Creating Breakthrough Moments in Leadership: Through the Lens of C-Suite Advisors

Key Takeaways

• Engaging seasoned advisors helps leaders uncover blind spots, challenge assumptions, and make sound decisions in high-stakes scenarios.
• Advisors with executive experience provide grounded support, understanding the unique pressures leaders face while fostering collaboration.
• Trusted advisors guide leaders in navigating calculated risks, ensuring bold yet thoughtful decision-making for sustainable growth.
• Establishing a "personal board" of peers and mentors offers diverse insights, empowering leaders to approach challenges from multiple angles.

As leaders contend with rapid changes in technology, globalization, and heightened stakeholder expectations, the demands on executives are greater than ever. In this environment, leadership success hinges not just on knowledge but on agility, empathy, and the ability to leverage external perspectives.

During a recent LHH ICEO Executive Conversation webinar titled Creating Breakthrough Moments in Leadership, C-Suite advisors Luella Chavez D’Angelo, Hans Melotte, and Cathy Nash shared strategies to help senior executives thrive in complex, high-stakes scenarios. Here, we break down critical points from their conversation that executives can apply to create transformative leadership moments.

Harnessing External Perspectives for Strategic Advantage

In today’s fast-paced business environment, decisions need to be both swift and sound. Yet, as leaders move up, the number of trusted confidants tends to shrink, making it challenging to get objective, constructive feedback. Having a seasoned advisor provides leaders with an outside perspective that strengthens decision-making by revealing blind spots and challenging assumptions.

As Hans Melotte, former senior executive at Starbucks and Johnson & Johnson, noted, “No company will ever outperform its leadership,” emphasizing that an advisor acts as a “personal board” for executives, helping them address high-stakes decisions with greater clarity and speed.

Guiding with Credibility and Empathy

Leaders today often find themselves feeling isolated and under pressure to have all the answers. This isolation can lead to missed opportunities for input and collaboration. Advisors with hands-on executive experience bring both credibility and empathy to the table, offering a unique blend of insight and understanding.

Hans Melotte pointed out the value of having advisors who understand these realities underscores that advisors who have “been there” can provide the support and grounding that busy executives often lack.

“We can provide that safe space to soundboard, pressure test, look at different perspectives, and then, equally important, help them recharge their batteries and be ready for action the following day,” says Melotte.

Challenging Leaders to Think Differently

Executives today must balance operational responsibilities with strategic vision, which requires continuous reflection and self-awareness. Advisors play a vital role in challenging executives to broaden their perspectives and move away from rigid, traditional approaches.

Luella Chavez D’Angelo, an experienced senior advisor and former Chief Communications Officer at Western Union, emphasized the importance of this process: “I help leaders unpack the issues they’re facing, encouraging them to explore their strengths and areas for growth.” By challenging a leader’s perspective, advisors foster greater adaptability, self-awareness, and a more nuanced understanding of both internal and external stakeholder needs.

“I have them go through a two-part exercise. Part one is: Who are the stakeholders? What do they want from you? That’s the first question you have to answer—what do they want? Then, second, if they told you what your blind spot was, what would they say?” says Cathy Nash.

Fostering Agility for an Evolving Future

With change as the only constant, leaders who can quickly adapt to unforeseen shifts—whether in technology, regulations, or market trends—have a significant advantage. Advisors help executives cultivate this agility, enabling them to pivot strategies and embrace new mindsets. D’Angelo highlighted the critical shift to a “learn-it-all” rather than a “know-it-all” mindset, exemplified by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s transformation of the company’s culture.

“There's another notion that I would just advise people to unpack a little bit more, and that's the notion of leadership agility. It's ‘Am I ready for the change that I may not expect?’” D’Angelo explains.

Balancing Risk with Strategic Reflection

Risk-taking is central to innovation and growth, yet it can be daunting without a trusted advisor. Many leaders struggle to find the right balance between being bold and being cautious, often erring on the side of excessive conservatism or overextension. Sally Washlow, the session’s moderator, cited an HBR statistic that 84% of CEOs with mentors avoided costly mistakes.

“It’s so natural, so human, and so easy to start doubting yourself as a leader, and that is to be avoided. I think one of our most important responsibilities as a mentor or as an advisor to executives is to help them see themselves as someone who has just a little more superpower and just a little more strength than they might otherwise realize, and to make sure they really leverage those when they go into the arena again with their respective teams and organizations,” says Melotte.

By offering insights rooted in past experiences, advisors guide leaders through the nuances of calculated risk-taking, which can yield innovation and growth without unnecessary exposure.

Coaching versus Advising: Practical Guidance for Long-Term Success

While traditional coaching focuses on developing specific skills, executive advising brings a deeper, experience-based approach. Advisors leverage their own executive journeys to help clients navigate the multifaceted challenges of leadership, offering practical, scenario-based advice.

Nash captured this difference well, saying, “The difference lies in practical guidance. I think that one of the reasons we can be helpful is because we've made the mistakes in some cases.” This approach provides executives with the nuanced insight needed to tackle complex problems, blend empathy with authority, and cultivate resilience.

How Can You Leverage Advisory Support for Strategic Impact?

As LHH’s panellists demonstrated, leaders today are best positioned for success when they seek guidance not only from within their organizations but from external, seasoned advisors. By partnering with experts who can challenge, support, and offer fresh perspectives, executives are better able to anticipate and adapt to changing conditions, ultimately turning today’s complexities into tomorrow’s breakthroughs.

Ready to transform your leadership? Explore how LHH’s ICEO services can provide you with the expert guidance and insights needed to thrive in today’s complex business landscape. Connect with us today to learn more.