Dimon: insecurity, not ignorance, sinks CEOs

The bigger the job, the less you know

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase for more than twenty years, says insecurity is the biggest threat to a CEO's career and company success.

“The bigger job you get, the less you know, literally, about the job.”

Two ways to handle the gap

Some CEOs handle this transition well by seeking expertise they lack and not getting embarrassed about what they don't know. Others respond with insecurity, creating PowerPoints that look good and hiding bad news from leadership.

“It becomes PowerPoints, you know, make them look good, don't tell them the bad news. And that is what causes the problem.”

Insecurity breeds worse problems

Dimon says insecurity, more than arrogance, reveals a deeper leadership weakness. A CEO must absorb criticism and turn it into improvement plans, especially regarding customer complaints. Hiding information creates unnecessary debate and hinders results.

“You're not going to hurt my feelings by telling me we have a crappy product. If you're right, I'm gonna thank you for letting me know.”

The Ted Lasso model

Dimon told the Wall Street Journal that executives should follow Ted Lasso's leadership style from the Apple TV series.

“I love Ted Lasso. He comes in and he doesn't know anything about football, and he's just gracious.”

Dimon's track record

During his tenure, Dimon turned JPMorgan Chase into an eight hundred ninety four billion dollar banking giant.

Other leaders align with Dimon

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella shifted the company from a know-it-all culture to a learn-it-all culture encouraging curiosity.

Dimon practices what he preaches

For the past twenty years, Dimon has stepped out of every board meeting to let members discuss without his forceful personality.

“I'm not trying to do the thing that I want to do, I want to do the right thing for the company.”