Over my years as CEO at Kannar Earth Science, Ltd. I’ve concluded that many conventional ideas about CEO leadership are indeed backwards. Specifically, the belief that the CEO position is the top of the corporate food chain and the only leader who provides the vision, direction and ultimate decision-making is, in fact, misguided. As CEO at Kannar, I’m a follower first.
Last month, we posted an article about our ‘Growth by Design’ corporate mindset. In a nutshell, growing by design means we invest time for each of our team members to define who we are today and, even more importantly, who we desire to become. Our company’s overall growth plans are supported by each team member’s passions, priorities, and personal direction.
We recognize this is a difficult mindset to adopt given common wisdom. “Isn’t the CEO the final authority who also tells everyone where they’re going and how they’re going to get there?” I say: not at all. My calling is to encourage with something like: “Hey team, I have this dream. By the year 2026, how can you support achieving twelve patent families; five of which generate licensing revenue?” As CEO, I surrender the details on how the team achieves these types of goals. I trust the fulfillment achieved by each member living out their individual strengths, passions, and purposes.
Specifically, that calls for me, as CEO, to then follow our team. My primary role is to support each team member with adequate resources and encouragement.
But this process isn’t easy, especially for those who newly join our organization. Once someone is hired, we ask and help that person to unlearn any corporate destructiveness commonly found in many workplaces. We then ask: ‘How can we support your passion?’ That’s because, so long as they’re passionate about food security and global environmental stewardship; have an outlook that is service-oriented rather than entitled; are willing to invest in long-term solutions instead of Band-Aid fixes; and carry responsibility instead of blaming others, then they and our company will thrive.
Bringing continued positive changes to agriculture starts with leading ourselves well. Visitors to our workplace often say, ‘Wow, Sam, we knew you were passionate about the company. However, everyone here lives their passion! How is that even possible?’ It’s possible because we all work for a purpose more noble than just our paychecks. Our goal is that everyone on our team achieves the highest fulfilment possible while at work. Each day, we ask of ourselves: ‘To what extent do I show up to work excited and leave with my head held high?’ That’s our marker of true success as a company and the way I know that we are a wholesome organization…one I can follow with confidence!
