Here are some of my “CEO thoughts”. Each of these is distilled wisdom all about communication.
In my work with Canadian CEOs and leaders over the past decade, one name comes up more than others, Dave McKay of RBC. RBC is the top global banking brand and the top Canadian brand overall. I pay close attention to what Dave says, and this 43-second video (see below) is priceless as well as concise in its wisdom.
I reposted it on LinkedIn adding some “CEO thoughts” on this, then with a reference to search my site, as within my 2,000 or so posts I have referenced each of them multiple times from different angles. To search in this way, go to your favourite search engine and type site:tommccallum.com, then your search term. Here are the thoughts I posted on LI, here linked to a post referencing each “CEO Thought”:
I’ve been coaching CEOs and senior leaders for over a decade. In that time I have also distilled some key messages to simplicity. My most frequently used one is the same as the key message Dave gives
Get clear on the Why and the How is easy
Early on in the short video, he also notes a message that I distil down to “never be more than one hilltop ahead” (see image above of Don Quixote).
Here are three more of my one-line “CEO thoughts”:
- You have a one-line job description, “Keeper of the Vision”
- The less you “do” the more valuable you are to the business
- Leadership is about people, end of story
Each of these is all about communication.
As Dave talks about, the WHY is key, but so is the WHAT and HOW of your communication.
Leadership communication is my core work and there is much to the WHAT and HOW, but for now, one more simple thought for you:
Now, that last link is to an in-depth and multi-faceted post around the WHAT and HOW of leadership communications. A simpler one is one of the core posts at the base of each page of my site, “Cascading Leadership“. Suffice to say, though, that the WHAT and HOW of leadership communication is nuanced and complex (just as “business is simple, people are complex“), so, back to the start, always remember to get clear on the WHY, to begin with!