CEOs can learn from each other

Some CEOs live with a deep dark secret: They don't know what a CEO is.

No other job in a company is quite like it, and perhaps none more important to an organization, small or large. Yet CEOs have few places where they can learn to be a CEO.

Even a retired former CEO like Donald Kielley of Wayzata can't tell you what one is.

Talk about lonely at the top.

What Kielley can do is help CEOs figure out what they need to do -- decisions to make, problems to solve, opportunities to pursue.

"I can't give you the answer to what a CEO is but I can help you with the issues that the CEO has to deal with on any given day, and collectively that's what a CEO does," Kielley said. "That's going to give you the confidence to move forward and be successful."

Kielley offers this advice as a local group chair for Vistage, which bills itself as the world's largest CEO membership organization, with more than 14,000 members in 16 countries.

Once a month, chief executives, presidents and business owners who belong to the invitation-only Vistage groups like Kielley's gather in confidence (and away from competitors) for daylong problem-solving meetings.

Typical topics include growth, dealing with competitors and internal issues. "My job is not to answer their questions; my job is to question their answers," said Keilley. That often involves referring members to professionals for specific advice.

Vistage advisers like Kielley also visit each member monthly for one-on-one coaching, offering advice and support while also holding them accountable for actions they committed to undertake.

"My question to all of them was 'What can I do that will be the most useful to you and make it worth your while?'" Kielley said. "Surprisingly for me, they said, 'Hold me accountable.' In other words, there's no one to turn to that basically holds these guys accountable."

Each group also hears from a number of expert speakers each year. Members network at regional and international conferences and also have access to Web-based resources.

The underlying idea is that as the executives become better leaders through insights gained in the group meetings and coaching sessions, they will make better decisions and realize better results for their companies, Kielley said. Vistage, based in San Diego, claims that member companies see revenues grow at more than twice the rate of their competitors.

Significant time commitment

Vistage, formerly known as TEC or the Executive Committee, got its start 50 years ago in Wisconsin, when five CEOs met at a Milwaukee company to test the idea of whether sharing their knowledge and experience could help them get better results for their businesses.

Members pay about $1,000 a month to belong, Kielley said. They also must commit their time: a day each month for group meetings and another two hours a month for the individual coaching.

Kielley has led one group of 16 CEOs for the last 18 months. He is looking for executives interested in joining a second group he would like to form next year.

Ideal candidates include executives who lead companies with revenue of $2 million to $500 million in such industries as manufacturing, distribution or professional and financial services.

Executives who feel isolated, without a strong board of directors or advisers, or entrepreneurs who need to polish their management skills are among those Kielley will consider.

He conducted an event for prospective members this month at the Lafayette Club in Minnetonka Beach. It included a speech by Richard Leider, bestselling author and founder and chairman of the Inventure Group, a Minneapolis coaching and consulting firm.

Kielley's journey to Vistage and coaching began in 2001, when he traveled to East Africa to take part in one of the walking safaris that Leider leads there each year. He saw herds of elephants on the Serengeti and observed a tribe that Leider has researched.

"The elders sitting around the campfires, it's their job to pass along their insights and wisdom to the next generation," Kielley, 60, said. "That fits very nicely with what we're trying to do here and what I'm trying to do at this stage of my life."

During his corporate career Kielley, who has lived in the Twin Cities since 1988, worked in finance, operations, distribution and logistics for companies such as GE and Wilson Learning, where he gained experience in training and served as CEO of U.S. operations for a couple of years.

Jack Holmes, president of Vanman Architects and Builders in Minneapolis, said he's gained valuable input from group meetings on things like marketing plans. Such suggestions, plus the networking opportunities, have helped his company grow as a result.

"You basically bare your soul to members of your group because you know that it's in confidence, that you can really talk about what your main issue is and get some honest answers," Holmes said.

Peter Jacobson, president and CEO of Daily Printing in Plymouth and a Vistage member since 1996, said the group has helped him address growth opportunities and employee issues.

"They're an extension of my board of directors, that's how I look at them," Jacobson said. "If I bring an issue before them, how can they all be wrong? I tell executives who aren't in it you can't afford not to be."

The expert says: Bob Muschewske, senior vice president at PDI (Personnel Decisions International), a global consulting firm specializing in talent management, said CEOs are supposed to provide a company direction, trust and hope.

"In providing those things the leaders needs to strike the balance between being real and genuine and recognizing the responsibilities of that leadership role," said Muschewske, who is based in Minneapolis. "Sometimes you just can't be as honest with your anxieties and concerns as you'd like to be."

Organizations like Vistage or the Young Presidents' Organization can be useful for training, learning skills or concepts or building networks, Muschewske said. CEOs from other companies, however, might not know enough about a particular firm to help with difficult internal issues.

Muschewske also said CEOs can benefit from having internal confidantes who can give them open, honest feedback.

Todd Nelson is a freelance writer in Woodbury. His e-mail address is todd-nelson@mac.com.