Image: Шерер, Набгольц и Ко (Scherer, Nabholz & Co), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

On Saturday night I went to the theatre – Melbourne Theatre Company’s ‘Uncle Vanya’. I was looking forward to it because it was written by a contemporary Sri Lankan playwright and set in Sri Lanka, a country I care deeply about because my youngest daughter is adopted and has Sri Lankan heritage.

How wrong I was…

‘Uncle Vanya’ was written in 1894 by Chekhov. It’s a Russian classic! I approached the night with the wrong purpose, and an inaccurate frame. Turns out I loved the play. It was funny, insightful, beautifully acted and had gorgeous sets.

Sometimes taking a new CEO gig is just like that. You think you’re taking on leadership of a Sri Lankan drama, but you’ve inherited a Russian comedy, or vice versa.

Heath was chuffed to get the new CEO gig in a sector he knew well and a region he thought he understood. He was quite impressed by the leadership team he had inherited, although it was clear he would need to invest developing his team. As he got to know them, he realised the depth wasn’t there and that he would need to move one or two people and replace a couple. Getting to know them occurred simultaneously with better understanding the organisational situation and what was needed, and the play shifted.

The leadership system at the top shapes the success of a CEO transition. Working out who should be on the team is a purpose question before it’s a people question. Do you need a lead actor for ‘Uncle Vanya’ or ‘The Jungle and the Sea’?

Clarity on where you’re going has to come first. Three things I know to be true about a new CEO – or any senior leadership gig really – role are that you can’t know who’s right until you know what for. The play you’re in may not be the play you originally thought.

The second is important of working out where you’re going, then who you need to get there. The best actors for the roles won’t be clear until you have greater clarity about the play.

Finally, don’t settle for the ‘almost okay’ person. And know that the right person only looks right once the purpose is clear. Identifying and recruiting the right actors will take longer than you expect, and you need to keep the organisation running in the meantime

Now I am looking forward to next month’s play: ‘The Jungle and the Sea’ which IS Sri Lankan!

What play are you directing? And who do you need in the cast?

Go Fearlessly – Corrinne

PS I loved ‘Uncle Vanya’. The idea of a Chekhov play written 130 years ago in Russia feels hard to me, but it certainly wasn’t. It was one to recommend. (And ask me in a few weeks’ time about ‘The Jungle and the Sea’.)