What is my Role as CEO?

As CEO, our roles aren’t necessarily as clearly defined as other senior roles. When we think of other roles, like Chief Financial Officer or Chief Marketing Officer, we have a better idea of what that means. Chief Financial Officers are clearly responsible for the financial health of the organization, making sure that we have plenty of cash, that we aren’t over-leveraging debt, etc, and Chief Marketing Officers control the marketing strategy and execution, using their expertise to understand the tactics that will further awareness and best support the overall brand identity. But what is the Chief “Executive” function? For this role, what we are responsible for, are not as clear-cut. With this lack of clarity, we can find ourselves taking on far too much - not effectively delegating key functions to our team so we can optimize our time with the highest-priority activities.

As CEO, we should rethink our roles to be three things: Chief Vision Officer (CVO), Chief Relationship Officer (CRO), and Chief Mentorship Officer (CMO). What this means is we are in charge of our company’s strategic vision, as well as building a community, relationships, and culture that will allow is to realize that vision.

As the Chief Vision Officer, we are in charge of creating the strategic and creative vision for our companies, and for communicating it throughout the organization and beyond. The best talent out there will want to be a part of something special and something inspiring, and they won’t want to come into an organization that doesn’t have a vision for a better future. Why? They want to be a part of creating that better future. As the CVO, we must consistently be looking at our vision, and allowing our leaders to see themselves in and shape that vision. If you need help clarifying your vision for your company, download your Legacy Vision Tool below.

As the Chief Relationship Officer, we are in charge of creating key relationships in our communities that will propel the company to success. This means not only finding great industry partners and mastermind groups that will help you realize the vision of our company, but to intentionally use your time to give back to the community. The best talent will want to be a part of a company that cares about how they make a difference in the community that immediately surrounds them. Further, this sort of outreach will connect you with amazing people that will help you source your future talent.

As the Chief Mentorship Officer, we are in charge of stewarding a mentoring and learning culture in our organization. This is so critical to talent development, because we want our employees to always be growing and learning, and we must create the culture in which that is valued. We also must take charge to mentor great leaders into their roles and to create opportunities for them to continue growing in their leadership. After all, why should our employees stay if they don’t see themselves professionally growing in their job? The best employees will want to create new challenges for themselves to be able to professionally grow and reap those benefits. Our job is to make sure we challenge our employees with new things to learn, but also give them the support to be able to thrive in that environment.

With these three key roles in mind, we are able to drive forward into the future of our organization while creating a team and culture that supports growth.

3 Reasons Why Accountability is a Game Changer in Building a Healthy Culture

We can all agree that accountability is an important factor in business.

Although most of us can agree with this statement, it is easy to deem the subject of accountability as something you will tackle when you have more time. Creating a culture of accountability does take work and commitment, but if done correctly, will provide endless benefits to your company and your people. At PFD, we want to help you succeed and would like to share how accountability is linked to a thriving business and workplace environment.

you attract “A” Players

Many leaders may find it hard to hold their peers accountable for fear that it will upset them. While it may feel like you are being someone’s friend by not holding them accountable, this is only harming the individual and the organization at a larger level. Not holding people accountable insinuates that you do not have any expectations for them. “A” Players want to have clear expectations, to be challenged, and to be held accountable. 

Keep in mind that “A” Players crave a culture of accountability, while “B” & “C” Players are often repelled by it because it does not give them a platform to underperform while going unnoticed. Overtime, accountability can become a flywheel for attracting “A” Players and repelling the “B” & “C” Players.

This is one of the single most important things you can do for your business because a great business can only be built with great people.

Your processes are more effective

A business could have some of the best processes out there, but if they do not have a key person accountable for each function, their processes become irrelevant. If a new process is introduced without clear roles of accountability, it becomes hard for the employees to know where they should focus their efforts. Not only do processes need to have people responsible for the various functions, but they also need to hold these people accountable. Once this is done, employees know their roles and responsibilities and can better focus their efforts to meet the expectations provided for them.

more freedom for everyone in the company, including you!

When done right, accountability will create more time for you, your leadership team, and all employees. When a culture of accountability is established, less time is spent micromanaging. This gives the management team more freedom to work on their tasks, and the lower level employees more freedom to complete their tasks in the most efficient way possible. As a result of this, the leadership team will spend less time worrying if deliverables have been completed and have more freedom to work on strategy and the vision for the company.

Accountability starts with you. 

Leaders set examples for their peers. In order to create a positive culture of accountability, you need to hold yourself and your peers accountable first. Overtime, this will create a ripple effect. A culture of accountability will emerge, holding a place for A players to thrive and contribute to the success of your company. 

At PFD, we cannot stress the importance of accountability enough. We highly recommend Metronome Growth Systems to help drive accountability, transparency, behavior, and alignment in your company. For extra clarity on functions within your business, we recommend taking your team through the Function Accountability Chart.

Remember accountability starts with you. Although it is important, it does not mean it is easy. Great things take work! We love helping companies build cultures where all employees are thriving; Accountability is one factor among many others that can help to create a healthy culture where both employees and the company thrive.