theceomagazine.com | 15A TAILORED APPROACH
As the founder of a start-up technology company,
Court was thrown into leadership at the deep end.
“When you’re creating the product and business
model and running the business all at the same time
there are some best practices to follow, but it’s more
about figuring it out yourself,” she says. “That’s
probably why, while I know training is good to have,
I find actual operational experience more useful. I like
to give senior managers the opportunity to take charge
of and implement large strategic projects, and I also
make sure they’re involved in investor relations and
financing discussions.”
CEOs should know each executive well enough
to provide tailored training, appropriate opportunities
and relevant support. Whether the learning is in the
classroom or on the job, it should take account of their
individual strengths and weaknesses.
“To avoid any possible bias, some companies opt
to bring in an outside expert to establish appropriate,
personalised plans of action,” says Jurd.
AIM, which has been committed to developing
leaders since 1941, now offers a suite of learning
solutions including short courses, vocational
qualifications and tailored corporate and public sector
learning solutions accessible to global professionals.
More than 75 short courses are available, with online
and custom options.
“Popular leadership courses for CEOs as well as
their C-suite cohort include Strategic Leadership,
Leading with Emotional Intelligence, and Change
Management,” says Cavalier.
The NPA builds leadership through collaborative
peer-to-peer support.
“We provide a forum structure where executives
can discuss their issues and concerns with non-
competing peers in a totally honest and open way,”
says Connealy. “We work only with people in the NFP
sector but there are similar models for executives in
commercial organisations.”
Smith’s leadership coaches begin by helping both
the CEO and the executive to define the required
outcomes and how success will be measured.
“We can then develop practical ways of building
well-rounded leadership skills,” he says.
Whatever the approach, it seems that developing
great leaders for the future is one of the most powerful
things you can do as a CEO to support the business
and your own career.
Support team | INSPIRE