The Post-Recession Leader: Part CFO, CEO, and COO

Mike Prokopeak
February 8, 2010 | COMMENTS

Due in part to the financial crisis and the high-profile role that many CEOs, particularly bank chiefs, have subsequently played in the public debate about the economy, tomorrow's executive leaders will need to be able to combine the best qualities of CEO, CFO and COO. In the post-recession world, these leaders will be called upon to spend their time differently than in the past, when most CEOs could focus on running the business.

The need to manage new organizational constituencies is particularly important at companies that took federal money during the recession to bolster the balance sheet. Executives of these companies now have government regulators examining the books and asking questions of the company's leadership.

In addition, company executives also are facing increased scrutiny from the corporate board of directors. The Securities and Exchange Commission released a legal bulletin in October 2009 that provided support for shareholders seeking more transparent executive succession plans. The goal is to minimize shareholder risk during leadership transition.

That means emerging leaders will need strong analysis and communication abilities, even more so than before. The directors want more information beyond the regular board meetings and are increasingly asking detailed questions that require substantial work to answer. Emerging high-level executives must polish their financial and operational skills, not just burnish their executive competencies— they must be inspirational, financially literate and know the ins and outs of their business at a sophisticated level.

“They don't need an entourage with them to describe what their company does,” says Stephen Miles, vice chairman for Heidrick & Struggles, an executive recruitment firm. “They can sit in a room, for a week if you want, and tell you every business, every person, how they make and lose money, country by country, product by product.”

Mike Prokopeak is the editorial director for Chief Learning Officer magazine. Read the complete article online here. Reprinted with permission.