Leadership At The Senior Executive Level: What To Focus On
Achieving a senior executive role is a significant milestone. I often receive this question from new senior leaders: "What should I focus on, and what should I ignore?" They feel that the way they drive impact needs to become more strategic, but the workload can seem overwhelming. How do they recalibrate their focus?
In my experience, success at the executive level often boils down to mastering three foundational pillars: culture, strategy and proactive sustainability, at times also combined with operational deep dives and strategic rainmaking. Since I became a first-time CEO of an online media company 15 years ago, I've found that attention to these areas adds the greatest value to your team, your customers and the long-term success of the business.
1. Culture: The Backbone Of Organizational Success
Culture can be the ecosystem in which everything else thrives or fails. At the senior level, one of your roles is to define, protect and evolve the organizational culture. Focus on these key aspects:
• Values
Clearly articulate and embody your organization’s core values. You can be the champion by leading by example and the enforcer by rewarding (or not rewarding) certain behaviors. One CEO I worked for distilled it into a single, powerful statement that the entire company believed in: “We work hard, we play hard and we have fun doing it.” Under his leadership, the company grew from $200 million to $3 billion in about 10 years.
• Engagement
Understand what motivates your team at all levels and determine which of their interests align with the company in order to unlock their best performance. Foster open communication, collaboration and recognition. I remember a president at another company expressing frustration that one of the people who reported to him directly always did exactly what he was told. What the president truly wanted was open communication—people who would challenge his blind spots. We realized this stemmed from a lack of trust, unity and engagement among the team, which needed to be addressed.
• Purpose
Anchor your decisions and communication around the organization’s mission. In my experience, people engage more deeply when they see how their work truly matters. Two books that have had an impact on me in this area are Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Selling with Noble Purpose by Lisa Earle McLeod. When I linked my daily activities to the ultimate value to clients, I worked harder, felt passionate and inspired the same in others.
Finally, ignore superficial perks or short-term morale boosters. While tempting, these do not solve deeper engagement or alignment challenges.
2. Strategy: Setting The Direction And Building The Roadmap
Your strategy should answer two fundamental questions: "Where are we going?" and "How will we get there?" At the senior executive level, you are not just a participant in strategy discussions—you are shaping and driving them.
When developing your strategies, start by establishing a clear and inspiring long-term vision for the organization. Break this vision into tangible milestones by identifying actionable steps, required resources and key performance metrics. For example, my company was founded on the mission of helping leaders and companies maximize success—senior operators guiding senior operators. It was a big idea that we had to break down into unique competitive differentiators, areas of expertise, milestones and responsibilities.
Also, regularly revisit and refine your strategy to maintain relevance amid changing market conditions. Remember to maintain your focus on essentials while eliminating distractions, and avoid overcomplicating plans with unnecessary details or obsessing over outdated KPIs. In my experience, clarity and adaptability matter the most in a good strategy.
3. Sustainability: Ensuring The Mission Endures
Success is not just about reaching milestones—it’s also important to make them sustainable. This means ensuring your organization can maintain its mission over time without depleting resources or burning out your people.
Start by assessing whether your financial, human and operational resources can support your long-term goals. Understanding the fundamentals—your balance sheet, profit and loss statement, cash flow statements and critical business KPIs and ratios (past, present and future)—is especially important for this step.
Creating sustainability is also about looking ahead. Do you have the right talent now, and will you have what you need in the future? How will market trends affect your product, supply chain, pricing and competitive positioning? Are you proactively identifying and addressing vulnerabilities that could disrupt continuity?
Remember, purely reactive fixes typically don't provide long-term sustainability. Focus on systemic solutions that address root causes.
Situational Leadership: The Operational Imperative
Situations will arise that require senior executives to step in and get their hands dirty. While your primary role remains strategic, here are two ways to get involved effectively:
• Be operational when needed. Find ways to remove obstacles and solve critical issues. Your team may lack experience in anticipating potential risks—that’s where your leadership comes in. Sit down with them, ask the right questions and guide them to solutions without micromanaging. When you do step in, ensure that you only need to solve the issue once by adjusting faulty processes to prevent recurrence.
• “Make it rain.” Whether it’s cultivating a key relationship, closing a game-changing deal, launching a new product or entering a new market, senior executives can and should bring about transformative opportunities. While you don’t want the company to be dependent on you alone for growth, you can play a key role. I still enjoy helping my team connect with the next best prospect through my network or sparking ideas outside our predictable roadmap.
I believe an important skill for every great leader is the ability to balance situational demands without losing sight of the broader mission. Avoid getting stuck in daily operations—delegate effectively and focus on high-value contributions.
Final Thoughts
Leadership at the senior executive level is about balance—maintaining focus on culture, strategy and sustainability while staying nimble enough to address operational demands and seize big opportunities.
Success isn’t about doing everything—it’s about consistently doing the right things. Define your priorities, align your actions and lead with purpose and intent.