14 types of external Office of the CEO stakeholders
Winning CEOs grow huge networks across 14 types of external stakeholders, enabled by the Office of the CEO. Who are these external stakeholders? In our research, we found 14 personas grouped into 4 relationship types:
COMMERCIAL: Prospects, Customers, Strategic Partners
ADVISORY: Executive Coaches, Strategic Advisors, Management Consultants, Lawyers, PR Consultants
GOVERNANCE: Board Members, Investors
PERSONAL: Family Members, Personal Assistant, Personal Trainer, Driver
COMMERCIAL
The Office of the CEO enables the CEO to connect with prospects, customers and strategic partners. This boosts the revenue of the company by having the CEO originate more deals, close late-stage deals with a personal touch, and uncover white space with trusted partners. A specialized Customer Lead in the Office of the CEO looks after these relationships, but if they do not exist, then the responsibility typically falls to the Chief of Staff. Ultimately, the CEO can turbocharge topline growth by growing and nurturing their commercial relationships.
ADVISORY
The CEO interacts with various advisors and consultants, including their executive coach, strategic advisors, management consultants, lawyers and PR consultants. For example, the CEO might need to deliver a public speech or make an expensive acquisition decision that requires outside advice. From an operational perspective, the Chief of Staff and Executive Assistant maintain and facilitate these relationships on behalf of the CEO.
GOVERNANCE
The Office of the CEO helps the CEO maintain exceptionally strong relationships with board members and investors. Typically the Chief of Staff prepares board decks and investor reports. They coach the CEO on how to run even more successful board and investor meetings. They collect action items and feedback from these governance meetings to incorporate back into the company’s roadmap and overall strategy. In the end, the CEO better fulfills their obligations to the board and investors, while avoiding any major issues.
PERSONAL
The Office of the CEO helps the CEO connect with family members, personal assistants, their driver, personal trainer, and more. The Executive Assistant mostly facilitates these relationships. This ensures the CEO’s personal life is in order so that they can perform their best in professional settings.
What’s next?
CEOs, Chiefs of Staff and Executive Assistants, take stock of your external relationships. Apply RAG status to analyze the health of your key relationships and commit to an action plan to strengthen ones that need some TLC. Incorporate a relationship success metric into your Office of the CEO KPIs and deliver regular reports on stakeholder touch points.
What’s the result? A healthier, happier set of external stakeholders and a CEO who maintains good relations with their entire network. You’ll win more business, satisfy your board and investors, and maintain your market dominance. It’s time to get out there and grow.
Download our Office of the CEO playbook here to learn more and get actionable strategies for enhancing your CEO’s external relationships and driving growth.
