Handling Non-Execs: The CEO’s Real Test

Every CEO will tell you that running the business is only half the job. The other half is handling the board and, in particular, the non-executive directors.

Your brain is chatting absolute bollo*ks.

It feeds you fear, dresses it up as truth and keeps you stuck while convincing you it’s keeping you safe.

Women don’t need more women in leadership; they need more men who actually give a sh*t.

The reality is that most senior executives, especially CEOs and board members, have the attention span of a caffeinated goldfish

If you wanted to learn guitar and kept whacking the strings like you were trying to kill a spider, you’d get nowhere. Hire a teacher, change your approach and suddenly you’re cranking out Wonderwall like it’s 1995.

If you think cutting sleep is the price of leadership, you’re already paying for it — in slower decisions, weaker focus and a shorter fuse.

No one questions the late-night shareholder dinners where the wine keeps flowing, even when there’s a critical board meeting the next morning. You can show up visibly under par, off your game and no one says a word (believe me, I’ve been there when it’s happened…more than once!), because that kind of hangover is still more acceptable than choosing not to drink at all.