Going from entrepreneur to CEO isn’t an easy progression. Like flying a plane or having a kid, no book can prepare you for the real thing. Experience is the best teacher, and it isn't kind to first-timers.
So if your hand is raised 🙋🏽, guilty of being unprepared for the title of CEO, how can you improve faster?
Imagine you were trying to improve as a basketball player. How would you do it?
You’d get your reps.
First, you’d do. A book can’t tell you if your shot sucks. Only you air balling five free throws in a row can tell you that. The same goes for being a CEO. Build. Design. Create. Manage. Lead. Do what needs to get done without fear you’ll be bad. Accept that you are swimming in new waters, and be grateful you're not drowning.
Then you’d view. A year ago, the Arizona Cardinals NFL team got themselves in some hot water by adding a “must watch film” clause to the contract of their star quarterback Kyler Murray. Everyone has an opinion; mine is that they wouldn’t need to add it if he actually did it. His current trajectory perhaps reflects the problem they were trying to address. Bill Belichick - arguably the greatest coach of all time - got to where he was by being a nerdy teenage kid obsessed with film. So should you set up a camera system on the 50-yard line of the conference room - no.
Instead, you should do these four things:
- Record your leadership meetings, which are most likely on Zoom, and watch them back. Aim to discover the tendencies of you and everyone else you may miss while you’re thinking you’re a hotshot leader capturing the attention of the room
- Record sales calls. It’s the most confronting thing you’ll do because you’re cringy. Make one note to improve on for your next call.
- Listen to yourself talk. Podcasts. Fireside chats. Conversations with clients. You’re the megaphone for your brand. If I hear myself say, “like, sort of, or umm” on another podcast, I’ll cancel my tour.
- Ask your team frequently what is working and what isn’t working with your management practices and meeting leadership. Don’t be insecure or oversensitive, be someone who wants to improve for their sake.
Once you do and view, the next step is...
Renew. Use what you learn by observing your leadership and make the necessary changes to your behavior. Don't try and fix it all. That's a trap. Choose one or two tendencies you've witnessed in yourself, put them up on your wall, and work on them.
Becoming a great CEO takes years, but if you can commit to working through this cycle, you'll see positive change in a shorter time, and your team will be the first to notice.
Do. View. Renew.
With purpose,
KC Holiday
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