Over the years, I’ve worked for corporations, I’ve worked for myself and I’ve coached entrepreneurs. Through reflecting on my experiences, I’ve found a few critical character traits ultimately helped guide successful CEOs. The greatest of these… directness, transparency, and decisiveness seem to be universally essential for the CEO seat. It’s also important to remember the rules outlined below.
- Employees are not your friends. Even if you like them, even if you hired them because they are your friends, while they are working for you they are not your friends. They are your employees. The problem with socializing with your employees is that it makes it hard to be objective about their performance, and harder still to crack down on them if they’re underperforming. Even if you feel strongly you can be objective, everyone in your company that knows you socialize will assume you have a bias.
- Maintain a clear line of command. In most of my corporate endeavors, I’ve had a clear structure of accountabilities. While we worked side by side, communicate and ask for other point of views, we’d keep clear demarcation’s when it came to decisions. I learned to weigh in on issues that fall outside the realm of my command only when completely necessary. Employees always knew which problem to take to the CFO, CMO, CIO or COO and which to take to me. Overlap of authority can get confusing, muck up productivity, and cause unnecessary delays, if not out-and-out grief.
- Be accessible. You’re not building a fiefdom—you’re building a company. Don’t alienate, isolate, or separate yourself from your leaders, key partners/vendors and top earners. Don’t put them on hold, don’t fail to return their calls, and don’t make them feel like they cannot approach you. I’ve seen this phenomenon firsthand. It’s toxic, and it’s usually the product of fear or the inability to cope during troubled times. If your first instinct is to bury your head, you are not a leader.
- Delegate, delegate, delegate. You cannot—nor should you—do everything. CEOs who think that their opinion should out weight others on every single aspect of their company get too bogged down in the details, much to the detriment of the overall health of the company. If a ship’s captain is overseeing the catering, he’s going to hit an iceberg.
- Don’t procrastinate. When an employee is problematic, you must act. Now. Do it right. Do it by the book. But do it.
- Never pass the buck. Blame stops with you. It always stops with you. Even if you think you had nothing to do with the decision that got your company into trouble in the first place, you’re wrong. You likely had something to do with hiring the person who did screw up. Take immediate responsibility, do what you can to fix the problem, and then deal with the dumbbell that created the dilemma. If your name is on the product, business, or marquee, that’s especially important.
- You’re not their parent. Employees will only bring their drama to work if you let them. If you don’t want to be treated like a parent, don’t act like one. If employees are having squabbles, let them figure it out among themselves. I also try to steer clear of giving personal advice (remember #1 above). Employees’ problems are their problems to solve. And it’s up to them not to bring those problems to work. If it’s affecting work, be quick to address it with them. By the way, if one of your employees is suffering from a genuine issue—addiction, depression, that kind of thing—don’t suggest they get help, insist upon it. Establish an employee assistance program to get them the professional support they need.
- Life’s not fair. Everyone will have an opinion about you and your decisions, you simply can’t please everyone and you should try.
- Some people will simply make more money than others in the same job. Some people will work harder. Some will get higher sales. You will trust one over the other to get the job done. You will likely have favorites. That’s life. If someone complains about it, ensure you’re establishing an ethical and consistent practice, then tell him or her to get over it. Do your best to be consistent and remember everyone has the ability to pick their employer and can leave if they’re unhappy.
- The boss doesn’t always make the most money. Find stars and pay them well. If you want to attract those stars, you’ll have to lure them with dollars. Remember that money’s the great motivator, and if it means you take a hit financially, take it. Also for women time off or flexibility to meet the needs of their family can outweigh money, so do be afraid to create great rewards and working environments that attract Stars. Talent will always bring in more money for the company, and that has got to be your number one priority always. Which leads me to…
- The company comes first. This is the most important tenet. Have a singleness of purpose—the health and welfare of the company—keep things clean and clear. Employees should never question your priorities, nor should they have to guess at their goals.
