Run Your Team like a Seasoned CEO

Many team leaders get caught in the dilemma described by Gerber in The E-Myth. They spend their time being the technician and not the CEO. The technician works in the business while the CEO stands back and works on the business, and the latter is an worthwhile skill to learn.

This book was written for entrepreneurs, but is also relevant in the corporate world. When you put your head down and ignore what's happening around you, you're not taking full responsibility for your teams. Another important skill: sustaining a long-term vision while achieving short-term goals. A CEO needs to do both, to ask questions such as, What are we looking to achieve? Where do we want to be in three years? These are important questions because they can prevent you from getting consumed by the day-to-day tasks and devoured by the details. You must ensure that you're working to wards the vision, one action at a time. What can you do today that will move you toward your goal?

A strong CEO also needs a team. Yet, small-business owners face the challenge of wearing many different hats and filling all the boxes of the organizational chart by themselves. When you run your business as more of a team sport, you can brainstorm, collaborate, and use different skills to work toward the goal. As a startup, you can use mentors, advisor's, or even other small-business owners to fill these roles. There are many business networking groups that can also function as members of your team. Who can you partner with that will help you with the day-to-day actions and move to wards the long-term vision?

So, be the CEO of your business. Hold the short-term actions in one hand, the long-term vision in the other, and surround yourself with a support system that will move you ahead when your hands are full.