Sir Steve Lancashire is Chair of Forum Strategy’s National #TrustLeaders CEO network. He also provides mentoring for CEOs across our network and on the Being The CEO programme. This month’s blog by Sir Steve includes reflections on some of the key findings from Forum Strategy’s #BeingtheCEO Report 2023, particularly touching on the topics of founder and non-founder CEOs, and succession planning.
#BeingTheCEO: Over to you…
Significant birthdays often serve as poignant milestones prompting a degree of introspection. They invite us to evaluate our life’s trajectory, accomplishments, and decisions made thus far and to muse on unmet aspirations and, of course, the path ahead. So as I hit the big 60 last week (SO hard to believe I know) I found myself submerged in contemplation not only about personal stuff like family and relationships, goats and the pursuit of happiness, but also the professional aspects of my journey so far and, in particular, the career choices I’ve made.
I think my mind was drawn to this last aspect because much of my professional life now is spent mentoring some wonderful people who are either aspiring to the job I love most in the world, are in the early stages of getting to grips with it, or have been in it a while and are seeking self-actualisation. That pinnacle of personal and professional development which is marked by the realisation of our fullest potential and the alignment of our innate abilities, aspirations, and leadership capabilities, (part of my musing was whether or not I ever reached this point!)
I’m not going to answer that question (personal reflection should sometimes stay that way) but it did prompt me to ask two questions, ‘If it’s a job you love so much, why did you stop doing it?’ (Because 60 is the new 40) and ‘How do you really know as a CEO if it’s time to step down and hand over the reins?’