When the CEO’s Personal Needs are at Odds with his Organisation’s
Today marks the last day of my two-year-deployment to the HR function of this scale-up. How far have we come together?
The successful completion of a two-year deployment
A tech-for-good IT consultancy founder and CEO, whose company had scaled from nearly nothing to SGD 8 million in booked tender revenue, initially hired me not as a leadership coach but to be deployed to the HR function to address what he saw as a manpower shortage.
But as we delved deeper, my intuition – developed over extensive experience in manpower challenges at company and industry levels – warned that the underlying issues could be far more complex than what met the eyes. Conflicting job structures, divergent directions, and mixed leadership messages, were all contributing to what the team coined as a 'burnt-out culture.' Clearly, the solution required more than just recruitment.
A key focus during the company's scaling was to implement planning frameworks to facilitate objective decision-making. This was also when I learned about the CEO’s undiagnosed ADHD, making it difficult for him to follow structures. His personal needs were at odds with his Organisation’s. Concerned that planning processes might make the ADHD CEO’s life more difficult, we decided to divide and conquer: I would focus on the Organization’s needs for planning while he sought professional help for his undiagnosed ADHD.
The following months were intense. My Client frantically learned to work with plans and frameworks through professional help, while I worked on the Company’s needs and self-studied ADHD – not to coach him, but to understand him. Our engagement wasn't without friction (don’t believe in anyone who tells you that they have no friction working with an ADHDer!). We strived to maintain open communication, allowing for honest expression of frustrations and embracing our differences. I encouraged him to have similar transparent conversations with his team, seek their understanding while acknowledging any difficulties his ADHD might have caused.
Today marks the last day of my two-year-deployment to the HR function of the Company. We achieved a whole lot together. My life has been much enriched by a leader willing to take a humble seat to go through the personal challenges for the greater good of his people.
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Together with the CEO in these two years, we:
Developed a complete HR framework from the ground up, covering the Salary Structure, Human Resource Planning, Performance Reward & Management System, and necessary Policies & Procedures
Refined the company's Vision, Mission, and Core Values to align with the new direction through workshops with leaders and team members.
Created Strategic Plans to scale and expand the CEO's vision over the next three years.
Initiated the Target Setting Process.
Established the Company's Financial Reporting Framework.
Provided Performance Coaching for both the HR and Corporate Teams.
Unearthed and addressed co-founders dynamic issues.