Case Studies - Becoming C Level

Leading a Start-up
A start-up with about four years of experience, and approximately one year away from positive cash flow, was experiencing a significant leadership problem with the founder and CEO. The CEO was a Ph.D. and former college professor who had spotted an extraordinary business opportunity that he was developing successfully. The company had substantial financial backing from its industry and had grown to approximately twenty employees. While the CEO was excellent at pushing forward the new business idea as well as raising capital, he was uncomfortable with the position as top executive and had no built-in framework regarding basic managerial requirements such as clear definition of roles and responsibilities, effective delegation and performance management. To fill this gap, the board encouraged the company to appoint a COO which was done. After approximately one year during which the COO created bureaucracy and did not add to the managerial effectiveness of the organization, it was decided to terminate the COO and engage a coach for the CEO.

The coaching engagement included all the steps described in Appendix A for a typical coaching situation. The most critical element was the 360 survey. The written feedback report cited "the unanimous wish for you to accept the mantle as CEO which could show itself in the following ways: acting more quickly on difficult decisions regarding people; taking steps to eliminate conflict; putting energy into defining the organization structure; making a continuing effort to clarify the authority of each person." Working on these issues brought notable changes to leadership and management style for the CEO which resulted in his acting and feeling like a CEO. His new actions and approach to his role as CEO led to many favorable changes in the organization as a whole.