Almost every company I see where the CEO is too busy suffers from at least one of 3 key criteria not being in place.
Missing any of them means that the CEO gets involved in too many decisions, often at FAR too micro a level.
- (For involved, read “making the decision” or, more commonly, “overturning other people’s / or their own previous decision”!)
Don’t get me wrong – there’s a lot of sound advice about how the CEO needs to be the ultimate decision-maker. I’m sure I’ve given it more than once. But it’s actually not quite as simple as that.
The biggest decisions do (and should) go to those who have the highest accountability.
Namely you as CEO.
But that really should be ONLY the biggest decisions.
The most effective organisations delegate decision-making as low down as is possible.
And that level, in turn, is in direct proportion to three criteria:
- Have you created a framework within which your team can make decisions? Specifically, is there clarity on your overall purpose and goals as well as their own goals; and is there clarity on the company’s values and what is acceptable behaviour or not? The best antidote to micromanagement is clarity.
- Have you chosen the right people for the right roles? This includes that they’re armed with an adequate level of knowledge and/or training AND that they are proactive and resourceful enough as individuals to make wise decisions (see point 1 above!) when they don’t have all the facts to hand.
- Do you trust them enough to allow them to do what you’re paying them to do? This includes that YOU need to be trusting enough and that THEY need to be trustworthy enough. It also means that you haven’t created an environment where they’ll be fearful of making decisions.
That means you really are left as the CEO with the very biggest decisions – ideally informed by your team and arrived at with them, but with you ultimately being responsible and accountable for them.
So if you find you’re diving in too much, that you’re overwhelmed, look at those 3 criteria and see whether hand on heart you have them in place.
If not – fix it. Your team and your health and sanity will thank you for it.
How we can support you
- Join us on a workshop on how to scale your company; create time to focus on the bigger picture; and keep values and purpose core to your company. For max 5 CEOs of companies with revenues between £1.5m and £15m.
- Subscribe to our weekly Build on Purpose newsletter. Every Saturday morning, we'll send you a short focussed read on a specific topic of how to lead a company that values both profit and purpose.
- Talk to us to explore how we can help you scale your company in the direction you want to take it.