Ever wonder what CEOs work on with their executive coach? Stay tuned, because I’m about to share the top 10 topics that have come up most frequently with me in 25 years of executive coaching. And why, other than satisfying whatever curiosity you may have, am I sharing these?
Because, while the stakes may be bigger and broader, the topics probably aren’t that much different than what you should be working on with your coach. And the sooner you start working on them, the quicker you can broaden your impact as a leader.
So, with no further ado, here are the top 10 things I tend to work on with my CEO clients:
Improving behaviors that feedback has flagged.
Communicating in ways that drive results and build relationships.
Building a “first-team” mindset and approach across their leadership team.
The highest and best use of their time and attention – and their team’s.
Aligning senior leadership behaviors with the culture that supports the strategy.
Establishing an effective personal operating rhythm.
Framing and following through on goals at work and outside it.
Managing and optimizing personal energy.
Using me as a strategic sounding board and “thinking out loud” partner.
Having a safe and confidential place to vent.
Look at that list and notice what’s missing. There’s not a technical subject matter expert item on the list. Nothing about a specific industry. Nothing about a particular function. Every item is either about leading themselves or leading others. That’s not a coincidence.
As your leadership scope broadens, your contribution depends less on subject matter expertise and more on being clear about the connection between what you’re trying to accomplish and how you need to manage yourself and show up to make those outcomes likely. Self-management is the foundation of leadership impact.
If you’re a rising leader what does all this mean to you? A very wise Fortune 500 CHRO I once interviewed told me that the quickest way to make it to the executive suite is to start behaving as if you’re already there. So, with that advice in mind, here are a few items from my top 10 that, in the absence of other information, I’d suggest you focus on first:
Behaviors that feedback flagged. Most senior leaders I work with are still fine tuning something a 360 surfaced years ago. Get ahead of the curve – seek some honest feedback about what would make you more effective and start working on those behaviors. If you want a proven process for doing that, check out my online Next Level Leader course.
The highest and best use of time and attention. This one comes down to the question, “Given what you’re trying to accomplish, what are the 20 percent of the things you should be spending 80 percent of your time and attention on?” The same question applies to the leaders on your team. It comes down to how you leverage the 168 hours we all start with each week. For guidance on how to figure that out, check out my Next Level Leader Toolkit for Leveraging Your Team.
Personal operating rhythm and energy. Years ago, I wrote about why I hate the phrase, work-life balance. What I greatly prefer is the idea of establishing an operating rhythm that enables you to flex in and out of key routines that help you create your most important outcomes in all arenas of life by managing your energy and showing up at your best. The tool I personally use to do that and that I share with my CEO clients is called a Life GPS®. I walk you through how to create your own Life GPS® in my online course, Best Life Ever.
One more thing worth noticing about the top 10 list. The last two items – using me as a sounding board and having a safe place to vent – aren’t items you’d put on a development plan, but they’re often the most valuable part of the work. Senior leaders don’t get many places where they can think out loud without it being a signal. A coaching relationship is one of them. The earlier in your career you have someone in that role — a coach, a mentor, a trusted peer outside your reporting line — the better. Start looking for that person now if you don’t already have one. And one more resource to help you do that – take a look at my free course, How to Get and Be a Great Peer Coach. Everyone can benefit from peer coaching; my course gives you a simple and practical roadmap for getting started.
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