Stephen Miles

Founder and CEO, The Miles Group

Stephen Miles is the founder and chief executive officer of The Miles Group. Previously, he was a vice chairman at Heidrick & Struggles and ran Leadership Advisory Services. With more than 15 years of experience in assessment, executive coaching, top-level succession planning, organizational effectiveness and strategy consulting, Stephen specializes in CEO succession and has partnered with numerous boards of global Fortune 500 companies to ensure that a successful leadership selection and transition occurs. He has also led many chairman successions and board effectiveness reviews, partnering with boards of directors to help them with their overall effectiveness, committee effectiveness and individual director effectiveness.Stephen is a recognized expert on the role of the chief operating officer, and has consulted numerous companies on the establishment and the effectiveness of the position and supporting the transition from COO to effective CEO. He is a coach to many CEOs and COOs around the world, and his clients cut across all industry sectors.Stephen and his CEO advisory services were profiled in the Bloomberg Businessweek article “ The Rising Star of CEO Consulting." Prior to The Miles Group and Heidrick & Struggles, Stephen held various positions at Andersen Consulting.

Stephen Miles: Don’t Get Defensive, Get Socratic

We often personalize our points of view or our ideas and there are people around us that want to aggressively poke at us.

You Talk Too Much. You Need to Listen For Content.

Most people listen to win the interaction, not to hear the content.

The Next Big Thing Has Arrived. Don’t Jump on the Bandwagon Yet!

I think experimentation is a really important part of the lifecycle of a company both strategically and from an innovative point of view.

On Pruning Moldy Ideas: Knowing When to Say No

The challenge for companies and for people is to get focused, ruthlessly focused. And part of doing that is the pruning and deselecting moldy ideas.

Like Moths to the Light: Don’t Get Seduced by Innovation

You can get easily distracted by the next thing, the next thing, the next thing.

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Hold Your Ground. Don’t Be Defensive

We often personalize our points of view or our ideas and there are people around us that want to aggressively poke at us.

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Stephen Miles

Seeing Through the Hype of Disruption

There’s a lot of hype that goes into the disruptive innovations and then there’s a froth and foam that’s associated with that.

Monday Morning Leadership Lessons from Super Bowl XLVII

“The Super Bowl shows what million-dollar players and coaches are truly made of when the stakes matter most,” says leadership coach Stephen Miles, founder and CEO of The Miles Group. “The Ravens-49ers […]

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How to Get Ahead Using Career Game Theory

The first step to applying game theory to your career is to assess your playing field and understand the skills and goals of all the different actors—your bosses, your peers, […]

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Stephen Miles

Technology & Innovation

When the Plane’s Going Down…Tweet?

CEO Whisperer Stephen Miles recounts the story of Qantas CEO Alan Joyce who learned just how important social media is during times of crisis.

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How to Negotiate a Raise

When asking for a raise, you should strike a balance between yes man and “flame chaser.”

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2 min

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Stephen Miles

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The Most Common Mistakes for CEOs

The “CEO Whisperer” discusses some of the most common leadership mistakes and offers strategies to avoid them.

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Stephen Miles

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Building Global Leadership Teams

As leadership teams become more globally distributed, CEOs need to be more creative in the ways they foster a sense of unity and cohesion among them.

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4 min

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Stephen Miles

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Why CEOs Should Engage With the Public

In our age of social media, CEOs should have a two-way dialogue with their broader constituencies.

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5 min

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Stephen Miles

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How to Succeed in China

CEOs must walk a fine line while doing business in China—where the opportunities are massive but the room for error is small. One wrong move, and you can be effectively […]

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Stephen Miles

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Companies Can’t Be Parasites Anymore

The global financial crisis and the Internet have transformed the relationship between business and stakeholder. The CEO Whisperer offers his advice on how to navigate through this brave new world.

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Stephen Miles

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CEOs Must Be Global Ambassadors

Business leaders can no longer focus exclusively within the bubble of their company’s ecosystem; they must think about their global footprint, something that business schools don’t teach.

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4 min

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Stephen Miles