Leadership OS 1.2 - Blocker Removal

Chiefs of Staff & EAs, it’s time to grow a beard and eat a lot of spanakopita. Channel your inner Socrates to remove your CEO’s biggest blocker and drastically reduce their anxiety.

Welcome to a new series of newsletters where we show you how to build a Leadership OS - the operating system that helps C-suite let go & do more.

Read on to learn how to implement Blocker Removal for your principal.

Leadership OS 1.2: Blocker Removal

Overview

Identify 1 big blocker to a mission-critical, high-impact project via the Socratic method. Commit to 3 simple solutions to removing that blocker right now.

C-Suite Benefits

Clear strategy, Less anxiety, Faster execution

Implementation

1. Set up a recurring weekly meeting to do Blocker Removal

2. If you have a daily standup, listen for your leader's blockers

3. Use the Socratic method to identify the problem set & root causes

4. Identify a solution, define a plan of attack and delegate work to your team

5. Track Blocker Removal progress and follow up on outcomes

6. Get your CEO smiling again

Blocker Removal Exercise

Think of your most mission-critical, high-impact project. Could be launching v2 of a product, installing a new GTM tool for the sales team or completing a successful Series D fundraise. Identify the biggest blocker to completing this project.

By using a series of questions via the Socratic method, define the problem set and identify the root cause of the blocker. Then brainstorm 3 simple solutions that you can complete to remove it.

Remember, the path forward could be over, under, around or through the blocker. Choose your solution wisely - the path of least resistance!

Once you agree on a plan of attack, you can delegate the execution to someone on your team. Or AI can take it on for you. Or perhaps you just realize the blocker is not worth your team’s time and effort, and you just say no.

The more you practice problem identification, root cause identification, solutioning and delegation, the more your leader can reduce their stress and get back to execution.

That’s it! You’re ready to channel your inner Socrates on your way to systematically removing your CEO’s biggest blockers.

Let me know if you have any questions or run into any problems.

And If you want to learn more about how we can help you design & build a Leadership OS for your C-suite team, reply “SYSTEM” to this email.

Chief of Staff Jobs

Welcome to our Chief of Staff job board. As always, if you have a Chief of Staff job you’d like shared, let us know.

Deputy Chief of Staff, Worldcoin, San Francisco, CA

Chief of Staff, Elemy, Chicago, IL

Chief of Staff & Culture, Southern Poverty Law Center, Atlanta, GA

Chief of Staff, Product, Patreon, New York, NY

Chief of Staff, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA

Chief of Staff, Way, Austin, TX

Chief of Staff, Chorus Innovations, Long Beach, CA

Chief of Staff, Replo, Remote

Help Us Grow

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Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for next week’s edition.

Until next week,

Mackenzie

Mackenzie Lee | Founder & CEO
M: 650.283.4152 | E: [email protected]
New York City, NY & Palo Alto, CA
www.CedarChief.com

Cedar specializes in helping top executives let go and do more by building their Leadership OS - an operating system that turns your C-suite team into fast & fearless leaders.

Our unique process involves ex-management consultants, Chiefs of Staff, and top engineers who design & build integrated systems of people, process and technology that produce highly effective leaders. This can include hiring your Chief of Staff, defining CEO Protocol, and building C-suite dashboards. On average our clients see a 25% meeting reduction, 20% strategic sales increase, and 2x speed-to-execution in their first 90 days with us. Data is continuously analyzed to improve system performance and accelerate growth.