Nitin Nohria: CEO Grounding Lost Through Subtle Accommodations

Harvard Business School professor Nitin Nohria has observed a subtle yet profound "loss of grounding" that can affect Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) during their tenure. This phenomenon is not characterized by overt rudeness but by a gradual shift in expectations due to the constant accommodations surrounding the role. Nohria illustrates this with an anecdote about a newly appointed CEO of a global industrial company who, during an initial workshop, displayed humility by apologizing for a taxi wait, cleaning his own coffee cup, and noting the unfamiliarity of staying at the upscale Four Seasons hotel. This behavior contrasted sharply with his demeanor five years later, when his staff requested a suite upgrade at the same hotel, provided detailed dietary preferences, and arranged for a private room for calls, all while he arrived late in a chauffeured Escalade with a bodyguard and chief of staff, offering no apology.

Nohria posits that each accommodation, while seemingly solving a specific problem for the CEO, collectively distorts their perception of what is normal. This distortion can fundamentally alter their understanding of the daily lives and experiences of the employees and customers they serve. The "extraordinary treatment" surrounding the CEO gradually becomes their perceived ordinary, leading to a disconnect. This subtle erosion of grounding is identified as a significant, often overlooked, peril of the CEO position. The accommodations are often rationalized individually, making their cumulative impact less apparent to the CEO themselves.

The relentless and demanding nature of a CEO's role contributes to this susceptibility. In a minute-by-minute study of CEO time allocation co-authored by Nohria and Michael Porter, the intense pressures and constant demands on a leader's schedule were documented. This intense focus on immediate, high-level tasks can inadvertently create an environment where the CEO becomes insulated from the everyday realities faced by those lower in the organizational hierarchy. The study, which meticulously tracked how CEOs spend their days, provides empirical data on the demanding schedules that can contribute to this professional isolation.

Nohria's observations suggest that the very systems designed to support and enable CEOs can, paradoxically, contribute to their detachment. The hotel staff, the CEO's own team, and even the workshop organizers (as in the Four Seasons example) play a role in shaping the CEO's environment and, consequently, their expectations. This creates a feedback loop where the perceived needs of the CEO are met with increasing levels of service and privilege, reinforcing the altered sense of normalcy. The challenge for CEOs, therefore, lies in actively maintaining a connection to the ground realities of their organization and the wider world, despite the inherent insulation of their position. This requires conscious effort and a willingness to question the evolving norms that surround them.