Optimum Ventas – 7 Things CEOs Must Not Delegate
You are a top manager, a CEO, a Chairman, a Managing Director. You have learned to delegate a maximum number of tasks and decisions. Before, you had to do everything yourself, then you had some subordinates. Now you have a large office with many staff members. They shield you from the outside world; they take care of all day-to-day business matters. Your senior executives (vice-presidents, division heads, regional managers, etc) run their operations and take their decisions, in line with the strategies you decide with the support of your Board. Your domain is visions, strategies, major decisions, high level relationships.
Yet there is one set of responsibilities that you should not – cannot, must not – delegate: key communications. You may say you have a communications department taking care of press relations, public relations, shareholder relations, internal communications, etc. But there are times when the only acceptable communicator is YOU!
A shortlist of these situations would include:
- Shareholder meetings: obviously, but many CEOs are just present, and don’t speak if they can avoid it!
- Crisis situations: you should be well briefed, but those concerned want YOU and nobody else!
- Major announcements: e.g. mergers, acquisitions, product launches – watch Bill Gates or Tim Cook!
- Strategic change management: to your own people, without whom your strategies won’t happen!
- Key negotiations: big sales, joint ventures – the teams do the groundwork, but YOU get the deal off the ground!
- Symposiums and conferences: e.g. the World Economic Forum – this is where you manage your network and your personal reputation!
- Analyst meetings: yes, your Financial Director may present the numbers – but YOU have to sell your vision!
Many CEOs find reasons not to do these personally: lack of time, lack of interest, lack of skills … You may have specialists who, technically speaking, can do them better than you – but they will always have one disadvantage: they are not YOU! And when the CEO fails to show up, people will say things like:
- “He is out of touch with reality, up in his ivory tower!”
- “He hasn’t got the courage to face the challenge!”
- “He thinks we are not important enough!”
- “He is just another technocrat!”
- “He is not really in charge!”
- etc etc
That was the risk side. Now let’s take a look at the opportunities:
- No one is better placed than you to impersonate the company. Only YOU can really “sell” it!
- Others may get lost in details, but YOU shaped the strategies, so YOU know best what is important and what isn’t !
- People aren’t always happy getting the message through middle-managers. Be the Leader who inspires your people!
- If some event tends to become routine, your personal communication can give it new relevance!
- When things go wrong, people don’t want technicians or lawyers – only YOU can re-establish Trust!
Conclusion : put Communication where it belongs: at Top Executive Top Priority!
PS: In coming articles, I will explore with you what makes an effective Communicator, at home and abroad.
Rolf Lennart Goldmann, Managing Director
Goldmann International Foundation for Image and Communication, Geneva
