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June 2019 

I met some fellow Windsor leadership development facilitators for a drink recently, and we got onto the subject of how great leaders are generous in ‘showing the workings’.  

When someone with potential lifts their gaze upwards in the hierarchy, the aura of omniscience projected by some of the more traditional CEOs can be rather off-putting. How could an ordinary mortal aspire to a role that seems so complex and requires exceptional intellectual gifts or experience?

Of course, most CEOs have moments of crippling self-doubt and don’t miraculously land on the right thing to do in any given situation without effort. But how prepared are they to let any of that show when it risks undermining the confidence people and organisations need to have in their leadership? 

We decided that not only are great leaders sufficiently comfortable in their own skins to show a little humility, they also actively share with colleagues their thought processes, including how they develop their ideas and make decisions.  

Earlier in my career, I used to kick myself when a colleague made an observation in a meeting that was bang on the money, and I thought I should have seen it for myself.  I would then reflect on why it hadn’t occurred to me – and add it to my personal toolkit of additional perspectives or factors to apply in future.  As time has gone on, I’m much more aware that the value of any group or team is the range of perspectives and insights that we all bring – and the kicking is a little less frequent! 

But as we get into more senior roles, the apparent pressure to be the font of all wisdom increases. Yes, of course we want to empower people, but the buck stops with us and sometimes we just have to call it.  How will we ever be confident we are good enough to be the ultimate decision-maker?

And that’s where the CEO or senior colleague who will ‘show the workings’ comes in.  If you are lucky enough to know one, treasure them and recruit them as your mentor.  Pick their brains forensically on their mental processes – how did they come to a decision?  What was the information or insight that helped them form a view? Why did they discard some aspects and rely on others?  Was there a bigger goal in view that wasn’t visible to the rest of us?

And for those who hold senior positions, my challenge would be to consider whether you are sufficiently committed to the development of your team and organisation to be generous with your own ‘workings’. What are you actively doing to step off the shiny pedestal and show others what the sweaty process of successful senior leadership is actually like? – through your own experience and also providing opportunities to learn from other leaders (of course this is part of what happens on every Windsor programme!). It won’t just help them – it will help you identify your stars and firm up your succession plans too.

In my experience, the occasions when a CEO has a sudden stroke of genius are pretty rare – it just looks like that from the outside. What we need is to find – and be – the sort of leader that shows the workings. When we do, it closes the gap between where we are and the most challenging roles.  And, miraculously, aiming high doesn’t seem to be pie in the sky after all.

First published by Windsor Leadership in August 2019.