What skills

does a CEO

clarityrising
need most? Lay end to end every word written about leadership,
and you'd reach to the moon and back.
Do you study Napoleon and Wellington? Machiavelli?
Martin Luther King Jr.? Or Carly Fiorina (current CEO of Hewlett-Packard)?
Do you pick up a book by Robert E. Quinn, James Kouzes,
Stephen Covey, Stephen Carter, or Rosabeth Moss Kanter?

There's so much out there that it's downright

3
Napoleon could have learned something from
daunting, even for us, who earn our living as these leaders. His arrogance and over-confidence
experts on leadership. cost him the Battle at Waterloo.

That's why we consider it imperative to offer
a simple, forthright answer to the question –
what skills does a CEO need most?
The answer begins with one word: Clarity.
Successful leaders we've worked with and
studied are very good at finding ways to
get and stay clear. These leaders
The third skill is a willingness to be change-able.
Emerson, of course, said it best: "A foolish
consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." The
change-able leader sets flexible standards, a
perfect approach in this fast-forward millennium.
For a leader who wants to transform an
organization, changing himself/herself is the first

4
step. After all, fighting change or trying to change
unabashedly seek ever-greater clarity about
others wastes valuable energy. Embracing change
their values, strategic direction, strengths,
and leading change uses energy productively.
weaknesses, and who and what will help them
achieve their goals. The fourth skill is an ability to manage anxiety,
starting with one's own anxiety. No one can get
They refuse to look at getting clear as a one-
clear or stay clear if they're highly anxious or
shot deal. They see it, instead, as a never-
they're working in a highly anxious environment.
ending journey.

1
Anxiety enervates, rather than energizes. It's
For the leader who wants clarity, there are five infectious and destructive.
foundational skills that help along the way.

5
True, a leader can get most people to act out of
The first of these is learning agility. The fear, but this is no way, ultimately, to build an
learning agile leader is able to change organization that's vigorous and sustainable.
personal, interpersonal, and managerial
The fifth skill is the capability to develop direct
behavior quickly. This is a person who works
reports. There's no sense in having high potential
hard to continuously improve, change, and
employees unless you help them become all that
grow. He/she understands that different
they can be. Of course, challenging and stretching

2
situations may require different skills and
people requires the ability to see who they actually
approaches.
are and what they might become. It also requires
The second skill is linked directly to learning planning and follow-through, and allowing people
agility. It's coachability. Great leaders are to stay with a responsibility until they complete it.
unafraid to learn from someone else. These
These, then, are the five foundational skills for a
leaders are confident, but not arrogant; they're
CEO; and they all are undergirded by the supreme
able to say "tell me more, give me feedback,
leadership skill: Clarity.
show me a different way." They never coast.
They never underestimate the competition. And,
people talk to them, because they really listen. Copyright 2000 McArdle Ramerman Inc.