Jenny Morawska provides a depth of experience as The CEO Thinking Partner. Having been a CEO in the Biotech industry, Government, Finance and the Consulting industry, Jenny will support you in leveraging your performance as a CEO.
The intensity of the CEO’s job, coupled with the scarcity of peers to confide in requires a trusted colleague for honest and open feedback in all aspects of your business. Jenny will support you in navigating organisational challenges for optimal business outcomes.
Jenny spent many years as a CEO and Deputy CEO. She realised that it can be lonely at the top and that every CEO needs a safe space to bounce ideas, to discuss issues in camera, to share concerns and explore possibilities before opening them to broader scrutiny.
A 2012 survey of 83 CEOs at public and private companies with annual revenues of $50 million to $2 billion found that half of the top executives reported feeling a sense of isolation that can potentially hinder their ability to do their jobs.
Fifty percent of all CEOs reported experiencing loneliness in the role, and of this group, 61 percent believed that the isolation hinders their performance.
Self-awareness is critical to navigating through this. Yet it is precisely at this time when honest, transparent feedback about the CEO’s performance and their impact on the organization is much less likely to come their way.
As a result, isolation limits opportunities for increased self-awareness and blind spots are the enemy to effectiveness. It is very difficult to adjust or improve if the CEO doesn’t have trusted sources to rely on for holding mirror up to them and shedding light on their blind spots.
To counter the isolation Jenny suggests CEOs “find one or two trusted sources who will provide the CEO with unvarnished feedback”. Trusted board members or peer CEOs can often play this role.
It is important to remember that in exchange for feelings of isolation and loneliness, there comes an opportunity to build something enduring that creates value and impacts the lives of employees and improves the communities in which the company works.