Why are you still stuck?

You have a decision you need to make. Deep down, you know what you should do. And you have known for a while. But you cannot bring yourself to act. 

CEOs frequently share this dynamic with me. Sometimes they are stuck in The Niceness Trap. Sometimes they are wandering around in The People Paradox. Other times they just don’t have someone giving them permission to lead. 

But for those who have decided and who have moved, what makes the difference? 

In this week’s episode, Will Jones shares about a challenging situation he walked into as he started leading at Thompson. In his first month, his CFO came to him for a signature to pull $150,000 from their endowment to cover $200,000 of payroll. (This is not ideal.)

Drastic times, drastic measures. Will went to his board, explaining that he needed to lay some people off, to navigate the financial shortfall and begin to right the ship...in his first 60 days as CEO. 

Some people ask me if a coach would help with this. I usually say no, because of what Carol Bremer-Bennett told me in Episode 24: