CEOs sit at the very top of the corporate food chain, often far removed from the lower-ranking intricacies of their organizations. But they must still understand their company’s inner workings to lead effectively, says Jim Kavanaugh, the CEO and cofounder of the $20 billion a year tech solutions provider World Wide Technology.
Still, it’s a balancing act. While good leaders should understand “how the sausage gets made,” he says, they should avoid getting stuck in the details. “You need to understand what you do and have an appreciation for that, but then you need to rise up to the 30,000-foot level and make sure that you are setting the right vision, and mission, and direction of the organization,” Kavanaugh recently told Fortune’s Leadership Next podcast.
