by Vegard Rooth, Managing Director at InterimLeder AS.
› Home › Topics › CEO, COO, CFO or CHRO – How do the company’s leadership roles interact?
A name and a role may be enough and a title may not be necessary, but titles still have meaning – both as a magnet, an energizer and a platform for interaction. How much attention do you pay to this aspect in your team, ranging from CEO, COO and CFO to CHRO? And how well do they actually interact within the company?
It was incredibly inspiring to hear and read Marco Elsafadi’s post on “Diversity management and tolerance conditioning” during the Interim Day 2022. Elsafadi made an excellent point about how important it is to recognize differences in the company. By making full use of the tension and dynamism that both job titles and personal differences provide, I believe the potential for good performance in the organization will improve. Both individually and collectively.
Titles are important in attracting the right profiles. There are nuanced differences between CEO, President, Managing Director and General Manager, but which of the titles for top management positions is most triggering? Likewise with the titles HR Manager and HR Business Partner – which is the best magnet for exactly what you need?
Titles, along with the organisation’s profile and reputation, are an important starting point for putting together a team of roles that can succeed.
Why did Erling Braut Haaland want to become a striker at Manchester City and not at one of the other big clubs he could choose? Is it because he recognized coach Pep Guardiola as a master of interaction? As the best person to find out who you should be good with — and how to be good? I have a feeling this might not have unnaturally played a role in the club selection.
„Place the magnets in relation to each other, and take the interaction between them seriously.“
Magnets create energy between themselves. Differences and similarities, in different ways. How many “pluses” and how many “minuses” are needed to achieve the optimal energy balance that the team and the organization need?
Perhaps it is 4-4-2, 5-4-1, or other setups that are best in relation to the challenge your organization faces. But something that is perhaps even more important; What strengths do you have in today’s personal gallery?
These are topics that I believe every business should continuously consider:
Which roles and which people do what to create ideal energy and dynamism?
What could be the potential of putting it on the agenda a little more often?
Or is stability the safest thing?
Personally, I like dynamics.
A team and an organization with clear differences in roles and personnel is, in my opinion, the ideal platform for good interaction. But it is demanding. Large differences create great potential for energy, but it is also demanding to connect a strong “plus” with a strong “minus”. You could say that good electricians are required.
Understanding those who are different from yourself is demanding. Here, I think Marco Elsafadi describes this well by saying that you must have a tolerance condition. In addition, one must continuously highlight the potential the team has – precisely in its differences, so that it becomes a common agenda to exploit this. Place the magnets in relation to each other, and take the interaction between them seriously. Everyone has their individual potential, but who are you good with, and how can you become better with more people and make more people good with you?
It can be easy to forget the potential that roles, titles and people provide. A simple tip could be to – as a minimum – put it on the agenda for natural changes in the company, for example when someone leaves and new people join. Also if the company hires a CFO or CEO as interim manager.
In addition, the interaction of the roles should regularly be part of the agenda. How good did we make each other in this meeting? Will we be better tomorrow than yesterday? If you manage to do that, you will – with a high probability – reach the potential that the company’s roles and personal gallery have. Development is wonderful – create the future!
Vegard Rooth (born 1963) joined InterimLeder AS as managing director in January 2015. He was a member of the board during the period of 2010-2014, and also serves as a board member in Børge Ousland AS.
Since 2006 he has completed a number of interim management assignments and has held temporary positions as CEO or other management roles for companies such as Abax, Advania, TeamUp Automasjon AS, VRS, Swisslog, ICA, Scanmar, Altia, Veolia and Nordic Aero. Prior to this he held several directorships in the SAS Group from 1999 to 2003 and took on responsibility for Estonian Air as Senior Vice President and COO by request from SAS.
Vegard was a central driving force in the establishment of the elite sports college Wang Toppidrett, and has also worked in sports through Olympiatoppen and Golden 4 (now Diamond League).
He was educated at the Oslo School of Management, holds a Master of Management from the Norwegian Business School BI and has additional qualifications from Stanford University and University of Oxford.
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