The Axe

The Axe

It was a rocky time at my company.  There was a vocal group that was attacking the company, making claims against the leadership. The CEO during this time decided to leave and the board hired a new one.  From my point of view, the board brought in an axe man, even though to this day, that CEO believes he wasn’t.

I was still in a very junior position during this time, so my view into the executive wing of the company comes from looking in so even to this day, I don’t have a complete picture.  Prior to the CEO leaving, his executive team, being loyal to him started to push back against the board.  I was told by someone who was always in the room that one of the executives even went so far to insult individual board members during their meetings.  The board was unhappy, the executive team was unhappy, and the consumers were unhappy.

When the new CEO showed up, it didn’t take long for an “early retirement” package to be offered to the company.  It was crafted in a manner that qualified the normal group of people and most of the executive team.  Although two members of the team didn’t qualify.  When the offer timelines came up almost 10% of the company took advantage, most for the right reasons.  Oddly enough though, all those executive team members also took it; but there was a difference in the air.  For those of us looking in, it seemed they were told to take it.  Of those two other members of the team, one left after his position was no longer needed during a reorganization of the company and dispersed his people into other departments.  The other executive stayed and helped guide the company into a calmer period.

The axe man announced his retirement soon after, taking the employees and the board by surprise.  For me, this was a moment where I started to wonder what I could learn during the brief time he was there.  You see, while he was held in high regard by the board, many of the employees didn’t hold him to the same level.  It wasn’t his fault though and this is why.  He wasn’t leading the company long enough for his decisions and their outcomes to be fully measured.  Decisions that leaders make have an immediate impact and a long-term lasting impact, on the legacy.  The impact of early retirement was immediate.  A new executive team with new ideas after the stunning vacuum that was created.  The axe man was not at the company long enough to be measured beyond that one key activity.

For me, I put him in the top half of leaders I have worked with and met, but with a strong caveat that he wasn’t there long enough for me to see how he would have done over time.  Walking into a new organization or leadership role, we will be measured by our words and actions from day one and every day after; even after we are gone.