If those pillars aren't solid, you also likely find yourself trapped in what Stephen Covey calls the "sand": the endless day-to-day operational tasks and firefighting. When you are buried in the sand, you aren't working on the "rocks": the big, strategic moves required to grow your company profitably, predictably, and sustainably. Staying in the weeds causes the company to stay tactically busy but strategically stagnant. It leads to slower progress, limited profitability, and a CEO who is overworked and stressed. It’s a catch-22: you feel you don't have time to develop your team because you’re too involved in their work. Instead, gradually break this cycle by putting in place the systems that ensure your team achieves great results on their own. To start working ON the business instead of IN it, you must master these four pillars: 1. Get Your Executive Team Aligned 2. Get Your Executive Team Executing Efficiently 3. Develop Your Executive Team Into High‑Performing Leaders 4. Get Your Executive Team Living the Core Values to Drive a Healthy Culture Let’s discuss each one. 1. Get Your Executive Team Aligned A CEO can’t be strategic if the leadership team isn’t aligned on where the company is going and what matters most. Using a One Page Strategic Plan, annual and quarterly planning, clear roles and expectations, and efficient buy‑in, the CEO and team create shared clarity on:
When leaders help create the plan, they own it. They can then direct their work toward the company’s goals without the CEO guiding every action or decision. This shifts the CEO from chief problem solver to chief clarifier of direction. Alignment is the foundation that makes the next three pillars possible. 2. Get Your Executive Team Executing Efficiently Once aligned, the team must execute with discipline and predictability. This is where most CEOs get dragged back into the weeds: unless they install the right systems. Using a Monthly Operating & Financial Forecast, Quarterly Targets & Priorities, a consistent Meeting Rhythm, and a Results Tracking System, the team gains:
These systems compress all the CEO’s monitoring, checking, and problem‑solving into efficient structured rhythms. Leaders can see what’s happening, solve issues early, and hold each other accountable, without relying on the CEO. Execution becomes a team sport, not a CEO burden. 3. Develop Your Executive Team Into High‑Performing Leaders Even with alignment and execution systems, the CEO stays in the weeds if leaders can’t perform at a high level. Quarterly Coaching Reviews, Personal Assessments, Quarterly Development Plans, and Weekly One‑on‑Ones create a structured approach to developing leaders who:
This is how CEOs stop carrying underperforming leaders or repeatedly coaching the same issues. As leaders grow, the CEO can step back because the leadership team is finally capable of running the business. 4. Get Your Executive Team Living the Core Values to Drive a Healthy Culture A healthy, values‑driven culture is not soft. It is one of the most practical tools for keeping the CEO out of the weeds. Defining core values with specific behaviours, sharing core value stories, coaching for cultural alignment, and using Topgrading to hire high culture‑fit leaders ensures:
This means more time for the CEO to focus on the big picture. And when leaders model the values, their teams follow. This reduces the operational noise that often pulls the CEO back into the business. A healthy culture is a self‑reinforcing system, one that frees the CEO to lead strategically. The Proactive Flywheel This transition won't happen overnight, but as you tackle each pillar, you create a virtuous cycle. By freeing up your time, you can focus on the higher-level work: refining strategy, gathering customer feedback, and succession planning. Even better, you can then have your leaders implement these same four pillars in their own teams. This increases your organization's overall capacity to achieve its long-term vision.
If you are a prairie CEO who wants to grow a thriving company, team and life more quickly, more easily and with less stress and headache, please contact me here.
The following video refers to my previous 5 Minute Growth Tip video: Is your executive team aligned?, Is your executive team executing efficiently?, Are your leaders high-performing?, Is your executive team driving a healthy culture?.
In my next 5 Minute Growth Tip, I'll discuss how the book Rock & Sand, by Michael Synk, distinguishes between day-to-day operations and the big changes, improvements and growth moves to propel a company forward. If you are a prairie CEO who wants to grow a thriving company, team and life more quickly, more easily and with less stress and headache, please contact me here.
The following video refers to my previous 5 Minute Growth Tip video: "Is your leadership team driving a healthy culture?"
To get a running start on your core values behaviours, contact me to get the AI prompt we use with clients. Or complete the form on this page. If you are a prairie CEO who wants to grow a thriving company, team and life more quickly, more easily and with less stress and headache, please contact me here.
The first of these practices, defining core values with specific behaviors, is the foundation. Without clear, observable standards, culture remains a Growth Tax that creates friction and drains energy. When you define exactly what is expected, you give you and your executive team the tools to hold each other and others accountable. This process is adapted from the "Mission to Mars" exercise popularized by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in their best-selling book Built to Last. Here are the four steps to defining core values with specific behaviors: 1. Identify the “Culture Ambassadors” The first step is for the leadership team (LT) to individually identify the top five people in the company (outside the LT) they would send to Mars to represent the best of the company's culture to a group of Martians who don’t speak English. You aren't looking for what these people say about your culture; you are looking for how they behave. Each LT member writes down the specific characteristics that make these individuals ambassadors. When the team shares these names and traits, you aren't looking for common people, but common themes of traits. These themes reveal the values that are already real and noble within your organization, rather than aspirational slogans. 2. Pass the Core Value Litmus Test Once you have identified potential values, they must pass a rigorous three-part test to be considered "Core." A value is only core if:
Crucially, the CEO must fully believe in each value. If the CEO isn't 100% committed to the hurt of upholding a value, they will never be motivated to hold their team accountable to it. And if their team isn’t living the values, the rest of the organization won’t either. 3. Create Unique and Memorable Phrases To prevent values from sounding trite or like a corporate fad, create a brief, 3-to-5-word memorable phrase for each one. This phrase should reflect the day-to-day speak of your company. For example, instead of just saying "Integrity," you might use "Do the right thing". Keeping the phrase short ensures it is memorable and can be used in hallways and meetings. Putting the original value word in brackets right after the phrase provides clarity, while the unique phrase provides the soul of the organization. 4. Define Tangible, Observable Behaviors The final step is to define three specific behaviors for each core value. To save time, use AI as a starting point. Provide the AI with your industry and company size, and ask it to generate tangible and observable behaviors for your specific values. The moment of truth happens in the editing. The LT and CEO must rigorously review and adjust every word of these drafts to ensure they reflect exactly how they expect people to behave. If you don't do the hard work of making these behaviors your own, you won't have the conviction to enforce them. And if you don’t enforce them, no one will take them seriously and your culture will erode, along with performance.
If you are a prairie CEO who wants to grow a thriving company, team and life more quickly, more easily and with less stress and headache, please contact me here.
The following video refers to my previous 5 Minute Growth Tip video: "Is your leadership team driving a healthy culture?"
For the process I use with clients to identify their core values and behaviours, see my next 5 Minute Growth Tip.
If you are a prairie CEO who wants to grow a thriving company, team and life more quickly, more easily and with less stress and headache, please contact me here.
1. Defining Core Values with Specific Behaviors
After the toxic leader was removed, the team revisited their core values. They paid special attention to the value of Learning. They realized they needed to move away from knowledge hoarding. They defined Learning not as formal training, but as a daily verb: being curious, self-reflection, being coachable, and, critically, educating those around them. This reset the expectations for everyone in the company. 2. Sharing Core Value Stories To make these values stick, we introduced a ritual. At every monthly and quarterly meeting I facilitated, I asked the leaders to share one great thing an employee had done that month and identify which core value it represented. While it felt awkward at first, it soon sparked a new energy. It made it crystal clear what right behaviour looked like and created a healthy peer pressure to lead by example. 3. Coaching for Cultural Alignment Even before the team fully implemented Job Scorecards, the defined values became the "North Star" for coaching. The CEO was finally able to move away from subjective "feelings" and clearly articulate: "This is the behavior we expect here, and your current actions are not aligned with that." Having a shared language for behavior allowed the CEO to address issues with objectivity and firmness.
If you are a prairie CEO who wants to grow a thriving company, team and life more quickly, more easily and with less stress and headache, please contact me here.
 Transformative lessons on constructing – and reconstructing – a life In partnership with Growth Faculty, we are delighted to bring you the What to Make of a Life live virtual event with Jim Collins How do we build a life of meaning, momentum and renewal across decades, through transitions, and in the face of the cliff moments that test us most? In this powerful event, legendary researcher and bestselling author Jim Collins shares insights from his forthcoming book What to Make of a Life (April 2026): a decade-long investigation into how people navigate the defining fracture points that shape their destinies. Drawing on deep comparative studies of remarkable figures - from Olympians and rock musicians to scientists, suffragists, actors, and leaders, Collins uncovers a framework for understanding how individual lives can be built, sustained, and constantly renewed. One of the world's bestselling business authors of all time Through vivid stories and a robust evidence-based framework, Collins explores the essential questions every leader and human faces::
Tuesday, April 28, 2026 - 6-7:15 pm in MB, 5-6:15 pm in SK NON-MEMBER: $99* (incl. a copy of the book) | MEMBER: $0*  *Prices quoted in USD. How can you develop your leadership?
To find out how to develop your leadership to grow more easily, quickly and profitability, AND enjoy the ride, try our complimentary Agile Growth Checklist. This self-service questionnaire takes 5 to 10 minutes to complete. You'll receive the checklist with your responses immediately. Within 24 hours, you'll receive a compiled report highlighting areas to improve. Complete section 1 to check your company’s leadership processes. Or complete all 7 sections to find out how your company is doing in each of the 7 areas needed to produce more rapid, profitable and sustainable growth. This report is complementary and involves no obligation. |
Archives
December 2029
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
Copyright © 2018