Habits as a CEO, are you making these mistakes?
John had a business dream. But was living a nightmare.
John is not his real name but he’s a real person and this was a real situation.
John was a very skilled practitioner of what he did but constantly felt restricted under a CEO.
That was both in terms of creative freedom but also lifestyle freedom.
He felt restricted by how small the CEOs were thinking in all the organisations he’d been a part of but he also dreamed of a different way of life.
What that meant to him was more time connecting with his family.
More time alone with his wife.
A more relaxed start to the day.
More freedom to travel.
More time in nature.
In the business he wanted to empower people to play to their strengths.
He wanted to build an environment where people could be honest, and open and share and support each other through ups and downs.
When the idea and the opportunity came to him he grabbed it with both hands.
… and did everything the EXACT way he said he didn’t want to do it.
He hid his struggles and stresses.
He didn’t ask others for help.
He worked early mornings.
He stopped travelling and spent less time with friends, with family and in nature.
He didn’t let himself play to his strengths, he let others control his diary and PROTECTED others from providing the help they really wanted to offer.
This I’m sure you agree sounds like total insanity.
John, is a seriously smart guy. Not prone to insanity.
But we are creatures of habit not creatures of dreams.
And habits are repetitions of what we did last time in a similar (stressful) situation.
John was doing what we all have a tendency to do.
He would have the life he wanted WHEN…
When the team was autonomous
When we have a bit more proof of concept
When we have a bit more money
When the team is a bit bigger
He was trying to create a life he loved while doing the things he LOATHED.
He was living EXACTLY the same life he was living when he was employed but this time with all the pressure in his shoulders.
We made a list of all the things he was doing that prevented him from aligning with his dream life and business.
Then we looked closely at how HE was causing them.
We then decided on new actions that would allow him to align with them even under stress.
Even though the business wasn’t at the place it “needed” to be.
Not long after something very cool started to happen.
The team started to exercise the responsibility, creativity and openness he’d always wanted for and from them.
He started to play to his strengths and more opportunities showed up and agreements were signed.
He started enjoy his life more and doing more of the things he’d dreamed of doing when he started the business.
If you have a dream but your habits are causing you to live a nightmare then I’ve got something pretty cool for you. Just send me a PM saying YES.
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