Great CEOs realize this and operated knowing that long-term success is what they’ll be judged on.
Bad CEOs get caught up in how they “appear” short-term.
Like anyone else, the CEO is a human being with strengths and weaknesses.
The best CEOs are self-aware enough to play to their strengths and delegate the rest.
Bad CEOs hit a glass ceiling, lacking the self awareness needed to fill in their own gaps.
In the early stages, the CEO is scrappy and able to get hands-on with specific roles until those roles are filled.
They can play salesperson or product manager until they find trusted counterparts in the roles.
Many CEOs early on are a jack-of-all-trades out of pure necessity.
Some CEOs lack these hands-on skillsets but are world class recruiters.
This is the single superpower that can compensate for and trump all else.
Great at both recruiting and being hands-on?
That’s the dangerous duo of an early stage founder.
A CEO’s job is also to make hard decisions.
A great CEO is willing to both 1/ listen and 2/ make hard calls.