Supporting Your CEO Through Challenging Times: Boards need to tend to their business leaders.

• Author: Shea, Gregory P.
• Position: CEO MAINTENANCE

The position of CEO has always been stressful. However, today (and tomorrow and tomorrow and ...) that stress is compounded by a seemingly endless pandemic and social unrest. Directors and boards would do well to pay attention and check in with their top executives.

Researchers from a variety of fields and institutions have addressed the challenges of stress and burnout. This research--combined with my own work with CEOs (including throughout this pandemic) and military veterans and my ongoing studies of New York Fire Department 9/11 first responders, as well as my personal experiences--yields some straightforward and well-supported recommendations for boards concerned about the stress levels of their CEOs.

There are best practices for leading through hard times--practices that can serve as a measure of the performance of your senior leadership. To implement those practices, directors can ask questions to evaluate the wellbeing of the CEO and other senior leadership who are operating under ongoing and unusually taxing conditions.

The person filling the role

Evidence of the rising importance of supporting people as they grind through these times appears almost everywhere, including unlikely sources such as the National Association of Basketball Coaches, which issued a statement that players need mental health tools and support platforms that include journaling, meditation and yoga. These times have highlighted numerous established techniques for handling stress and avoiding burnout. What should you as a director look for from your CEO and their reports as they contend with the heightened, unusual and prolonged challenges that surround them?

Are they clear about who they want to be as a leader? Do they have a personal North Star to guide them? If not, then time to get to work on locating one. Expedite their discovery.

Are they employing best practices for leading through challenging times (as listed below)?

Have they changed behaviorally? In particular, do they seem more irritable, less able to focus, less interested in others, more reactive, more blaming and critical, more isolated, less productive or notably less likely to smile or laugh?

Does their schedule seem maintainable? Have they built in self-care? Are they truly taking time off, or are they always available and plugged in? Are they having any fun? How's their family doing?

In addition to planning for the future for the business, are they making plans for themselves? In effect, do...