people cheering you on, you can find yourself off course.
Here are a few lessons from running my own road to growth that can help you regain momentum when you’ve hit the leadership wall.
1. Embrace an Ironman mindset. Mental focus and mindset — the kind that takes years of training to perfect — is essential to keeping you going, no matter how tough things get. Losing your passion carries a heavy price. Leadership doesn’t get easier because you do it every day. It takes work. Learn to manage your stress, how to refresh and renew, and use failure as a way to improve your performance.
2. Build a plan grounded in action. Double down on equipping your organization with the tools and training it needs to compete. Practice with a good coach and get up early for that pre-dawn practice run — even if it’s running mental scenarios about how your new innovation strategy will take root.
3. Forge an iron-clad vision. Develop an unwavering commitment to win and who you need by your side to inspire you. This vision will serve as your North Star, the hallmark of your culture that allows your teams and processes to move faster together with the discipline and rigor your organization needs to succeed.
4. Be SMART about goals. Set goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and can be attainable within a certain time frame Your goals should be strong enough to withstand headwinds but light enough to bend with change.
6. Become pivot ready. Help your team boost their agility and performance skills to grow faster and compete more effectively. Learning to course correct can change the way you win, the way your services are sold and the way you target or change customers. The key to a successful pivot is that what matters most in the end is not how difficult it was to try something new, but how many obstacles your team had to overcome to keep moving forward.
7. Pace yourself. Whether you compete against thousands or head out alone, you cannot sprint through a marathon. Be strategic about managing your energy and resources, know when to push forward and when to slow down, and pause to rest. It’s healthier to celebrate how far you’ve come than be overwhelmed by how far you have left to go.
8. Everything’s a work in progress. Bad weather, family needs, economic concerns, work issues — life happens. Create contingency scenarios that prioritize family and the unexpected, a risk management plan to mitigate liabilities, and surround yourself with a team that shares your passion. No matter how many times you go the distance, there is no finish line. Achieving goals only means it’s the beginning of setting new ones.
Words of Wilson features a rotating panel of consultants from WILSON360, a landscape consulting firm. Robert Clinkenbeard, CEO of WILSON360, can be reached at robert@wilson-360.com.
Reprinted with permission. GIE Media. Lawn & Landscape Jan 2024 (c)
