Each month we highlight a #CEO who’s an ExecThread member. Today we spotlight Josh Glantz, former CEO of SinglePlatform & current CEO of Lendware who shares some #career tips: 1) Who are you? “I like fixing things. I don’t have the risk profile to be a “0-to-1” exec, and I don’t get excited by being part of a big company. But show me a business with a bit of traction and some imperfections in it’s #GTM motion, #culture & customer #retention and I’ll accept the challenge to fix them.” 2) How did you find your current CEO role? “I was connected with the #growth #equity firm PeakSpan Capital a few years ago and this past June they asked for help with Lendware, formerly Aidium. After doing an assessment with them for 30 days they asked if I’d like to join as CEO. The deep-dive gave me a chance to evaluate the business, industry & team in a way that made me excited to jump-in headfirst!” 3) What’s been the hardest part of being CEO? “The hardest part has been maintaining balance between: * Short-term & long-term priorities * Client demands & strategic product #roadmap vision * Staying focused on the many tasks at-hand, and crossing them off my list” 4) What’s been the most fulfilling part of being CEO? “I truly enjoy watching my teammates grow, even if it leads to them leaving for a bigger job elsewhere. I love watching & celebrating when a #sales rep makes their first sale; and when we hit our sales targets. I love watching a #product manager demo a new release. I love telling people who have been micromanaged that I’m going to let them figure it out. They start with uncertainty and sometimes require repeated positive reinforcement. But when they finally let go of externally imposed restraints it’s like gaining 2 new team members!” 5) “Everyone wants to be in the driver’s seat, but no one truly knows what it means to be in the driver’s seat (until you’re in it).” What does this quote in relation to being CEO mean to you? “On the way up you think about being in charge, having more control. The reality is being in control means being comfortable with uncertainty. On the way up you often work within someone else’s system, process or plan. When you’re CEO you create it, or lead a team that creates it. That accountability creates more pressure.” 6) What person in your life, living or deceased, has inspired you most (and why)? “There’s no single person. My 2 sons inspire me every day because of how they leverage their strengths, work harder than anyone I know in their generation, and address (and overcome) their own gaps in #sports, the classroom and other parts of their lives.” 7) What’s your advice to the next generation of business leaders, in 5 words or less? “Transparency matters more than control.” Please thank Josh for sharing his #perspective & #advice by commenting below. If you’d like to find a CEO #opportunity there are >600 active CEO searches currently posted on ExecThread; see: https://lnkd.in/gx5PQkBi #inspirational #motivational
Josh Glantz on Leadership & Career Advice
This title was summarized by AI from the post below.
Thanks for sharing your experiences and tips, Josh Glantz. #3 and #4 particularly resonate with me. #3 - being a Chief of Staff to several executives in my career, I've had a front row seat seeing how many priorities and tasks execs need to balance and execute on. That's where a good Chief of Staff (😉) can be a tremendous help to the CEO and the leadership team. We provide that extra set of hands to keep the plates spinning and turbo boost efforts. #4 - I've directly managed dozens, maybe hundreds, of people in my career and like you, I loved seeing them flourish and grow. I was frequently brought in to turnaround troubled teams or departments, and the usual #1 reason for the alleged dysfunction was that the people were not aligned to their strengths, or as you said, were micromanaged. Get people playing to their strengths, empowering them, and all pointing in the same direction towards your goals and you see results quick!