“The CEOs who harbor the greatest regrets are sometimes those who placed too much emphasis on past successes and failed to part ways with someone when fresh blood was needed,” Nitin Nohria said.
Loyalty over skill costs companies dearly, according to the Harvard Business School researcher in his forthcoming book The CEO, published by HBR Press. Nohria spent three decades studying top executives and analyzed nearly 70,000 hours of time-use data from more than 30 chief executive officers, warning that prioritizing loyalty over competence creates a severe vulnerability for incoming leaders.
“I suddenly realized that I couldn’t get through this job simply by working harder,” one executive told Nohria, describing the fragmented nature of a CEO’s schedule. Leaders also quickly discover that their public statements act as if amplified by a megaphone, carrying unintended weight across the organization.
New executives frequently misjudge their relationship with their board of directors. While members express support, leaders often struggle to decipher underlying expectations.
Nohria’s research shows that top-performing CEOs construct their agendas rather than merely reacting to them. Executives who dedicate 50% of their time to personal priorities report a sense of control over their schedules. Those who drop below 40% feel they work constantly without driving progress.
Exceptional leadership teams require members who possess a dual identity. They must manage their specific business divisions while simultaneously acting in the collective interest of the entire enterprise.
Implementing strategy requires more than executive alignment. Effective leaders identify informal influencers who operate below the formal organizational chart to build broad support for corporate changes.
Nohria highlighted an industrial executive who gathered groups of managers by birth month in random cohorts to observe peer dynamics and locate authentic authority within the ranks.
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