Every executive is gifted – perhaps even expert – in one or more areas.  Nobody, however, is truly expert in every aspect of business.  The most gifted servant leaders are real about their limitations and their need for others to be excellent in these vital areas as a part of shaping and leading a durable winning team.  

Unfortunately, nearly everyone who has achieved some level of professional success is somewhat numbed by their own habits and prior success, and are overly confident in their own initial ideas and reactions to challenging situations.  A form of complacency sets in where being comfortable with “good enough” is the chief hurdle to attaining the “best” as a steward of the opportunities placed before us.

A lack of timely wise counsel in vital strategic and general management processes and decision-making can lead to unnecessary compromise, frustration, and mediocre stewardship.  It’s also true that allowing key executives to remain largely blind to their limitations – or to operate according to goals, standards, and values that contrast from those of the team – is quite costly and damaging to company performance and culture.

ICA exists to come alongside senior business leaders of substantial companies at opportune times to help them to gain objective feedback, healthy challenge, encouragement, and expert guidance to grow and overcome “gaps” and “blind spots” that have become part of their equilibrium and a drag on organizational growth and performance.  The most common gaps vary widely among ICA’s target client groups, as listed in the sections to follow, where we provide a representative sampling of what we have frequently seen in practice.