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In my first month as CEO, I sat down for lunch with a few clients. To say I learned a few things is an understatement.
These customers saw a lot of promise in our technology that worked for their business. But when we talked to them personally, we discovered some changes they may make to assist them use the software to its full potential.
In other words, it was the moment every latest CEO lives for. As a brand-new CEO, you have a beneficial window into the business—a probability to see things with fresh eyes and make real changes. But that doesn’t last endlessly.
I recently experienced this firsthand. After a two-year hiatus, I was reappointed as CEO of the POS and payments platform I founded, tasked with leading it to long-term, profitable growth.
My situation is unique as a returning founder, but the same basic principles apply to anyone stepping into a latest CEO role. For those entering the workforce, here’s capture a “fresh perspective” moment.
Before you do anything, listen
In my non-CEO days, I worked in environmental protection. And if I’ve learned anything from working with those that are tasked with solving complex global problems, it’s to first listen. Listen to people, gather information, and collaborate on solutions.
The same goes for a latest CEO, who needs to start out by building trust. As a returning founder, I had a head start in that department. Still, there are a lot of recent faces and voices since I left.
So how should a latest CEO listen?
Don’t come in with an agenda that makes you ignore the tough questions and concerns. Instead, emphasize that you would like to hear them, whether it’s what’s not working in the product, or the strategic direction, or low worker engagement. People should see you as someone who looks at the business with a critical eye, without the illusion that the whole lot is perfect.
For example, when Oscar Munoz took over the struggling United Airlines in 2015, he began his successful turnaround with domestic operations listening tourtalking to mechanics, baggage handlers, and flight attendants. I approached it similarly. We immediately organized a leadership retreat so I could spend time with each member of the leadership team and discuss with employees.
I also visited customers in Australia and New Zealand, where I met individuals who perfectly matched Lightspeed’s profile and listened fastidiously to the commonalities that emerged.
I also listened to board members and shareholders. Getting their outside perspective was beneficial in understanding not only how the market viewed our business, but also how we could proceed so as to add value in their eyes.
The temptation could also be for the latest CEO to step in with a gun. But that initial listening phase is priceless. Across industries, corporations are looking for CEOs and other executives with good listening skills. And the advantages will be dramatic. Organizations that hearken to worker feedback and act on it are three times more likely to fulfill or exceed financial goals and 10x the likelihood of high customer satisfaction and retention.
Remember, just telling people you’ll listen isn’t enough. It’s about listening from multiple perspectives, then working with your leadership team to create a plan that integrates wealthy solutions. Then you have a small and urgent window to take motion.
Don’t miss your probability to act
One of the biggest benefits of a latest CEO is the opportunity to alter the direction of the company, so it is essential to display consistency in these actions inside the first 90 days.
I didn’t go back to being a CEO to be popular. Yes, I can still be an empathetic, compassionate, caring leader. But ultimately, a CEO’s job is to be effective, to not be liked.
When a latest leader is brought in to remodel a company, it is imperative that they live as much as that responsibility, even if that sometimes means doing unpopular things. Listening should be a prelude to motion, otherwise it is an empty gesture.
After taking up as CEO of Microsoft in 2014, Satya Nadella saved the tech giant from irrelevance, rapidly changing focus from selling software to cloud services. Thanks to this and other drastic changes, Microsoft has turn into one of the most useful corporations in the world.
Sometimes that requires throwing out some long-held company traditions and practices. Before I got here back, one of our annual traditions was a sales summit where people from throughout the world would fly into our headquarters. We adapted the format—making it virtual—and created a lot of operational efficiencies in the process.
Bringing everyone together made financial and business sense at a time when the summit was attracting a few hundred people and helping us build our culture. But I could not justify such a large expense if it didn’t directly profit customers.
Research shows that when a latest CEO makes changes early on, they’ll have a compounding effect on the business. What happens in the first 90 days or more sets the course for the company over the next three to 5 years.
And people expect their leader to take motion. For employees, it is definitely one of the three most vital characteristics of effective leadership, global study CEOs were found to be described as “decisive” 12 times more likely be efficient.
How to know when all of it comes together
Of course, none of this is easy to do. The early days of a latest CEO are stuffed with potential pitfalls.
For starters, their arrival will be unsettling for team members. People have various levels of tolerance for change. Especially when such changes are significant, it is essential to indicate empathy by acknowledging that they will not be easy.
The latest leader also needs to honor the accomplishments of those that helped build the company. A bit of humility here goes a great distance. I am grateful for the difficult work my predecessor did. After all, he set us up for future success by making difficult operational changes.
Ultimately, leveraging a “fresh perspective” as a CEO is about mastering the balance between appreciating what made the company great while making essential changes.
How do you know you probably did it right?
When people say they feel connected to the company — and you’re feeling connected too. That does not imply there’s complete agreement. But after hearing the other person’s perspective, everyone is on board with a plan to maneuver things forward. There’s energy and excitement to push in a latest direction. And there’s a sense that it builds on previous input and labor.
For the whole lot to go well, the latest leader must make the most of this moment of fresh perspective: first take the time to listen, and then act as quickly as possible.