I considered titling this post “Confessions of a sometimes reluctant CEO” or “I’m not the CEO my business needs, but here’s why it works anyway.” Neither one scored well on https://coschedule.com/headline-analyzer but you get the picture. We know our business requires us to be the CEO. But at the same time, as small business owners we simply don’t have all the answers, all the confidence, or all the skills required to successfully lead our company. So now what?
I love my business and I’m so grateful to run it. But in full transparency I have those moments…
You know the ones when you wish
- Someone else could tell you what to do
- Someone else would pay the payroll
- Someone else could share that responsibility you feel weighing on your shoulders
- You could stop adulting and just let someone else take care of everything
Instead you get
- Every major decision needs to be made by you
- Everyone expects you to have the answers
- You pay the bills and then you pay yourself
- You google… a lot… when you don’t know what to do
- Sometimes you feel like a fraud pretending to have it all together, when in reality you are still trying to figure it all out
I get it! So here are some tips to help you show up as a strong CEO even when you don’t know what you’re doing.
Ask great questions: Every small business owner hits points when they don’t know what to do next. In those moments we feel like we need answers, and we need them now! The truth is, when we jump into a solution, we sometimes miss the better answer. Asking great questions allows you to stay in a space of discovery a little longer to get to a better solution.
Just today I met with my team to discuss how to structure a commission plan. It’s a position we’ve hired for before, but rather than just taking the old comp plan, we asked questions to find if there was a better way to structure the commissions. And guess what, there was a better answer to give our team more money up front, but to actually save us money in the long run. If I had just assumed I had the answer, I would have missed an opportunity to innovate. Knowing everything is overrated!
Develop an advisory board: As I mentioned in my previous example, I met with my team to discuss how to structure a commission plan. My first step was asking myself, “Is there a better way to structure this plan?” I came up with three options, and presented it to my advisory board. They shared insights and experiences to help us shape a fourth option that we will be adopting. Your advisory board can be highly skilled team members that understand different parts of your business. It can be coaches and consultants you are paying to work with you on your business. It could also be other business owners that you mastermind with. I actually have all three that support me in my business.
Give yourself permission to make mistakes: The business owners I’ve coached that are most likely to fail are the ones who won’t put themselves in a position to make mistakes. They are terrified of doing it wrong, so they just don’t try anything new. I’ve made many, many mistakes while running my company. I’ve had ideas that I thought would work and didn’t. I’ve hired the wrong consultants. I’ve tried and failed. And every failure has taught me valuable lessons. I always figure it out. But it’s not always on the first try. If you aren’t willing to try, you’ll find your business stagnant. A wrong decision isn’t really likely to put you out of business. But a lack of innovation, or an abundance of indecision can.
Give yourself time to wear the CEO hat: The CEO responsibilities in your small business are not really the “squeaky wheel” responsibilities demanding your attention. The day to day operations will be much more likely to demand your attention. But working on company growth ideas always seems able to put off for another day. I’ve been coaching small business owners for over 10 years. And it’s really not a lack of ideas that keeps companies from growth. It’s a lack of time to work on the ideas. It’s jumping from task to task and always putting your creative ideas on the back burner called “someday.”
Your business deserves to have a strong CEO that is focused on growth, innovation, and building better processes. It will take time and effort. You won’t have all the answers, but YOU can be the leader your business needs! I’d love to support you on your journey.