Becoming a CEO (and Staying There):
Acquiring the Leader's Edge


(This new program will debut in November, 2010.  See below for details.)  


Are you CEO material?  Do you have the necessary job experience, emotional competencies, interpersonal skill sets, decision-making ability, practical insights and leadership style to make it to the top and stay there? If so, the opportunities abound. Forty percent of CEOs flame out during their first 18 months on the job and, on average, organizations replace their CEOs every five years.

You succeed when you know who you are,  where you want to go and how to get there. You rise to the top when you know the rules of the game, what deficiencies you need to address, what talents to optimize and what values to live by. Can you satisfactorily answer all those questions for yourself? You will when you have completed a realistic self-assessment, acquired the requisite skills, identified the fundamental principles of ascendancy, devised a workable plan of action, and learned how to get by the gatekeepers. 

To get to the top, you don't need to be working in a blue-chip company,  be a graduate of a top B-school, have the highest IQ, be the smartest in math, or have a "leader" gene in your DNA. So, if it’s going to happen, it might as well be you. Because you are the only one responsible for realizing your potential and ultimate station in life. Where you are today is a consequence of your past choices. Where you will be in the future is the product of today’s decisions.

Certainly unwavering desire, unshakable focus and consistent effort are important.  But so too are insight, street-smart savvy, a knowledge of the essentials and an understanding of the shortcuts. You don’t become a CEO by accident; you get there with a plan. And this program will enable you to design your own plan for rising to "the corner office on the top floor" in an organization of your choice.

You can't lead without committed followers.  This intensive, highly interactive learning experience provides the knowledge, tools and skills needed to achieve an executive presence that inspires and guides people to do remarkable things. Step 1 is learning the tools and acquiring "the edge" that gets you noticed as "the one." Step 2 is understanding the dictates, demands and nuances of CEOdom that secures and ensures longevity at the top. Indeed, newly-minted CEOs may discover some beneficial insights and advice for thriving in the C-suite.

This timely, provocative program  is the creation of Dr. Jim Murray who has been a successful CEO of both large and small organizations in the public and private sectors. He has a distinguished track record in helping senior executives and over 600 organizations achieve their often underappreciated potential. His life’s quest over 40 years of exemplary practice is to liberate personal genius and change lives.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

This residential learning experience is aimed primarily at those who are in positions of executive responsibility  but can also provide an outline of the structure, methods, answers and “know how” for anyone aspiring to this level of leadership. For, no matter what your starting point, you can always become better. In fact, with the right framework, tools and guidance, you can become an extraordinary CEO. (Practicing CEOs might also find benefit in acquiring new insights on the art of leading from the top and in strengthening the skills needed to "stay there" or, perhaps, move on to much larger organizations or more challenging responsibilities.) 

THE CURRICULUM

The learning format format is practical, reflective of the latest research, and highly interactive. Relevant case studies, group diagnosis and sharing augment the learning. Participants are encouraged to discuss their professional challenges with each other in confidence. Attendees are expected to complete several tasks prior to their arrival. Additional subjects are covered in supplemental notes. The following is an outline the sessions and topics covered in this new program:

The Realities of Leadership Today:

  • The simple steps to the top: A guiding framework
  • The opportunity and reality of reaching CEOdom
  • Who and what make the best CEOs?
  • Uncomfortable truths and unacknowledged secrets
  • The concept of leadership: Finding the prescription
  • The traits, intelligences and mantra of leadership
  • Leader or manager: Role clarity – which are you?
  • Defining the role: The essence of corporate leadership
  • Disqualifiers and derailers: How to sink your chances

The Challenges of Leadership: 

  • The challenges CEOs face: Inside, outside and in the future
  • Why CEOs get fired: The failures and delusions of leadership
  • Understanding the job: Linkages, DNA and effectiveness
  • Achieving and reinforcing organizational clarity and focus
  • The CEO’s role in determining vision and strategic direction
  • Human and technical processes: Finding relationship synergy
  • Executive skills that truly matter in the 21st Century organization
  • The CEO entrance exam: Did you pass or did you fail?

Building the Plan:

  • Getting to the top: The principles of success
  • Are you really CEO material? The self-assessment
  • The tools: Setting your compass and creating your map
  • The plan: Architecture, key ingredients, getting started
  • Practical tips from Mom, practicing CEOs and others
  • Self-motivation: Sustaining the commitment

Navigating the Obstacles:

  • Achieving mindfulness: Dealing with blind spots
  • Reconciling the paradoxes of becoming the top dog
  • Taking risks, learning from failure, overcoming the dip
  • Culture fit: Are you right for the organization?
  • How to survive and thrive in the selection interview
  • Doing your due diligence and negotiating what counts

Perfecting the Skills:

  • Finding wise advisors and building useful networks
  • Getting noticed: Being effective, not busy
  • People skills: The art and science of influencing others
  • Self-promotion: Differentiating and selling yourself
  • Playing the game of office politics: Winning with integrity

The First 100 Days:

  • Letting go: The CFO’s lament
  • The wisdom of mothers and ex-CEOs
  • Where to begin, what to do, how to do it
  • Building a talented and cohesive executive team
  • Values: The most misunderstood, misused leadership tool
  • Developing a symbiotic relationship with the board

The CEO as Chief Decision Maker:

  • Where the buck stops: The ultimate accountability
  • Avoiding the echo chamber: The value of dissent
  • Creating a powerful team decision-making culture
  • Giving and receiving feedback that can make a difference
  • Making the really tough calls that define a CEO
  • Building risk management intelligence and capability

Beyond the First Quarter:

  • Building productive, creative, healthy and smart organizations
  • Dealing with crisis: The essence of leadership
  • Aligning strategy with business model innovation
  • Anticipating and detecting high-impact surprises
  • Avoiding really bad business decisions and strategies

The Responsibility of Leadership:

  • Vision building: Leaving a legacy for the future
  • Dealing with ethical dilemmas: The slippery slope
  • Walking the talk: Mentorship and succession planning
  • Dr. Jim’s 10 Commandments for practicing CEOs
  • Redrawing your map and resetting your compass
  • The defining question: What is becoming a CEO?
  • Sustaining the commitment to excellence

This program will debut November 21 - 24, 2010, at White Oaks Resort & Spa, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. 
For more information or to register for this offering, contact Robert Gagnon, CA, at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario at 1-800-387-0735, ext. 326 or at rgagnon@icao.on.ca. The program is open to non-members of the Institute.