How to Be Awesome at Your Job 1101: Navigating the Four Seasons of Leadership with Carolyn Dewar
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Oct 13, 2025 Carolyn Dewar, a senior partner at McKinsey & Company and author of 'A CEO for All Seasons,' shares invaluable insights from her work with top CEOs. She explores the surprising blind spots leaders often overlook and emphasizes the importance of self-awareness. Carolyn introduces the Four Seasons framework, highlighting how leaders can thrive through various phases of their careers. She discusses effective strategies for obtaining honest feedback, prioritizing major decisions, and preparing for succession, making her advice applicable to leaders at any level.
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Leaders Overrate Their Performance
- CEOs routinely rate themselves higher than their direct reports do, creating a persistent self-assessment gap.
- Carolyn Dewar found this gap at 100% in a survey, signaling an echo chamber risk for leaders.
Protect Time For Unique CEO Work
- Focus your time ruthlessly on the work only you as CEO can do and delegate the rest.<br>
- Use the mantra “do what only you can do” to protect your calendar and impact.
Wear The CEO Hat Early
- Think beyond your function and adopt an enterprise mindset when engaging senior leaders or the CEO.
- Ask: if I were solving for the company, would I answer or prioritize this differently?
