Q: If leadership is sacrifice of self-interest, why then do companies have CEOs – that one person that’s tasked to lead the team?
Asked by anonymous
A: You need to remember that the rest of the executive team are leaders too. Leadership is a skill and the CFO, CMO, CHRO, CTO, etc have all demonstrated this ability and that the success of the business, above themselves is in their best interest. However, they have done this skillfully, they have aligned their own goals to the success of the business. Which is why they’ll sacrifice their comforts at the time of need to work late, fly and drive around, take pay cuts and do it all without complaining one bit. Because they understand, if the business wins, they win too! However, in the midst of leaders, you need the one person that can be tasked with making all the hard decisions when presented with conflicting views and can do it quickly and decisively, for the good of the entire business. When the different leaders meet, they have different views on how to handle situations and the best course of action to take. That’s why a CEO exists. You need a captain to steer the ship, a general to rise and lead the army into war! Someone who can listen to all the views and skillfully craft the best way forward. Why is the CEO successful? Because he has a great team of leaders in the executive backing him up.
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