I’ve just read the press release that Pfizer put out to announce that their CEO, Jeffrey Kindler, is retiring. Here’s what Kindler says:
“The combination of meeting the requirements of our many stakeholders around the world and the 24/7 nature of my responsibilities, has made this period extremely demanding on me personally.”
Such releases from public companies are normally sanitised so this admission suggests a real personal cost. There is a macho assumption that the CEO should take on a relentless 24/7 globe-trotting role and the technology makes it easier than ever. But what does this do to some of the fundamental dimensions of great leadership such as delegation, resilience to stress, work-life balance and so on? Surely time to think again?