The “Too Involved” CEO

This article goes out to all senior executives out there… We see you and we hear you. We know that you’re surrounded by deadlines. You lead teams and must show up daily with a smile, answer every email, and achieve the success that you wish, along with the goals for the company. 

But what happens when your boss or CEO is “too involved”? And what do I mean by too involved? What I mean is that they want you to go out there and do your best, but then barge into every idea, meeting, strategy or mission and change it with their spin. How does that apply your personal success? Is that like saying go free and create and then, but wait, let me handcuff you, first to my ideas. 

Where is the balance there? Where are the boundaries and how the heck do we ask our bosses to stay out of it in the kindest way? What is the path to communication that needs to take place? It’s a sensitive subject because we like, well, some of us, like our bosses, but the truth is that many are “too involved” in our personal goals and achievements and quite frankly, some of their ideas don’t match that of the success that we see. And some of their ideas in the day-to-day can be detrimental to sales goals. 

The art of delegation is just that… an art. It’s like a Picasso painting. It takes time to complete and it takes time to understand. Sometimes you have to stare for a while to truly understand what you are painting by not delegating, and what that can equate to is a disaster and you’ll have to start over with a new canvas, over and over again. 

Let your teams do their work. I think it was Steve Jobs who said, “Hire smart people and let them tell you what to do.” 

What starts out as careful guidance becomes a hovering, perhaps even a haunting. The power of bad habits is the power to bring down the house, and that includes enthusiasm, confidence and the thrill of working wherever it may be. 

I know a few CEO’s who hire coaches who simply let them do their thing. That’s right. There are some really bad coaches out there who ALLOW the CEO to do what they do because they just want their title as coach and need to be hired as the consultant. That’s an awful way to be. If your coach allows you to do anything, you’re going to end up at the bottom of the ocean with all the funny looking fish. I love those fish. Stay away from them! 

But if you look to become better, hire a coach or a consultant that will give you the tough love and hold you accountable, with awareness and leadership telling you the things you don’t want to hear so that your business will thrive, and more importantly, your teams and employees will smile more. 

They say, if you want to be liked, go sell ice cream. Such a true statement. 

If you’re the person who is too involved, think about executive coaching that will take the power away from your bad habits. 

If you’re an employee or senior executive who works with a boss like this, my best advice is to also hire an executive coach on how to handle, act and carry yourself around that type of situation, or work towards your exit thereafter. We must never stay complacent or unhappy- because this life is too short. 

Live your dreams for today and tomorrow will always be looked upon enthusiastically. 

If you’re reading this right now and know that you’re too involved, mention this blog to receive $100 off any 6 month coaching package. www.elizabethbarryconsulting.com. 

Elizabeth Barry is a leading business consultant for individuals and businesses. From entrepreneurs to C-Suite executives, her inspirational approach will add a powerful skip in your step, as your leadership swagger cascades to your teams and clients. From tactical tips to intelligent analogies, The Elizabeth Barry effect is clear communication. From profit to happiness, to new leadership mentalities, hire Elizabeth Barry to coach you or your senior leadership team- as well as the teams below them to create kinder, more effective day to day business deals. Happy, healthy adults. That’s what it comes down to. Elizabeth is a self-published author of Own Your Vulnerability and to come in winter 2019, The Kind Communicator. Visit her website at www.elizabethbarryconsulting.com. And please follow Elizabeth on LinkedIn for articles and inspiration.