Rising to the support of a fellow CEO: Green Card Struggles

Periodically we choose one of our case studies from real-member issues in our CEO peer group meetings. The objective is to share a real-world CEO challenge with practical solutions and experiences so that if you know anyone facing something similar, you can help them with ideas. We will never reveal anything confidential or of sensitive nature.

Over the years, I've learned how hungry people, especially leaders, are for connection, vulnerability, and authenticity. Many of us have built up a story that we have to have it all figured out as leaders, leading to tremendous pressure and stress. In these peer groups, we can not only be honest with ourselves and others, but also, more often than not, realize we're not alone in the challenges, doubts, and fears we're confronting.

Peer groups are the only places where leaders can show up in ways they can't anywhere else. In these communities, they can remove their armor and be the flawed humans they are — humans doing their best as leaders, spouses, parents, and friends amid the fast-paced, often high-pressure world of leadership.

In this vulnerable sharing, a high level of trust is built. With this trust comes deeper levels of sharing, care, and connections. One of the best examples is the following experience from one of our LXCouncil CEO members.

Adi joined his LXCouncil in 2018. As a European, he was in America on a visa granted in 2014 so that he could buy a building-product company that was otherwise closing. His LXCouncil peers learned Adi's business, his sales and production pipeline, and his management style, watching the company grow in sales from several hundred thousand to its first million and approaching a second million in annual revenue, at only 6% of the factory's total capacity, but profitable above 3%!

In 2019, pre-pandemic, Adi's Visa was up for renewal. His immigration attorney recommended pursuing a green card: the first step on a path to citizenship. His LXCouncil members wrote letters of support for Adi, testifying to U.S. Immigration that Adi was filling a job that U.S. Citizens had not been able to perform, bringing tremendous expertise to a struggling factory. Adi had all but a dissertation for a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering, plus 12 years of real estate developer/construction management experience. His green card was approved mid-pandemic in the summer of 2020. Still, his work visa was not: he and his family would have to return to Europe to await their green cards and manage his business from afar.

Adi remained active in his LXCouncil via Zoom, the most productive benefit of the pandemic, and continued to campaign to accelerate the green card process. His company continued in his absence, internally growing its leadership and benefiting from some key employee replacements recommended by his LXCouncil.

Adi LXCouncil peer group continued to work on the sideline to address his immigration paperwork. They reached out to their U.S. Congressman and encouraged the local House of Representative members to see first-hand the employment benefit, the unique building construction technology in Adi's thermally-insulated panels, and the factory's location in an economic impact district of his state.

Adi's management from afar extended longer than the three-month initial estimate for Green Card processing. The pandemic's slowdown in government administration and a new Presidential administration had left a tremendous backlog in immigration. Adi's absence continued for five months, and his LXCouncil again invoked congressional help. Seven months passed, and finally, near the end of Adi's nine month-mark, he received his embassy interviews and green-card processing.

Adi's first few congratulatory phone calls were to his LXCouncil peers! He was on his way to becoming a U.S. Citizen and rejoining his fellow CEOs.

Whether you join a group or start one, the group will likely support you in reaching your fullest potential both inside and outside your company.