THE COACH: Caught in the vice, or conducting the orchestra?

The CEO's role is unique, caught between governance and management, being both, and neither. In this, there is a trap – and an opportunity, as well as a valuable lesson for any role.

We work in a role according to how we imagine it. This was driven home to me, recently, as I listened to the chief executive of a mid-sized charity, Michael, explaining how he felt: "I'm caught in this vice; the board seems to enjoy applying pressure on every issue, big or small - and my managers constantly demand support, advice, decisions, and arbitration of their disputes. You know, I haven't had a phone call, in three months, that offered me any help in my role," he said.

It's a truism that the CEO role can be lonely, but what sort of support can a CEO, justifiably, give and receive?

No-one can perform a complex role, unsupported. Many CEOs, however, set up an unsustainable situation – particularly those with a strong service ethic and in organisations that assume the CEO must always provide so-called 'servant leadership'.

Often, these are individuals who were brought up to be strong and self-sufficient - and while this behaviour is essentially 'good', don't be deluded; if it goes on too long, that person will, ultimately, let down the organisation because:

• The executive team will be de-skilled;
• The succession plan doesn't exist;
• Any board dysfunction becomes magnified;
• The board gets tempted to 'manage';
• The organisation goes inadequately represented to its donors or stakeholders.

Worst, the organisation's clients are damaged, when they should be cared for.

What to do? (It's worth noting, elements of this issue – where being a 'good' boss produces poor outcomes - crop up in all of our roles.)

1. Forget 'governance' or 'management' – you are the senior executive.

Because Michael lacked a clear concept of the role, he was unable to define a more useful metaphor.

Sound fluffy? Michael acted as if it were true he was in a vice, and others responded (unconsciously) accordingly. By seeing that the executive role handles a distinct task-set that is neither governance (the audience), nor management (the players), we came up with the idea that the role is more like that of a conductor of the wonderful composite instrument that is an orchestra.

No metaphors are perfect, but this one enabled him to get the executive team to work with creative ideas, rather than 'fixed' models, and the board to stay out of things, while offering really valuable insights into the overall organisation.

The 'non-fluffy' part, is that the metaphor also conveyed Michael's view of:

• how he would act;
• what 'excellence' and teamwork meant;
• how he saw 'service';
• how he expected others to interact with him.

2. Understand that the CEO's metaphors crystallise the concept of leadership.

Only the CEO really gets to 'live' the entire organisation – and that perspective is a touchstone for leadership. Properly expressed, the CEO can provide the context, meaning, and vision that generates excellence.

3. Craft your own support circle.

If you lack support inside your organisation, do what canny CEOs do and seek it externally, where you can find independent and objective thinking. This might be in the form of one of the CEO support groups, a think tank, a professional coach/mentor, or a group of individuals you have known over your career.

In the end, if you don't find a way to design the role and express it so that others can respond productively to you, you will – deservedly – be crushed in a vice of your own making.

Sean Spence works with boards, CEOs, and their teams, as a consultant and coach on a range of issues. He has more than 30 years of international experience in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and Melbourne, with firms such as Price WaterhouseCoopers and Russell Reynolds.

He has an MA in Physics from Oxford University and was made a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) in 2003.