How to be your own CEO

Welcome to Kara’s four-part “Manage your manager” guide. Each section will have a different focus, but in general, our guide aims to help you structure your objectives and communicate clearly with your manager and team, guiding you to sales success and improving workplace relationships.

Today’s chapter is about being your own CEO. While you may be at the bottom rung of your company’s ladder or actually vying for a CEO position, it really doesn’t matter. You can channel being your own CEO which will earn you respect from both your co-workers and your manager, as well as improve your own self-confidence and work ethic.

Contrary to popular belief, being a CEO actually doesn’t mean bossing people around, or acting like you’re important. Those characteristics won’t garner you any respect; in fact, they’ll likely have the opposite effect. Instead, follow some of these steps and watch as your workplace relations begin to improve.

Manage your information and time right

Your team and manager deserve feedback. And while manual data entry on mediocre opportunities or keeping your team in the loop takes time you may not have, by doing this, you’re showing both your manager and your co-workers you respect them. This, in turn, will earn you mutual respect.

Of course, this is easier said and done. If time and data management were easy, we’d all be pros. But there are ways you can become better at it, like by making detailed to-do lists and eliminating distractions. You can also use AI to help control your schedule and connect with your CRM. This may always be a work in progress, but even the smallest steps and changes can make a difference.

View your manager in a new way

Whether you love or despise your manager, think of them in an entirely new way: as an investor or potential client. Think of the time, energy, and feedback you devote to a customer or investor. You willingly respond to them quickly, giving them the information they need and devoting time to them.

Finesse and nourish the relationship with your manager the same way you would a client or investor, and watch as suddenly, your manager has a whole new level of respect for you. Remember, this doesn’t mean brownnosing or sucking up, it means showing them the respect they deserve so they’ll invest in you, giving you the opportunities and salary you deserve. 

Take responsibility

We all make mistakes, but the difference between an employee that acts as a CEO and just an employee is that the former takes responsibility for their mistakes, quickly owning up and doing whatever is needed to resolve the issue. 

Taking responsibility, even if things weren’t entirely your fault, earns you respect from everyone involved: managers, clients, and co-workers. So don’t put blame on others. CEOs are responsible for mistakes that anyone in their company makes, so act like one and take control of the situation at first opportunity.

Trust your instincts

CEOs go with their gut. And this is why they are leaders. Trust your instincts. You’re doing this job for a reason. The reason is likely because you’re good at, and you know how to do it well. If something feels off, it probably is, and if something feels right, it probably is. 

Use your instincts to make choices, and they’ll most likely be the right ones, earning you respect from those around you.

Bottom line

Acting like a CEO will trigger some qualities in you that will benefit your team, your manager and your clients, even yourself. Taking responsibility, trusting your gut, respecting your manager, becoming a time management pro will slowly improve your work life, and maybe even your personal life. Your co-workers and manager will see you in a whole new light, and maybe you’ll be well on your way to actually being the CEO one day. 

Stayed tuned for our other articles in this “Manage your manager” series, coming soon.

Photo by Hunters Race on Unsplash