CEO is a Job
When I worked as a Software Engineer, I thought C-Levels, VPs, Directors and Senior Managers were like gods. Whatever they say is smart.
Then, I learned that a CEO is not always a Co-Founder. They might be hired and fired.
All kinds of Executives are humans. They brush their teeth. They do housekeeping. They clean the toilet at home. They may wake up not being motivated. They may not be happy about the current shape of the company. They may be wrong. They may not be enjoying what they need to do this week. They may be too tired to listen actively.
They are humans. However, they have the work to do. They are Employees.
Of course, it is true, that they have more decision-making power around “big decisions” in a company than most Employees do. But still humans.
Often, there’s an objection, that Executives try to make the grass greener than it is.
While the Leaders need to be vulnerable; would you prefer to work with those, who keep being positive and optimistic, who believe in people, who say that you can achieve great things? Or with the ones, who use every meeting to communicate in what shitty circumstances we are and why we cannot do much about it?
The language that we use sets the direction in which we’re about to change. Painting grass in front of us with a slightly brighter colour is part of their job. It is the part of communicating the vision and strategy for getting there. On the other hand, keeping people far from reality can cause a mess. The grass cannot be too bright. It is hard to find the balance and not disappoint anyone.
The sad part of it seems to be that Executives are expected to be strong. Nowadays, it is common to care for the mental health of people. Do Executives have feelings or inner life just like non-Executives? I guess so.
It is important to have empathy towards Executives. It is also important to understand, that they work for a company just as all Employees do. And surprisingly, in healthy work environments, Employees may expect Executives to do high quality work.