Star CEOs can be great for the company image, in turn driving up shareholder value and boosting its talent recruitment efforts. However, there may even be perils as exposed recently from cases at Tesla, Papa John’s and CBS. To balance this, directors need to appoint strong independent directors to counter any such excesses. These independent directors must meet periodically over executive sessions, but not in the presence of the said CEO. As some CEOs, especially the star ones often show traces of narcissism, these directors need to be vigilant to the ego surfacing up. These star CEOs have been known to pay greater heed to advice from other stars rather than those merely experts. So other star CEOs from other companies could be inducted in to the board as their views are more likely to be followed than that of expert directors. The CEO must never be made such a big star so that he/she may even threaten to quit and the board is then at their mercy. Sometimes in order to truly execute the director’s role, one may even need to tweak the CEO’s role to that of chief visionary or chief strategy officer.

Source:https://hbr.org/2018/10/the-promise-and-peril-of-a-star-ceo

Uploaded Date:31st  October 2018

There are six skills identified as fundamental to leadership that must be practiced by all its proponents. The first of them involves the shaping a vision for the company or the team to excite all working on it. This vision must then be transferrable into action through adoption of an actionable corporate strategy put in place. A focus must be established on results that may be quantifiably measurable. Innovation must be a constant part of the game to keep each team member onside, and develop new capable leaders. Careful talent recruitment needs to be conducted so that he strategy drafted can be taken forward by the right people. At the end of it all, one must focus on the self, to keep a balance in life.

Source:https://hbr.org/2018/10/the-6-fundamental-skills-every-leader-should-practice?utm_campaign=hbr&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

Uploaded Date:27 October 2018

A number of S&P 500 CEOs have been identified who proactively follow “serious leisure”. These are hobbies followed seriously for fun or a habit that started at a young age. Such serious leisure may have positive effects on team performance, but it is not always the case. Running marathons has been identified to have positive effect on the productivity, but excessive golfing leads to the reverse. One of the reasons for so many CEOs devoting much time to their hobbies is that it provides detachment from more strenuous aspects of life. Through games and hobbies, leaders can keep the fire burning by striving for their best at all times. Due to the engagement during hobbies with a vast set of people, humility naturally gets bred in. This is great for the company’s talent management efforts. The CEO can feel the full control while pursuing such hobbies. Deeper connections are then forged with team members or general followers. This in turn leads to strengthening of one’s authentic leadership credentials. All this, may eventually lead to one becoming a better all-round leader.

Source:https://hbr.org/2018/10/why-ceos-devote-so-much-time-to-their-hobbies

Uploaded Date:17 October 2018

Some ways have bene identified following which leaders can utilize their time better, but still empower their team members. While it is understood that mentoring is critical, this must be done on hindsight as learning gets reduced when passed on at the front end during peak business hours. Corporate training or mentoring sessions can be formally started with a discussion on the problems the employees faced during the latest work week. Specific boundaries must be created for decision-making where employees can pass on their inputs as done successfully by Zappos. There must be regular meeting with the designated reports plus specific time allotted even for the others. Contrary to popular perception, bosses must not be available all the time. Their lack of physical presence often leads to solutions being figured out by employees on their own.

Source:https://hbr.org/2018/07/4-ways-leaders-can-protect-their-time-and-empower-their-teams

Uploaded Date:17 October 2018