“Today, Julie, we are going to imagine that you and I are an organization’s Board of Directors or Board of Trustees. Our immediate task is to hire a CEO.”
“Not a problem, Curmudge. Everyone with small children knows how to play ‘Let’s Pretend.’ But isn’t that a bit of a stretch—you and me on the Board?”
“Julie, except for the lessons we teach and the authors we quote, everything in this blog is fiction.”
“I can relate to that. If we are going to pretend, we might as well enjoy it. You can be a hard-nosed, successful business person, and I’ll be a well-to-do philanthropist. But I’m already confused. I thought our starting point was going to be an organization in big trouble. You have Collins’s book, Good to Great, on your desk. Shouldn’t you be reading somebody’s Bad to Average?”
“You know me. I don’t have time to stop at ‘average’; we’re going all the way to ‘great’.”
“Hoo-ah, Curmudge. So back to our Board meeting. I believe the person we want to hire will know what to do, how to do it, and have a track record of having done so in the past.”
“That’s it in a nutshell, Julie. You’re my kind of don’t-beat-around-the-bush Board member. According to research by Jim Collins and his team, there are a few more qualities we should seek in the CEO who will lead us to greatness. Most importantly, the CEO should be a so-called Level 5 leader.”
“You are suggesting that there is a five-level hierarchy of executive capabilities, with Level 5 at the top. I bet that Collins drew them in the shape of a triangle or pyramid. One can’t be an author if you can’t draw a pyramid.”
“Level 5 leadership is comprised of humility and will. Although Level 5 leaders are extremely ambitious, their ambition is channeled toward the institution, not themselves. They possess an unwavering resolve to do what must be done to make the organization great.”
“Curmudge, if humility is essential, the flamboyant types one reads about in The Wall Street Journal and those with nicknames like ‘Chainsaw’ probably don’t make it into Level 5.”
“That’s for sure, but Level 5’s can’t be pushovers. Let’s focus on their ‘resolve to do what must be done.’ According to Collins, the first thing our leader will have to do is ‘get the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus) before you figure out where to drive it.’ If our fictional organization is really in deep trouble, this process may be a bit unsettling. Nevertheless, doing things in the right order is essential; first the right people, then the right direction. As Collins said, ‘Great vision without great people is irrelevant’.”
“Okay, Curmudge, we’ve found and hired a Level 5 CEO. I guess we can stop pretending that we are the Board and I can open my eyes now. Oo! What happened to my designer clothing and high heels? Here I am back in my blue scrubs and my Superclogs™. So what’s next?”
“Now that the right people are on board—and hopefully most were already present—we’ll talk about the CEO’s next steps. Are you with me?”
“As you wish, Sir.”
“At your service, Madam.”
Affinity’s Kaizen Curmudgeon
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