March 2025 Newsletter
Burning Questions from the C-Suite
From a CEO: How do I let go when I’m not sure my Right Hand is going to get the right results?
When a Right Hand runs all or part of your company, it’s hard to know if that person is doing the job well. You hire a senior leader with credentials. You lay out the strategy. You allocate resources. You make yourself available. You request data. And then you watch and hope. Because you never really know what that person doing every day and whether it’s working. And whenever the pressure of not knowing becomes too mighty, you jump in and micro-direct because you have to do something to influence results, dang it.
Are you sick of the Swoop Cycle?
The Swoop Cycle is when you step out and trust most of the time but periodically swoop back in with a big stick or big carrot. Whenever you swoop in, you suddenly find yourself back in the driver’s seat with employees while the Right Hand (RH) sits on the sidelines frustrated.
The best prevention for the Swoop Cycle is better information. We swoop because we don’t know what’s going on, and we sense that something important is off track.
But how do we not have enough information when we review KPIs regularly? Unfortunately, KPIs tell only part of the story. KPIs measure business performance; they don’t measure the RH relationship. They don’t measure how well CEO and RH work together. They don’t tell you if the RH lives the culture, treats people right, makes tradeoff decisions in alignment with your values. They don’t show you where you’re getting in each other’s way. KPIs don’t surface skills gaps and blind spots in the leadership relationship until it’s way too late.
If the RH relationship isn’t working, the resulting fallout and misalignment can sink the whole company. We need to measure and talk about the CEO/RH relationship. We need this kind of information:
Is there anywhere the RH feels stuck?
Is there anything the RH is doing because the CEO told them to even though they disagree or don’t understand why?
What situation or project is the RH most worried about and why?
What things or people take a disproportionate amount of RH time?
What is the RH not getting done even though the CEO wants them to?
What is the CEO doing that is making things harder for the RH?
What is the RH doing that is making things harder for the CEO?
What financial or other worries keep the CEO up at night?
What is the RH doing with people or processes that the CEO doesn’t think will work?
What information are you not sharing with each other because you think the other person’s reaction won’t be helpful?
Consider implementing a RH Checkup as a companion to your current KPI reporting. (Have your RH program-ize this!) Use a meeting or report or any format you want, so long as it is easy to implement and stick with. Be consistent because busy or stressed is when you need the Checkup the most. Do it often enough that concerns don’t fester, but not so often that you’re discussing every detail. Make it as important as your KPI review. It’s an investment in each other.
And CEOs, when your RH begins to share this kind of info, don’t freak out and come out swinging. Instead, take a deep breath and ask your RH how you can help. You are there to help them succeed rather than to solve every problem yourself. Save your swooping for the few true crises.
Conversations that authentically assess and improve the relationship are hard. We have to explain ourselves, admit our flaws, and give direct feedback. One or both of us might get emotional. It probably seems a whole lot easier to keep this stuff to ourselves.
You’re right. It will be easier. For a while. Until things go completely off the rails, and you end up parting ways in a public and expensive failure. Your RH will never be the brain partner you seek if you can’t figure out how to talk frankly with each other about each other. The good news is you don’t have to do this like a pro, you just have to not be a jerk about it. My husband once told me when you don’t know what to do, kindness is never the wrong answer. Just be kind and muddle through because doing it sloppy until you get the hang of it is better than not doing it at all.
Famous Right Hands
Fred Turner was a family man, savvy business leader, and the Right Hand who worked side by side with McDonald's founder, Ray Kroc, to transform the restaurant franchise from a small chain of stores to a global brand. Fred passed away in 2013, at the age of 80 after more than fifty years at McDonald’s where he was known for operations excellence, training, and the overseas expansion of McDonald’s to more than 31,000 stores in over 100 countries.
Ray was described as the “charismatic supersalesman” with Fred as the “man who made things go.” As one of Ray’s first hires and then his protege, Fred became a burger flipper before rapidly ascending the corporate ranks to provide the consistency that became the true secret sauce of McDonald’s. Fred is proof that a Right Hand can come up through the ranks and scale with the company. In 1974, he was named CEO.
Source: Chicago Tribune, January 1, 2009. Corporate McDonald’s, January 08, 2013. The Washington Post, January 8, 2013.
Recommendation
If you need help with complicated conversations like the Right Hand Checkup, we recommend this course Heather is taking by the Crucial Learning folks: Crucial Conversations for Mastering Dialogue. It’s a $350 on-demand class that teaches you how to talk to each other “when stakes are high, opinions vary, and emotions run strong.” It’s about getting results with your conversations, not just making friends. If you want in-person learning or a workshop taught at your company, there’s formats for that too, with prices ranging from $2,000-6,000. If you can’t do a course, you can pick up a pointers from the book Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High. We’re not a Crucial Learning provider, and we don’t get a referral fee. We just love the content.
News
Heather Stone was recently named a Top Performer speaker for 2024 by Vistage Worldwide in the Talent category based on high scores and requests for her topic. She has taught Getting the Right Hand Right workshop to 87 Vistage and TEC Canada groups since September 2023, as well as YPO, WPO, and Independent CEO groups.
What can we do for you?
At Practical PhD, we help companies Get the Right Hand Right so they're ready for top leadership transition in 1-3 years:
Structure the Right Hand role for success
Find and hire a Right Hand
Onboard a new Right Hand
Teach an aspiring Right Hand the job
Performance-manage a struggling Right Hand
Create phased leadership succession plan
Ask about our Right Hand Advantage program, a full-service hiring, onboarding, and coaching solution for CEO, President, and COO level Right Hands.