Amid the demands of managing operations, meeting targets, and resolving day-to-day challenges, one thing often gets overlooked by a Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the time to pause and ask whether the company is still moving in the right direction.
For Alan Low, CEO coach, Vistage Chair and founder of CEO Circle, CEOs and business founders need the space to step away from their daily operational routines, not as a luxury, but as an essential part of effective leadership.
“Many CEOs are not short of ideas, experience or ambition. What they often lack is the uninterrupted space to step back and look at their business from a broader perspective,” he said.
He was interviewed after recently conducting the CEO Masterclass Live with a group of CEOs from diverse business and corporate backgrounds.
According to Low, much of a CEO’s time is spent in meetings, making decisions, resolving issues, and ensuring teams meet their targets. However, being caught up in the operational cycle for too long can make it difficult for leaders to step back and see the bigger picture.
“Amid all the busyness, when was the last time they stopped to ask, is our strategy still relevant? Is the business and company we are building truly on the right track towards the destination we want to reach?” he said.
“Change does not always begin with learning something new. Sometimes, change begins when a CEO looks at the same situation from a different perspective,” he said.
He also pointed to the tendency among CEOs to become too deeply involved in the business and repeat the same decision-making routines.
“CEOs need time to think strategically, rather than simply reacting to whatever is happening in front of them,” he said.
This perspective led CEO Circle to organise the CEO Masterclass Live on August 5, which received an encouraging response.
According to Low, the strong response reflects a growing awareness among senior leaders of the importance of having dedicated space to think, reflect and reassess the way they lead.
His experience in coaching groups of business leaders has further reinforced his view that CEOs are not expected to be perfect or to understand every aspect of their organisations.
“Good leaders are those who are willing to ask the right questions, listen to different perspectives and acknowledge when something in the way they lead needs to change and improve,” he said.
The awareness was further reinforced through the CEO Strategy Room: Vision to Victory, held on September 23 in Kuala Lumpur. The small-group session provided CEOs and founders with an opportunity to examine their business challenges, strategies and direction in greater depth.
Low added that the greater the responsibility a leader carries, the more important it becomes to remain open to learning and change.
“Sometimes, we want to see change in our company, our teams and our performance, but we forget that the change may need to begin with the leader themselves,” he said.
“When a CEO’s perspective changes for the better, the decisions they make moving forward can influence the organisation to change as well. For leaders who are busy moving their companies forward every day, perhaps it is time to ask, am I truly leading my company in the right direction?” (For more information, Alan Low can be contacted through the website: www.ceocircle.com.my)
