“Dreamer, you’re nothing but a dreamer …”

Erica Ariel Fox takes an interesting slant on Exec roles in her book Winning From Within, categorising classic Exec Team roles as follows:
 
CEO as Inspirational Dreamer; giving a perspective on the vision and what we want to be and achieve.
CFO as Analytical Thinker; applying facts and logic, and considering all views and consequences
CPO as Emotional Lover (Chief People Officer), putting us in touch with our feelings and emotions, and encouraging trust and collaboration amongst others
COO as Practical Warrior, taking action, drawing the line, speaking hard truths, and exhibiting the will power to get things done.
 
They’re thought-provoking metaphors, and we’d add one more, from corporate poet David Whyte (check his poems out, they’re great), who proposes that the main role of a CEO is to be Chief Conversationalist, ensuring the right people across the organisation are inter-connected in the right conversations.
 
It’s good to talk!