The Hindu Business Line : Stroke at the top

For CEOs it’s now or never. As leaders they have to set the tone for themselves and their companies by focusing on results through health, relationships and work-life balance.

The price of stress.

V. K. Madhav Mohan

At 43 Gurpreet was at the peak of his powers. Following a glittering career of 20 years he was now top dog. Having triumphed in innumerable marketing battles and boardroom skirmishes the CEO’s chair was rightfully his. King of all he surveyed! Brooking no dissent! Nothing was impossible for him; quickfire decisions, faultless project execution at lightning speed, awesome strategic grasp of markets, technology and environment.

The collapse

Gurpreet was the very epitome of hard driving professionalism and brash self-confidence. And then the inevitable happened. During one of his regular commutes to Delhi and back Gurpreet noticed a faint tingling in his arms, legs and lips.

Onboard the aircraft he felt a strange sensation of weightlessness and then the next thing he saw was blurred unfamiliar surroundings. Gurpreet lost consciousness on the flight and on landing was rushed into the ICU. Seeing his wife he tried to ask where he was but, horror of horrors, he wasn’t able to speak. Neither could he move. Gurpreet had suffered a stroke!

Stress, 14-hour workdays, poor eating habits, lack of exercise, drinking and smoking had placed intolerable strain on his heart, kidneys and indeed, his entire body. Over the next week he hovered between consciousness and sedation. Speech returned but only his wife could understand his slurred articulation. Memory was another story altogether; only bits and pieces could be recalled.

Movement was almost completely impossible. Over the next three months Gurpreeet waged a raging internal battle alternating between anger, frustration, depression, fear, despair and pain.

But the doughty fighter that he was, Gurpreet recovered as much as anyone in his condition could. He regained most of his memory and could walk with the noticeable gait of a person with aphasia. His speech was still partially slurred. But his left arm was limp and so was much of his left side and leg. With all that he was functional, just barely so.

The transformation

When Gurpreet arrived at the office three months after his stroke his colleagues were shocked to see the transformation in their boss. Gone was the brisk striding forceful personality.

In his place an unsteady and unintelligible shadow of a man sat in the CEO’s chair. The physical changes were one thing; but the psychological changes they experienced were much, much worse. Nobody knew what to make of the new Gurpreet and how to cope with his new behavioural pattern.

The “new” boss was a mass of contradictions. Decisions which once flowed with effortless ease were now postponed indefinitely. Suspicion and insecurity were the hallmarks of Gurpreet’s new style. Because he feared people losing faith in him and acting independently he tried to centralise everything; even senior managers found their powers curtailed drastically.

Every decision had to be made by the CEO and yet, that was the last thing he did. Vice-presidents had to cringe before him to obtain permission for business travel; all vouchers had to be scrutinised by the CEO before they could be paid; promotions and increments were based on personal loyalty, not performance; the CEO’s wife became a very important player because he only consulted her.

Stifling environment

The results were predictable. Organisational logjams were ubiquitous. Top performers left in droves. Poor performers elevated sycophancy to an art form and cemented their places. Accountability, trust, teamwork, delegation and leadership were conspicuous by their absence. The entire work environment became highly toxic. Naturally, production, sales and profitability evaporated.

The shareholders soon found the entire scenario untenable. The company was sold and Gurpreet was forced into premature retirement. A career that promised much was over! An exciting company ceased to exist!

As India powers onto sustained double digit growth I’m afraid there are many Gurpreets waiting to happen in corporate hierarchies. Growth and success are all very well but at what cost?

Are health and relationships dispensable like throwaway plastic? Why do super intelligent and highly successful executives have such a powerful death-wish?

For CEOs it’s now or never. As leaders they have to set the tone for themselves and their companies by focusing on results through health, relationships and work-life balance.

Else, not only will they crash and burn, they’ll take a lot of people down with them.

And the funny thing is, getting the balance right guarantees sustainable success. Role models must model the role!

TheLonelyCEO@gmail.com

http://TheLonelyCEO.blogspot.com

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