I met a startup CEO today.
It was a small company with only a few employees, and everyone was working together, handling multiple roles to help the company grow little by little. As orders increased, the team grew, and they eventually needed an HR manager. They hired a new HR manager and assumed that all the HR issues would be taken care of. However, unexpected problems kept coming up. When the CEO pressed the HR manager on why this was happening, the manager, despite their best efforts, admitted they didn't know and ultimately quit.We often think that adding more people will improve things, but in reality, it brings more uncertainty. Each person is a bundle of unpredictability, leading to even more uncertainty.
So, I told the CEO:
A CEO is like the conductor of an orchestra.
A conductor doesn’t play the violin but knows the sound better than anyone. Similarly, a CEO doesn’t need to handle HR directly but must understand the outcomes and their impact better than anyone else. A CEO doesn’t need to have experience in every job, but they must be able to evaluate the results and, most importantly, judge the overall performance that comes from everyone working together. A conductor doesn’t blame a musician for playing a wrong note. The conductor is responsible for the quality of the entire performance and ensuring its success.In the same way, a CEO doesn't need to know every detail of every job. Instead, they should evaluate the company's overall performance, identify areas that need improvement, and suggest ways to fix them. If their direction is not followed, the CEO should be prepared to make changes, just like a conductor might change musicians for the best performance. A CEO should listen carefully to all parts of the organization and provide proper guidance, always avoiding the phrase, “I thought you were taking care of this.”
However, micro-managing every single action is also not the solution.
This would be like a conductor grabbing a cello and playing it themselves, which is impractical.
A good CEO must have a big-picture perspective and be interested in the performance and harmony of each part, constantly working to keep everything in balance.
So, what sounds are you, as a CEO, listening to? And are those sounds harmonizing with the team’s vision?
Tags:
leadership
