5 Common CEO Mistakes that are Hurting Your Business
As the CEO or founder, you clearly want to do whatever you can to improve your business and reach your goals.
No one cares more or works harder than a CEO. You carry so much of the weight of expectations and results – showing up as the face of the business, ultimately responsible for the outcomes, whether they’re positive or negative.
But sometimes, and I say this with loving care, you’re taking on too much responsibility that’s outside your zone of genius… and hurting your business in the process.
Let’s look at some of the most common CEO mistakes we see in the businesses we support and find a better way to delegate so you don’t see the negative effects of taking on work that never should be yours to begin with.
Task-Based CEO Mistakes
Managing your own calendar
You should not be in charge of your calendar. So often, we see CEOs accidentally double- and triple-booking themselves with an off-handed, “Send me an invite!” or well-meaning instinct to fit people in.
Whether it’s a work meeting, time to focus on specific projects, lunch meeting, or personal life matter – you need to completely hand off your calendar to an EA if you want your time protected and well-managed.
2. Creating systems and processes
As the visionary, it’s your job to clearly understand where the business is going and the impact you want to make. Scaling a business takes a lot of work, intention, and strategy – but it’s significantly easier and more effective when you have strong business foundations in place.
We document every process in your business so you can clearly see what is working well and where you may need additional or new systems in place to take things to the next level.
3. Taking care of “2-minute tasks”
If you find yourself thinking, “I don’t want to bother anyone with this!” and then proceed to let small, simple tasks interrupt your day – you’re sacrificing more momentum, energy, and focus than you may even realize.
These are things you should never be doing, no matter how small they may feel:
Making reservations
Updating credit card information
Creating a promo code
Scheduling a meeting or call
Confirming attendance
These are all responsibilities that interfere with your role as CEO.
Mindset-Based CEO Mistakes
Avoiding hiring help because it feels daunting
When you find yourself overwhelmed and overworked – it often feels like too much work to get help. But you and your business will seriously benefit from bringing in the right support, even if it takes extra time and work in the beginning.
Avoiding hiring a support team member will only lead to more issues, stress, and overwhelm.
When you hire the right team member (like an Elevate EA) – you should see the benefits within a few short days. The sooner you can get the support you need, the sooner you can get back to the CEO responsibilities you’ve been neglecting in order to manage the day-to-day business.
2. Staying stuck in the day-to-day
When stressed out, overworked, and overwhelmed, getting lost in the day-to-day tasks is easy. This can lead you to avoid hiring help (as discussed above), and it’s also a place where many otherwise successful CEOs get stuck.
If you’re not pulling back from the daily operations and making time to focus on bigger goals – for the quarter and the year – it’s hard to move the needle and make meaningful progress.
While the daily operations are important, it’s even more important that you have a clear vision for the future, making sure all the daily actions are moving you closer to your big goals.
One Solution for All of These Mistakes
We love a simple, clear solution!
Hiring an Elevate Executive Assistant is the easiest way to solve all of these mistakes and avoid additional problems in the future.
Because we have a proactive team of experienced EAs, they come in ready to help streamline and systematize everything!
We don’t gatekeep what works, either.
Every time your EA creates a system, solves a problem, or does anything repeatable – they will create a Loom video explanation and written documentation of the system, process, or procedure.
This makes it easy for you to share the systems and processes with the rest of your team or quickly get new team members on board.
Our EAs don’t just streamline your business operations. They are always looking for ways to be more efficient in their own work, too. This gives you more time and more space to delegate to your EA.
Bremner Morris, one of our clients, said it best: “Once I brought on Elevate, my productivity went up significantly, and my stress levels reduced!”
As CEO, your mistakes and stress negatively impact your entire business. This doesn’t mean you have to be perfect – it means you need the right support person to take unnecessary tasks off your plate and own the mental load of what needs to happen so you can focus on your role as visionary and leader.
An Elevate Executive Assistant is the proactive problem-solver you need on your team!
