We mentioned in our first installment that being a CEO or first-level manager entails the responsibility of making strategic decisions and also the responsibility of leading your executive team; we observed that more Sometimes than we imagine, these two situations come into conflict.
We will divide this topic into two sections. The first refers to concrete and practical examples that some CEOs can experience in their day-to-day work on the dilemma of the leader (making strategic decisions vs. leading their executive team), thus as possible explanations for why in some cases, they do not find full happiness. The second will refer to advice that Arboleda Consultores has designed to solve this matter.
Beginning then with this first section, we will give 3 examples of how these two responsibilities can become antagonistic. These are:
Balance the long-term vision and short-term demands: CEOs must make decisions that advance the vision and long-term goals of the company. However, they may sometimes face pressure to achieve immediate results and respond to short-term market or shareholder demands. This can create tensions between following a long-term strategy and meeting short-term expectations.
Executive team autonomy versus final decision-making: CEOs often delegate responsibilities and empower their executive team to make decisions in their respective areas. Ultimately, however, the CEO has ultimate responsibility for making key strategic decisions. There may be times when the opinion or vision of the executive team differs from that of the CEO, which can lead to tensions and conflicts in decision making.
Maintain confidentiality and transparency: CEOs often have access to sensitive and strategic information that cannot always be fully shared with the executive team or the rest of the organization. This can create a challenge in balancing the need to maintain confidentiality and make informed strategic decisions, while fostering transparency and open communication within the executive team and the broader organization.
From these examples, we can infer that in the real life of top-level leaders or CEOs, the times they have to face which path to choose, how to get out of the dilemma with the best success and least possible affectation, are very frequent. This degree of stress in which they live can lead them to experience a lack of harmony and happiness in their lives, despite having great power and possibly significant financial gains. Here are 3 possible explanations:
Misalignment with values and personal purpose: If first-level leaders feel disconnected from their personal values or if they perceive that their work is not aligned with their life purpose, they are likely to experience a feeling of dissatisfaction and lack of harmony in general.
Lack of time and balance: Senior leaders often have busy and demanding schedules. They may face a lack of time to devote to activities and relationships that provide satisfaction and balance, such as family, friends, hobbies, or self-care. This can lead to a feeling of imbalance and lack of fulfillment in their lives.
Isolation and lack of support: The leadership position can be lonely. CEOs often find themselves in roles where they can't openly share their challenges, fears, or insecurities with their team or collaborators. This can lead to a feeling of isolation and lack of emotional support, which negatively impacts your overall well-being.
Remember that we will be doing a second installment on this topic, in which we will give advice that may be useful to solve the leader's dilemma.
