Passive CEO: Executive Coaching
A passive CEO can have a devastating effect on their team, their company, and their own career.
Passive CEOs are often unclear with their communications because they avoid being direct and avoid conflict.
A Passive CEO May Avoid Conflict
Their avoidance of conflict can mean that they allow dominant staff members to bully the leaders and employees in the company, sometimes even allow themselves to be bullied. In addition, they don’t facilitate conflict management between their direct reports or between departments.
All of this can adversely impact morale, productivity, and customer service quality, and ultimately the bottom line.
An Executive Coach Can Help a CEO Become More Assertive
However, with executive coaching (leadership coaching), a CEO can uncover why they are leading in a passive manner and learn how to become a more assertive leader.
In the following case study, Donna Schilder Coaching worked with a passive CEO who avoided conflict, which caused high turnover, intractable conflict, a lack of trust within their organization. In addition, the leadership vacuum stifled creativity, innovation, and collaboration.
Once the CEO learned to be more assertive, the organization turned around.
Passive CEO Executive Coaching Case Study – Video
In this video, Sherri Cannon, PCC, Executive Coach and Donna Schilder, MCC, Executive Coach & President, Donna Schilder Coaching, discuss how one CEO worked with an Executive Coach to become less passive.
Passive CEO Executive Coaching – Video Transcript
Donna Schilder:
So we had a hospital leader, high up (CEO), who was too passive and knew it.
By the way the passive leaders have a tendency to know it more than aggressive leaders.
Sherri:
Interesting.
Donna Schilder:
Some don’t, but mostly people give people feedback about being too passive, so they hear it.
I want to say that I was too passive and I had a journey where I was able to change. And a lot of our coaches have been too. The fact that we can change means we know how to help you change. So that’s really important.
But the passive leader didn’t bring up her ideas, didn’t represent her department’s interests and it just made things not work well. And in this case, the passive leader was possibly getting a demotion. So she had to step into being more assertive. It may take longer sometimes for the passive person to move into being assertive. But it can be done, and it’s really great work and we love doing it.
Sherri:
How over the course of time is that passive leader doesn’t recognize it, how might being so passive impact their long-term career. Demotion might happen but anything else?
Donna Schilder:
Well yes, demotion or they may get passed over to be to go up to the next step.
And a lot of actual leadership development comes to us with the individual coming to us and wanting to work on being more assertive and being a better leader so that they do get promoted because they see that they’ve been passed over.
And sometimes they can be fired too. So it’s, it’s not a good place to be.
It almost seems like every step you make forward into the next level of leadership you need to step into being more assertive.
And smart companies do this as they get a coach for new leaders so that they can work on these skills and shift because you have to be a different leader in each level of leadership. For sure.
Donna Schilder
Donna Schilder