How Founders Step into the CEO Role
Making that transition from Founder to CEO is tricky, it’s a challenge and an opportunity…all rolled into one.
It’s a transition Founders must make if they want to scale a successful business. Not everyone finds their footing, rather they find themselves out of a job (well, some of the venture-backed ones). Others, decide it’s not for them. Some, step into the role and rock it.
Before you can rock it, you must know what “it” is. What does it mean to be a CEO? What’s the job? Nobody hands you a job description once you hit a certain revenue level or team size and says – ok now it’s time to get yourself out of the weeds and into the sunlight. You are now the CEO.
So let me help you out. Here are the top 7 responsibilities of a CEO!
#1 Develop & Implement Strategy
As CEO, your job is to create, develop, and implement (through your team) your business strategy, both in the short-term and long-term.
You are responsible for setting the priorities and measurable goals to keep the team moving in the same direction. Monitoring progress along the way and adjusting when needed.
#2 Hire & Develop Your Team
Your job is to bring on the right team, in the right roles, at the right time. It means taking yourself out of the center of it all, -- delegating and giving up control. Yikes!
“[y]ou must transition from being responsible for the job to being responsible for the people responsible for the job.” – Simon Sinek
You are there to be their coach, to empower and listen. To encourage feedback, open discussion, and rigorous and respectful debate. To develop their skills and give them new experiences to grow and opportunities to advance. To build relationships and show you care.
#3 Communicate the Vision, Mission and Values
Being CEO means being able to communicate your company vision and mission in a clear and compelling way that builds commitment and motivates your team. Constantly creating buy-in from your team and other key stakeholders.
Individual team members must understand how their daily tasks and targets contribute to achieving the company’s goals and overall strategy. They must truly understand the vision and strategy so they can make decisions that move the business in the right direction. The vision is their compass.
Achieving this level of buy-in means telling your company “why” over and over, reviewing the top 3-5 priorities regularly at team meetings and one-on-ones, and sharing and celebrating wins, such as client testimonials or remarkable stats.
#4 Serve as the Key Connection for Stakeholders
As CEO, you need to engage with your team, yes, but also investors, your board, customers, strategic partners, regulatory bodies or agencies (if applicable), and key advisors.
This means being able to describe what’s in it for them. What does it mean for them if your vision becomes a reality? You are the public face of the business.
“[t]he CEO is the link between the Inside, i.e., ‘the organization,’ and the Outside – society, the economy, technology, markets, customers, the media, public opinion” – Peter Drucker
The CEO should be aware of the competitive landscape, opportunities for expansion, new industry developments, customer trends, potential obstacles etc.
#5 Create & Maintain Company Culture
Your culture is essentially how things get done in your company and is based on your core values. One of which should be creating a culture of engagement! Just sayin (engaged teams outperform and stick around!!)
You need to ensure that your team understands what those values look like in practice. They need to be more than just words. You must live them every day. As CEO you must model these desired behaviors, attitude, values, and goals. You must decide how you are going to enforce them fairly and consistently. Decide how they will evolve as the business grows.
#6 Allocate Resources Effectively
No matter what stage of growth you are in you will always be allocating resources among competing demands. It’s a balancing act.
Your most important resources will be financial and human capital, but you also have physical and intangible resources.
Even if you have a CFO helping with budgeting, for example, you decide in the end what goes where. Does marketing, sales or product get more dollars?
#7 Make the Clutch Decisions
I once heard a founder say, being CEO means you get the tough stuff. It’s true. If you have the right team in place, one that you trust, and you have delegated effectively, then the only issues that should bubble up are the really tough decisions. The high risk, the strategic, executive level hires or fires, structural or culture related.
Being CEO is a big job. It’s a new role for most founders. The key is having a growth mindset, looking to always be learning, and surrounding yourself with the right people.
