25 Mistakes to Face
Francesca Campora
Executive Coach - CEOs Only I ACC ICF | Corporate Trainer I Entrepreneur I AIDP Member
Each day, CEOs work under intense pressure. In addition to keeping their employees aligned on vision, strong leaders are expected to have all the answers; know what to do; and handle business, oftentimes, alone.
Even though CEOs have superhuman responsibilities, they are human.
CEOs, like all of us, have blind spots that can lead to costly mistakes if they are not addressed. The most confident and effective leaders surround themselves with people who are willing to point out their blind spots.
What follows is a collection of the 25 Mistakes CEOs Make and How to Fix Them: these mistakes are all ones you, as a CEO, have made personally or ones you’ve consistently seen in your peer group of world-class executives.
I hope you find value in these crowdsourced insights and expert solutions. Every time you keep an open mind to a new perspective and commit to self-improvement as a leader, you prepare yourself to Make BIG Happen.
1. You are not clear on what you really want
If you’re a CEO and you don’t know what you really want, it’s time to stop and reassess what you are doing. Without knowing what you really want, you will lack the focus and discipline to execute. It’s the responsibility of the leader of the company to set the vision, communicate it, and to embed it into the culture of the organization. If you don’t know where you’re headed (your vision) and why (your mission), it is a sure bet your team will not know either.
2. You don’t communicate how your employees fit into that vision
Once you’ve landed on your vision, take one or two key elements of your vision and translate them into Huge Outrageous Targets (HOTs) like – “5,000 locations around the world by 2027.” Then, communicate them regularly throughout the organization to keep employees inspired and on track.
3. You don’t live or communicate your values
CEOs who do not establish values, make them clear to their employees, or fail to live their values will lack a culture with clear foundations. If employees are expected to provide high-level customer service in every interaction, make that clear and reinforce it daily.
If you want employees to use their best judgment without having to go through several levels of management for approval, empower them to do that when they bring an idea to the table. And, if you want to maintain a culture of innovation and fun, make sure your actions align with the cultural values you promote. Leading by example is just as important as verbalizing the values you want to instill.
4. You do not set clear action plans with your team at the start, thus the results you expect fall short
After you’ve landed on a vision, mission, and your HOTs, figure out how you are going to achieve your goals by identifying leading activities and measures of accountability to make sure the work gets done.
Adopt healthy business rhythms, specifically planning annually, realigning quarterly, reviewing progress weekly, and executing daily. If you do this, four quarters turn into one year, one year turns into multiple years, and multiple years turns into the achievement of your HOTs.
5. You don’t review your annual plans every quarter
A CEO who neglects quarterly reviews of the company’s progress is missing an opportunity for the leadership team to capture lessons from the prior quarter and make any necessary adjustments to ensure achievement of annual goals. By holding quarterly planning sessions with your leadership team and aligning on the game plan for the upcoming quarter, you’ll ensure your company is on track to meet your annual goals.
6. You run your own annual planning session because “nobody knows the company as well as you do.”
Running your own annual planning session may save you money, but it will cost you dearly by negatively impacting how your leadership team participates. This, in turn, affects their degree of buy-in to the resulting annual plan.
When you hire an outside facilitator, you can take part in your annual planning session with the leadership team. By participating in the process instead of running the show, you’re less likely to influence people who might otherwise fall in line with your preferred direction. With a facilitator, you’ll be able to work together to challenge assumptions and get clear on the best plan for the year ahead.
7. You are often unaware of your blind spots and may not create an environment in which your team feels safe to let you know how you are being experienced or perceived
You’re only human. CEOs can get in their own way from time to time, but an executive team that feels safe to give you candid feedback can help you acknowledge and recover from blind spots quickly. Be vulnerable with your executive team. Ask them what you should do differently to better support them and then commit to doing whatever is necessary to overcome your own blind spots.
Don’t forget that outside perspectives are valuable too. Find a trusted advisor outside of your business and ask them to share feedback honestly. This ensures you handle any issues before they have destructive results on your business.
8. You are not transparent, breeding distrust, suspicion and frustration among employees
It’s not always easy, but the more you share, the more employees will believe in your company’s values and your vision as the CEO. In turn, this will result in a team that aligns its efforts with the outcomes you’re trying to achieve. Having the courage to be up front can mean the difference between a business that survives and one that closes its doors during tough times.
9. You have a poor attitude
If you are a CEO who does not prioritize the importance of maintaining the right attitude, you are creating an unnecessary roadblock preventing you and your company from reaching full potential.
When you are the leader, employees listen carefully to what you have to say. Be deliberate with your words to ensure you are sending the right message. Reinforce your trust in those to whom you delegate. Empower them instead of sucking their positive energy — their performance will have a direct impact on the company. Finally, think before you act out of fear or frustration. When you lead, employees will look to you first when circumstances are difficult. Make sure you set the tone you intend.
10. You ignore brutal facts of their own reality thinking they will magically get better
Just as having a poor attitude can prevent leaders from succeeding, one that does not focus on facts can prevent a CEO from achieving his or her vision too. As a CEO, it’s crucial to have faith you will prevail while also tackling the roadblocks with a laser focus on the reality of the current situation. When faced with difficult times, the combination of long-term faith with a keen short-term focus on reality is a winning formula.
11. You do not manage cash flow
It’s easy to “grow broke” when your company is growing, and you are not paying careful attention to cash flow. As CEO, you need to monitor and take a hands-on approach to your company’s cash flow. Meet regularly with your finance team. understand the cash-operating cycle, and continuously improve it.
12. You don’t track critical KPIs
A CEO’s time is money. If you focus on activities that won’t get you to your Huge Outrageous Targets, you’re wasting more than your time. In addition to specific and measurable activities, identify KPIs that will provide context on your progress toward your HOTs and help you identify potential problems before they derail you.
Accounts receivable turnover, gross profit margin and customer acquisition cost are examples of KPIs that that will be critical drivers of the company’s success. Identify your KPIs along with the necessary activities to move them, and then track your progress while you execute on these activities.
13. You do not own or differentiate your company’s value proposition
If you don’t “buy” your company’s value proposition, your employees and customers won’t either. Reexamine your overall strategy to ensure your business is authentically delivering a value proposition that your customers understand and truly value. Communicate it throughout your company and scrutinize it regularly.
Create hypotheses of new ways to differentiate your brand and make use of empirical testing to see what works best. Once you’ve discovered a winning value proposition “throw gasoline into the fire” and bring it to scale.
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14. You do not cultivate key relationships
As a CEO, it’s easy to be distracted by the day-to-day operations at your company and neglect key relationships. Identify those relationships that would be a blow to the company if they disappeared.
As the leader, it is your responsibility to figure out which relationships are most important (loyal customers, your banker, key vendors, distribution partners). Prioritize these relationships and put time into nurturing them by texting, calling, meeting up in person, and celebrating together. Email, call and take meetings with existing customers.
When you meet, be transparent and ask their advice on how you can improve client experience and the results you deliver. You’ll come out of your meeting with innovative ideas or leads and a customer committed to the company’s future. Gaining new customers is key, but do not forget faithful clients who can become brand ambassadors and are more likely to stand by you when times get tough.
15. You make excuses about why you cannot fire an underperformer
Fear of disrupting current leadership dynamics by firing an underperformer can be costly. In addition to draining your cash flow, underperformers drain company morale too. Make it a policy that anyone who falls below the 25 percent performer line will be eliminated. Pay attention to long-time employees too — just because someone got you to where you are does not mean he or she will help you solve the challenges ahead.
Make sure you create an environment that will attract the kind of talent needed to pursue and execute on your vision. If someone isn’t working out, let them go — it probably is not working for them either.
16. You won’t pay top market rate for A-players
Refusing to pay for the best talent in a bid to save in the long-term is not a winning strategy. If you want to accelerate growth at your company, it is critical to hire and retain top talent in the right roles.
And, once you hire top talent, be strategic about how you position them within the organization. In the words of Jim Collins, “put your best people on your biggest opportunities.” Proactively find people who have succeeded in prior roles at bigger companies, compensate them.
17. You don’t put the right people on the “company bus”
CEOs who don’t articulate the company’s culture and take the time to ensure candidates are a match for that culture will struggle to assemble a winning team.
Define your culture and weave it into the hiring process. Ask candidates provocative questions to learn if they’re a fit and consider using behavioral assessments to understand how candidates will perform under normal and highpressure circumstances. Doing work up front to recruit the right people will pay off.
18. You try to do everything and do not delegate
A CEO’s role evolves over time. At first, you may be focused on product or service before turning your attention toward company development.
If you do not delegate responsibility to trusted employees at the right time, your company’s growth will suffer. As business matures, CEOs should be focused on big-picture activities including setting visions, promoting culture, managing cash flow, maintaining key relationships, and staying current through continuous learning. Delegate down so you can free yourself up for activities that will help the company grow.
19. You are loose on personal accountability
If employees are held accountable for their responsibilities who holds you, the CEO, accountable?
To ensure you are accountable in your day-to-day activities, consider finding a mentor or a coach. Someone with experience and outside perspective can challenge your assumptions, help you make better decisions, get you outside your comfort zone, and help you stay on course with your execution plan and other commitments.
20. You micromanage and frustrate top performers
CEOs who invest in top performers then micromanage them will stifle their company’s culture. What kind of culture are you creating? Are you enabling your people to think for themselves and empowering them to do what is in the best interest of both your company and the customer? Or are you micromanaging them and not allowing them to think independently? Do you trust your people?
If you micromanage your employees, you express a lack of trust that will dissuade top performers from staying with the company. When you show confidence in your employees, top performance will continue to rise to the challenge. In this case, everybody wins — employees, customers, and the company.
21. You don’t prioritize high payoff activities
As leader, it’s imperative you keep to your schedule and minimize distractions that kill productivity. Create a daily schedule. Work from a prioritized daily to-do list. Block time in your schedule regularly, and well in advance, for your most important activities, just as you would for an upcoming vacation. This will keep you focused on what is important and ensure you get these things done.
Stop multitasking. Take a five-minute break to restore energy before getting back to work. The more you stick to your routine and dedicate yourself to organization, the more efficient and effective you will be.
22. You don’t think BIG enough
CEOs who focus on details and don’t think big enough will never reach their potential. Consider the “add a zero” exercise. Take a key metric, add a zero to the end, then work backwards to decide on the new activities you will have to adopt to get there. When you adopt an exponential mindset instead of an incremental one, you’ll approach planning differently and achieve big results.
23. You don’t learn from others’ coaching and feedback
When you’re a CEO, day-to-day operations can take up time and opportunities to learn can quickly be deprioritized. One way to learn is by spending time with people who have navigated similar issues before you. When you are open to the wisdom of someone who has walked on a similar path before you, you’ll be able to avoid mistakes and find areas of opportunity more quickly. When you accept others’ advice, you’ll also gain allies invested in your future success.
24. You don’t take care of yourself or spend enough time with family
When you’re a CEO under pressure, it’s easy to fall into the “too stressed to work out or spend time with family” trap. CEOs who do not proactively commit to making quality time for family and self-care activities will not get it. If someone or something is a priority, schedule time on your calendar with that person or activity first. Maybe you commit to Wednesday and Friday dinners with your family.
As for self-care, remember, when you exercise, you release endorphins and naturally feel good. When you feel good, you’re better able to deal with whatever problems arise in your business. When you take care of yourself, your employees will notice. You may even inspire your employees to take up exercise routines of their own.
Determine what you want your personal life to be like and make yourself accountable to scheduling dedicated time to focus on it.
25. You don’t spend enough time enjoying life and the journey you are on
When growing your business, don’t forget to make strides toward your personal goals, too. Make a bucket list. Check items off your list and add to your list as you think of new items you would like to experience or achieve. When you are intentional with what you want out of life, you’ll be better able to Make Big Happen.
Reflect on yourself: