E168: How I Coach The Top 0.1% CEO's in Silicon Valley w/Alexis John d'Amecourt
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What misconceptions do CEOs have about leadership?
There's this misconception out there that CEOs show some anger sometimes. You know, they got to rattle some chains. And I see it a lot of times with younger CEOs who believe that that's the persona they should have. And I'm saying is a lot of times, especially with those tech, I point out to them that when you get angry with someone, you usually have to go back and apologize immediately. I've worked with over 80 CEOs and I watch how the most successful do it there. And I've never seen any of them go ballistic on people and scream at people to get them to move. I work with such good people, CEOs who are just really good people. Four of my first five clients I ever had, I still work with them. And so I'm watching them grow orgs from 11 people to 50 to 100 to 150.
One of them has 3,500 employees. Still the same guy. It's good to see you. Today, I'm excited to welcome Alexis Demecourt, head of coaching at Motri Method and trusted advisor to some of Silicon Valley's most dynamic CEOs and founders. Alexis has spent over two decades as a three-time founder, C-suite leader, and now as a coach behind leaders at companies like Substack, AgentLayer, Booksy, and more.
How does Alexis coach top CEOs?
In this episode, Alexis shares a rare inside look at how he helps top executives get unstuck from their biggest problems. We'll dive into his frameworks for navigating high stakes decisions, his approach to blending personal and professional growth, and what he's learned from coaching the leaders shaping today's tech landscape. Alexis, welcome to the How I Invest podcast. Alexis, you coach some of the top CEOs and executives on the planet. Brag a little bit about your clientele and some of their accomplishments. First and foremost, let me brag about them this way. They generally care about their colleagues. They're good human beings. They are really absolutely smart. They're absolutely focused. But I'd say the one thing is they've really figured out how to balance that focus on product for customers with also being good people and also balancing having a family.
At Substack, I coach Chris Best, who's the CEO. Substack is now in the zeitgeist. It's everywhere. And he's still just excited about his kids and their performance at school, which he shares. I'll highlight a third. Sharam Kanan from EigenLayer. I've been working with him from the very first day of their startup. And the best photo I have of him is not the one with all of his engineers that are everyone. It's him holding his daughter who has the mouse ears on because he got to take her to Disneyland. And those are good people. And it's nice to work with those good people. And why would the CEO of Substack or Eigenlayer or Booksy need coaching? And who is coaching really for when it comes to executives? Now, coaching is everywhere.
I think for CEOs, though, it's a little bit different. It's like, look, CEOs have their exec teams. But they can't really go to their exec teams with everything. They have their investors. Sometimes they go to their investors and their investors are like, hey, look, I want a 10x return. They go to their board. Their board looks at them and goes, that's great. However, let me tell you how I used to do this. And what happens is everyone they go to has an agenda. And so what I like to say is, look, I just don't have an agenda with you. And two, If you tell me something, you're not going to have that awkward moment of seeing me two hours later in the kitchen or by the water cooler. And you're like, hey, how's it going? I just told you this thing.
Why do CEOs need coaching?
That's this vulnerable moment I had that I'm working through. So I also feel like, look, the best athletes in the world have coaching. I believe that, you know, there are skill sets. We're building skills. No one's born a true leader. No one's born with all the answers. So sometimes they're practicing with me. Sometimes what they're doing is they're saying, I have these personas I wear. I have these preconceived notions or I'm just scared. And so I'm a person, I feel like I'm in the corner with them in a boxing ring. And sometimes I'm just, I'm like... you know, fixing that cut. I'm giving them some encouragement. Sometimes I'm just listening to them so they can kind of purge it out of their system.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What misconceptions do CEOs have about leadership?
0:00–1:19
2
How does Alexis coach top CEOs?
1:19–3:47
3
Why do CEOs need coaching?
3:47–9:40
4
What frameworks does Alexis use to help CEOs?
9:40–12:35
5
How do CEOs get unstuck during challenging times?
12:35–57:47
6
What are the characteristics of top 10% performers?
57:47–1:07:07
7
What common mistakes do CEOs make in management?
1:07:07–1:09:35
Speakers
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