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| Pick Your Best Role to Lead the World |
We work with Founders at many stages
of start-up and expansion, and though the chief Founders
are excellent Leaders, their best role may not be as the coveted CEO to
ensure the success of their endeavors.
First,
let's define a Leader with an acronym (go ahead, substitute your own definitions for each letter):
• Light
up the vision, the benefits and the way.
• Educate
the team on vision, expectations, structure and policy, listening and learning
from each of them.
• Appreciate
all those who excel and help from without.
• Delegate
to the best available, qualified people.
• Enthuse your team with energy and resources.
• Release
control over the process for delegates, looking only for well-researched
questions and suggestions, progress reports and final results. See the
just-published article on delegation by Mary Jane Nirdlinger.
Other
LinkedIn articles
expand our definitions, but we see Delegate
and Release as major keys in profitable
Leadership and successful launches or expansions.
Founders need to decide where they can best Lead, fit and excel, now or over
the life of their companies:
• CEO - executes what the Chairman and
the Board have defined, generally with the CEO’s participation and input, and
the Board may be only Founders at the start. Though this is the most
esteemed title in a company, it may not
be Founders most effective roles.
• Chairman of the Board, public or private -
visionary, policymaker, organizer, cheerleader, connector and often a key
representative.
• President - reporting to the CEO, or if
none, the Board - deals with daily issues and tasks, sometimes a more
comfortable role for those newly transitioning from being employed for
many years.
• CTO - often the best role for an
engineer, scientist or inventor; an IT professional usually prefers the title CIO.
• COO - the best methods to maximize
production can make or break a company, so this may the best role.
• CFO - setting up and maintaining tight
financial systems is another key to the success of a company, and perhaps the
Founder's best role.
• CMO/CSO - many if not most Founders are
excellent Sales people, so this may be the most comfortable role, though many
prefer to delegate the Marketing.
• CLO - the legal and securities
challenges of especially a public company may be the best role for a
lawyer/Founder.
• CCO - Chief Capital Officer
- prepares for presentation to, then processes funders, serving as a bit
of the CEO, CFO, CTO, COO, CLO, CMO and CSO until fully funded.
A team of Founder, CCO and one other CxO is an excellent way to
start a company on the fast track.
• Advisor – as companies progress, and
after launching multiple companies, Founders may find that equity-based
Advisory Team participation or management may be the most comfortable and
time-beneficial, reducing both fiduciary and day-to-day responsibilities, yet maintaining
lucrative yields from earlier start-up duties.
Appreciate
your Following and Comments – will respond and much more to
come.
