The Essence of the Executive Mindset: "I can't blame my boss anymore"
Adelina Chalmers
Advises Engineering Leadership (CTO | VP | Head of Engineering) on how to build tech strategy, accelerate delivery and demonstrate bottom line impact. The Executive Mindset CTO Newsletter
When I was in the early stages of my career, I found it easy to blame my CEO when things went wrong.
When I started my business back in 2011, and I felt miserable for things not going well.
I observed myself for immediately trying to blame my boss and then I realised... I WAS the boss!
It's the same when you are CTO in a company - you are now operating at an executive level, and the responsibility shifts entirely to you, leaving no one else to hold accountable.
This is the essence of the executive mindset—embracing full accountability and understanding that success now hinges on your ability to own outcomes of the people under you.
It doesn't matter John or Mike aren't performing well - their performance is now your responsibility and you are accountable to the C Suite for their results!
It’s no longer about simply managing tasks; it’s about leading with vision, navigating challenges, and recognising that every success or failure reflects your leadership.
Adopting this mindset also means that you are less likely to be one of the many CTOs who lose their executive position within 3-5 years of their company starting.
By accepting that you’re now at the helm, you realise you are no longer an engineer who can lament to and with the other engineers about "management" because YOU ARE MANAGEMENT!
#cto
VP of Engineering ? Sharing my journey from developer to director ? Follow for daily tips
3 个月I love what you've been posting about this. I reported to a very experienced VP once who told me "Pedro, as a VP I have no excuses anymore" and that stuck with me. It seemed unfair. We're all humans after all. We get sick, we have productivity slumps, how come there are no excuses? Well turns out the job is putting systems in place to make sure stuff is happening no matter what. That was a big mindset shift for me.
Senior SQL DBA
3 个月I've realised that all problems in a company are ultimately leadership problems. Leadership make the space, set the tone, dictate priority, shape the culture and recruit the people for everything that their workers do and how they do it. Workers can often "manage up" but over time that risks burnout for those passionate enough to do so. It's not a lasting way of working. Leadership have their part to play.