What Does a CEO Actually Do
Episode 653: Show Notes
It’s taken us over a year to understand how our roles as co-CEOs of our company are different from the other aspects of our jobs and what exactly a CEO actually does. We’re still in the process of figuring out how to balance being CEOs, managers, and “doers” but we’re getting there! In this episode, we will be talking about what being a CEO entails, the tasks you should always be in control of, and those which you can delegate to other team members at a certain point along your journey.
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Our Thoughts on Hiring an Integrator
Because there are two of us who are equally invested in this company, we never felt the need to hire an integrator. We’ve seen lots of solo founders and CEOs make the mistake of offloading many tasks that they should be doing themselves as an integrator. This is when everything can go awry. There are certain tasks that you should never delegate. Over time, you may grow your leadership team to the point where you have advisors in certain areas, but ultimately you still need to have a pulse on the key elements of your business. As of about 8 months ago, we are no longer the sole drivers of all the information we are gathering as a company and are looping other team members into higher-level discussions but at the end of the day, we still make the decisions about the overall direction that our company is heading.
Focusing on the Future
Writing things down is a valuable way to get a better understanding of what you still have on your plate, what you can pass on to others, whether you need to train people in certain areas, and where the bottlenecks are occurring in your business. Everything you do as CEO should be underpinned by your vision for your business, and nobody knows that vision better than you! We’ve realized how difficult it can be to be future-focused when you are managing the day-to-day operational side of the business, and we are lucky enough to have reached the point where we have people working underneath us who are dealing with the daily tasks so that we can plan a few months ahead.
Deciding on Your Non-Negotiables
What are you willing to do to make your business dreams become a reality? What do you want your business to feel like, from your position and the position of your team members? What are the things you want because you actually want them, rather than wanting them because society tells you that you should? These are the questions that you should be using to map out how you are going to take your business forward. Every business is going to have obstacles that you, as CEO, will have to navigate, but as long as you are working towards a goal that you truly desire and you have a clear understanding of the industry in which you are working, those obstacles won’t feel so challenging.
Setting Your Team Up For Success
Keeping your team inspired, understanding what makes them tick, communicating your vision to them (without micromanaging), and in general, making sure that your team is set up to succeed are some of the key elements of a CEO's role. Put yourself in your team’s shoes as often as you can and do everything you can to create an environment within which they can thrive. A great way to do this is to provide professional and personal training for your team members to allow your employees to continuously develop their skills and their careers. Also, it is important to note that without having a proper structure in place, creating a healthy company culture is not viable. You need the unsexy things like management channels and performance reviews as a foundation from which you can then build your company culture.
Quote This
“How do you plan for the future while also staying afloat today? Part of that is figuring out how to spread out the resources that your team has and the resources that you have.”
—@BossProjectHQ
Highlights
Our Thoughts on Hiring an Integrator. [0:13:24.1]
Focusing on the Future. [0:17:03.1]
Deciding on Your Non-Negotiables. [0:21:33.1]
Setting Your Team Up For Success. [0:28:23.1]
Creating a Healthy Company Culture. [0:37:28.1]
ON TODAY’S SHOW
Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
KEY TOPICS
CEO, Balance, Hiring, Vision, Future-Focus, Career Development, Company Culture
