Adam and Kevin do a great job at highlighting all the challenges faced day to day by a CEO. Excellent book and very simplistic which allows the reader to have their own input and use it in any industry.

THE CEO TEST

The CEO Test, from authors Adam Bryant and Kevin Sharer, is a useful reference for anyone in leadership roles concerned about whether they’re carrying out their responsibilities well.

Let’s face it: the higher up an organization one goes, the less tangible the metrics one against which one gets measured. Inasmuch as there will always be obvious goalposts—quarterly results, deadlines met, and so on—these rarely encapsulate the underlying qualities of leadership exhibited by those in positions of responsibility. The metrics for those are a lot more squishy: qualitative, somewhat subjective, often of the “I’ll know it when I see it” variety.

In contrast, Bryant and Sharer distill the demands of leadership into seven questions that CEOs should ask themselves by way of self-assessment:

• Can you develop a simple plan for your strategy?

• Can you make your organization’s culture real—and matter?

• Can you build teams that are true teams?

• Can you lead transformation?

• Can you really listen?

• Can you handle a crisis?

• Can you master the inner game of leadership?

Of course, the whole point of The CEO Test is that Bryant and Sharer explore each question in greater detail, with reference to specific organizations and executives by way of example. Yet at face value it’s easy enough to intuit from these questions what’s expected of a leader. Leaders need to translate strategic goals into tangible objectives for those who make up the organization to comprehend. They have to live an organization’s values and walk the talk. They have to rally people and enable them to work together and create environments where this is possible. They must be prepared to take an organization from what it is to what it needs to be. They must be open to feedback. They must have the resilience to weather challenges. Most importantly, every leader must appreciate that leadership is often a delicate balancing act between extremes—optimism and realism, freedom and structure, confidence and humility, and even selfishness and selflessness to name but a few.

Any leader worth their salt must always be prepared to ask the hard questions, and there are no harder questions for leaders than whether they’re doing the right things. The CEO Test is an appropriate guide to help individuals not only become the leaders they want to be, but more importantly the leaders their organizations need them to be.

The premise of this book is that by understanding how CEOs manage challenges, we can all be effective leaders no matter our role.
Each chapter runs through a different test that CEOs face. Starting with writing strategic plans, building workplace culture and teams, transformation, listening, handling a crisis and managing the challenges of being a leader.
Many case studies and excerpts of interviews with CEOs are used throughout and although there are a zillion leadership books available, I find there is always value in learning what others have done and why.
As a HR consultant I got most value at of the first part of the book in terms of case studies I can further research and use with clients, but I think this is a short and useful book for any current or aspiring leader.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

What are the Dilemmas of the first time managers

How Demanding should you be ?

When do you let go ?

When do you step-in to do the work ?

How do you provide the direct feedback without being too critical ?

How do you strike the balance of being friendly without trying to be just one of the gang ?

What are the right moments to show vulnerability ?

Is it always better to put up a front a never-let-them-see-you-sweat confidence ?

So, These are the problems faced by a new manager who leads the front line employees who directly design, create , update a company’s products.

If you are at a senior position then you face different problems. Now you are leading leaders. There are layers of managers below you who all have to be aligned around shared goals. you have to build and manage new networks of relationships across the organization. you are expected to deliver at a consistently high level. the sheer volume of meetings, emails, and cross - department project deadlines become a test of endurance.

A CEO has a different set of challenges. This book shares stories, insights and lessons from dozens of chief executives. It also talks about challenges, paradoxes that are foundational to effective leadership.The book talks about seven tests that each CEO goes through and that will define and refine his leadership. So, What are The Tests that the book is talking about ?

Test #1 Can you develop a simple plan for your strategy ?
Can you bring a simple plan, with the help of your team, to solve a complex problem ? A plan that your employees can hold in their head. Creating a simple plan is like setting the trajectory of a rocket launch. If you are a few degrees off, over time you will miss your mark by a long shot.

What should you do to build a simple plan ?
-- Focus on outcome rather than priorities. Outcomes should be measurable.
-- Edit your vision Ruthlessly. Can you create a vision that the front line employee can understand and implement it in his daily work ?
-- As your audience gets bigger and bigger, your message must get simpler and simpler.
-- Communicate : There is no such thing as overcommunication. All Hands, email blasts , web casts. All these approaches are necessary to fight the collective short attention span in organizations.

Build the habit inside your company of simplifying complexity and designing a simple plan to ensure everyone is aligned around a clear goal and have the levers to achieve it, identify the challenges that stay in your way and a scoreboard for measuring progress.


Test #2 - Can you make the culture real - and matter as well
In Any Organization, Culture is almost like religion. Defining, Modeling, Enforcing and Assessing a company culture is the responsibility of a CEO and senior leaders. Without a strong, positive culture, you stand to drive employees away and miss out on the best talent. Team engagement and productivity are other casualties.

Test #3 - Can you build a team that are true teams ?
Can you define the Purpose of the team ?
Who should be on your team ?
How will the team work together ?
What is the leader’s role on the team ?
You need to answer all these questions.

Test #4 Can you lead transformation ?
The status quo is enormously powerful, and the enemy of the change. How will you lead the transformations you need to think about it .


Test #5 Can you really Listen ?
Can you sense the danger signals ? Danger signals can be faint, and remember bad news travels slowly. So be careful.


Test #6 Can you handle a crisis ?


Test #7 Can you master the inner game of Leadership ?

All other previous tests focus on what an effective leader must do but this test focuses on what an effective leader must be.

First find who you are and then Find the balance between being yourself , compassionate and holding people accountable.

The field of leadership is full of contradictions. If you ask for advice, one will say “Lead from front” and another one will say “Lead from behind” , “ Never Let them see your sweat” to “ You should be vulnerable” , “Take you decisions fast” to “ have patience” . The key is to remember that one size doesn’t fit all.

If you have taken up the challenge of becoming an effective leader then be prepared for many long and steep learning curves that are discussed in this book like - Learning how to write and communicate a simple plan, Build culture and high performing teams , drive change, create systems for listening, and manage crisis. Authors say that these tests the critical reasons why leaders succeed or fail in their roles.

Though I am a front line manager and a confused one also. But after reading this book I realised I need to find out my own way to deal with the paradoxes that I face at work, This book makes it clear that in leadership there is no solution to a problem in balck and whilte everything is in grey shade and as a leader you need to be prepared to experiment with solutions and find the right combination for you and your team.

Remember, No One can succeed without a clear strategy, an effective leadership team, and a well defined culture.

I loved this book.

The demands on leaders are increasing these days. A century ago it was enough for organizations to provide salaries in exchange for labor. After few decades, leaders are expected to provide safe working environment. As time goes by, the expectations grow of leaders as they should care about not just the business but also the emotional well being of the employees. Today the leadership challenge is still fluid, making the job of the leaders more challenging and exciting.

This book provides the test on what it means and how to be successful leaders in the rapidly changing environment. Drawn from the insights of more than 600 CEOs and personal experiences of the author, the lessons in this book will help anyone not just CEOs to create the environment where success will thrive.