Every company starts with a vision. A discovery of a problem or a pain, and an idea of how to solve it. Or, generally less successfully, a creative solution that eventually finds a problem to apply itself to.
The key is the insight and the ability to envision a different, altered future. What follows is a plan on how to get there, or at least direction in which to point first. And the first step.
No wonder then, many CEO founders are what we call Visionaries. These are the inventors, the creators, the scientists, experts in their fields. Or experts (by talent or education) in understanding people’s needs, and the ability to inspire teams to eagerly descend on finding a solution.
These amazing qualities, needed for an early success of the business, often come at a cost. Visionaries tend to struggle with lack of tenacity needed to see their ideas through to the end. They may not be great at managing people (which doesn’t necessarily make them bad leaders). They may hate the detailed aspects of financial management. Dotting i’s and crossing t’s is the definition of hell for them. Yet, they suffer through the business drudgery because they must. Until they reach a point….
The company stops being the exciting vehicle to realize their ideas. Their business becomes a heavy burden, weighted down by responsibility, draining the Visionary’s energy, diminishing their ability to thrive in their zone of genius.
Quite often, sadly, they don’t recognize soon enough they turned from the engine pushing the company forward into a bottleneck, holding it back and away from its true potential. They burn out, sometimes together with the company. Or, they leave, spent, giving the reins to someone else, with dubious chances of success.
There is another way. Read Rocket Fuel by Gino Wickman & Mark Winters. Introduce yourself to the idea of an Integrator, someone whose qualities make them the ideal complement to the CEO’s strengths, forming an unbeatable force. The “Tim Cook” to the “Steve Jobs,” or Roy Disney to his younger brother Walter.
An Integrator thrives where the Visionary struggles. They free the CEO from those burdens of business, allowing them to focus on the future, while the Integrator deals with the pesky present.
Obsolete as it may be, I do like the analogy with the pilot and a flight engineer. The pilot points the plane, the engineer makes sure everything on and in said plane is running smoothly to reach whatever the agreed-upon destination is.
I am amazed at how often, when working with an overstretched CEO, we find their integrator already inside the company, ready to jump at the opportunity. As coaches we work with them both as a unit, as they are ultimately running the company together – while crystal clear on their respective roles, responsibilities, and expectations.
If you are a Visionary CEO, have you found your Integrator yet?
