As a CEO, your employees are your #1 client

Posted on by michael nitschke
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I have a thesis: CEOs should treat employees and their staff like their #1 client. 

Too many leaders get distracted with all of the noise that comes with running a business. It’s easy to get distracted by all the external stuff – like what’s going on in the market, what your competitors are doing, and how healthy your cash flow is. All of this is undoubtedly important, but it keeps you stuck in the business operations. 

The shift is simple, but not easy to execute. 

Be genuinely obsessed with your team and your culture. This means being genuinely interested and invested in their goals and what they’re trying to achieve in the business.  

Find out why they’ve chosen your business to work for… and what they envision for their career. If you can connect their goals with your company’s vision, that is where you’ll win. When you can spend your days supporting each individual’s path and progression within the business, that’s where you’ll win. 

What does making your team your #1 client look like, day-to-day? 

It means: 

  • Mentoring each team member 
  • Having an ‘open door’ policy, where your team knows it’s okay to interrupt you 
  • Giving feedback in real-time (within 24 hours) to maintain momentum and solve problems faster 
  • Establishing performance plans and reviews for each team member 
  • Creating a central Issues List to give everyone a voice (grab my system here). 

And most importantly, make the mindset shift from ‘CEO’ to ‘leader/mentor’. Yes, you’re still the CEO and there are plenty of important business decisions to make on a daily basis. But when you double down on investing in your people, in a real way, you’ll level up the capabilities within your team – so day-to-day operations rely on you less and less. 

This is a smart way to build something bigger than you, to retain and attract talent, and to scale something truly special.