SmartBrief is partnering with Big Think to create a weekly video spotlight in SmartBrief on Leadership called “VIP Corner: Video Insights Powered by Big Think.” This week, we’re featuring Robert Kaplan, a professor at the Harvard Business School.
“It’s lonely at the top.”
Though perhaps a clichéd sentiment among the top-brass, professional isolation can be a very real problem that can cause senior-level executives serious trouble along the way, said Robert Kaplan, a professor at the Harvard Business School.
“You don’t have that many people above you … and so therefore many of the decisions you are ruminating over affect all those people below you. And you feel like, ‘Boy, I’d love to talk to them about it, but I don’t think I can,’ ” Kaplan said.
Instead, Kaplan recommends that bosses take proactive steps to cultivate a support group of professional peers who can provide authentic feedback about decisions and work performance. When leaders have support groups, the top isn’t so lonely anymore, and senior executives can make better-informed business decisions.
“It’s when you are isolated that you make poor decisions. If I’ve got nobody to talk to and am under a lot of pressure and I have to make a tough decision … I am probably more likely to make a poor one,” Kaplan said.
Big Think is a forum in which top experts explore big ideas and core skills defining the 21st century. Learn more from its editors, fellows and guest speakers.
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This is so true. I run CEO/Business owner's peer groups in central Indiana and I am constantly amazed by how much my members give to each other and get from each other. The loneliness is gone and suddenly progress is being made where they were stuck before. Thanks for the validation of this process.
Vistage (http://www.vistage.com/about-us.aspx) provides just such support for CEOs, particularly through their "Advisory Board" peer group meetings. A "best-kept secret" that needs more people to know about it.
I agree with Kaplan that proactive feedback, advice and support from a trusted advisor who knows you will provide you with the required tools and confidence to succesfully deal with new challenges. Newport Board Group is an example of a professional services firm that fills this critical need for CEO advisors for mid-sized company leaders. I would add to the dialog that it's important that your advisor have CEO experience, the ability to be a sounding board as well as a bent toward action.
[...] VIP Corner: Robert Kaplan on why senior executives need a support group: This is a very short article with a 3-minute video. “You don’t have that many people above you … and so therefore many of the decisions you are ruminating over affect all those people below you. And you feel like, ‘Boy, I’d love to talk to them about it, but I don’t think I can,’” Kaplan said. [...]
[...] via SmartBlogs.com: [...]
Great points well made – we find the Chief Executives who belong to the UK founded Academy for Chief Executives http://www.chiefexecutive.com are progressive leaders who benefit from the shared learning and support their group provides as well as the 121 help they get from their Group Chairman. We call it "tough love!" as the advice and feedback they receive from their group peers is given with no hidden agenda and is the view from experienced leaders of growing businesses.