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It takes only a little reflection to understand - if implemented successfully - the intellectual capital throughout the organization can be extraordinary under this paradigm.
DO CEO'S NEED A PARTNER?
Why do Chief Executives - most of whom seem to have considerable ego strength - feel a need for a partner? There are several real reasons. First, no one person has all the answers. Second, it is smart to pilot test an answer before the rollout, even if he or she has made the decision unilaterally. Most importantly, it can get lonely there in the CEO's office. The tough decisions all rise to the top, and the CEO is the only person to feel the full impact of outside forces on a really personal basis - issues such as Boardroom tensions, national and local political impacts on the business and so forth. Plus, there are internal frictions and political factions to confound decision-making.
It becomes clear that a CEO needs a conversation partner, someone he or she can speak with openly and explore alternatives without fear of political repercussion. And if no one on the inside steps up to fill the role, the general management consultants will move in. Senior partner friends of mine at major strategy firms tell me that many of their engagements are the result of this conversation partnering role that they play with their clients. They sell millions of dollars of consulting just because the CEO needs someone to talk to openly!
WHY PARTNER WITH THE CFO?
The Chief Financial Officer is in an excellent position to become the primary confidant of his or her CEO for a number of reasons. First, numbers tend to neutralize emotions and, because the CFO naturally has an overlapping referee role with the CEO in making asset allocation decisions, there is less apt to be political tension with the CFO than there would be between the CEO and a division executive or a senior sales executive, for example. In addition, a newly appointed CEO often makes the Chief Financial Officer one of his first team changes - and being first creates a natural alliance - two "outsiders" learning the terrain together, creating a somewhat natural opportunity for partnering.
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