The Two Types of CEOs: Which One Are You?
For years, I prided myself in being a wartime CEO. I’m extraordinarily good at controlling chaos and putting out fires. So naturally, that's where I believed my value was in running my business. And if I’m honest, being the hero felt pretty darn good. But putting out fires was not scaling my company.
At the time, I didn't realize that I had a choice in the kind of leader I was.
One would help my company survive, while the other would help my company grow.
The hard part was making this choice every single day.
There are two types of CEOs: Problem Solvers and Solution Generators.
Let's take a look at each.
The Problem Solvers
These leaders spend their energy eliminating what they don’t want. They tend to be reactive, constantly putting out fires. The problems never seem to end, and the CEO is pulled into all, if not most of it. If something goes wrong, guess who’s first to fix (or decide on how to fix) the problem? The Problem-Solving CEO.
In the early days of a business, it can feel like all we are doing is putting out fires. This is appropriate. We are trying to survive. We are trying to make the business work.
But staying in that mindset keeps us from spending time on growing the business. You'll struggle to reach your outcomes if you're always putting out fires.
The Solution Generators
This leader spends their energy getting more of what they'd like for the business.
Think about that for a second - more of what they’d like.
Rather than being reactive, this leader is calm, deliberate, and focused. They know exactly where they are most needed to move the company forward. They might occasionally need to be pulled back into problem-solving, but their role is not driven by putting out fires.
Their role is driven by growth in the business.
They'll delegate problems to their team, while they focus on how to generate more of what they'd like for the business - growth.
Which Type of CEO Are You?
As the business matures, the CEO needs to mature, too. You can't always be in problem-solving mode or the business will stagnate. Worse, the CEO will eventually run out of energy. Ruthlessly preserving your energy is even more crucial if you're building a big business with a tiny team.
What would it look like if you spent 75% of your time focused on getting more of what you'd like for your business?
What does the business most need from you right now to reach its goal?
How To Become A Solution Generator
I spend about an hour a day across four businesses being a problem solver. I answer questions, look at data and finances, and help guide where someone might need it.
Since I only work 5 hours a day, with 2 of those hours spent coaching CEOs, the other 3 hours are ruthlessly focused on growth.
The biggest value I bring to each business is to spend the majority of my time on solution generating for growth tomorrow. Not problem-solving for today.
Here’s a simple framework to start the shift toward being a Solution Generator:
Step 1 - Take Stock
List out the problems you’ve solved (or helped solve) for the company over the last 1-2 weeks.
List out the decisions you’ve made, or been involved in over the last 1-2 weeks.
Step 2 - Crystalize The North Star
Write one sentence that states the current goal for the business. Avoid being vague here or too wordy. Be very specific.
An example of a business focused on market share:
“Sign up 5000 new customers by expanding into Texas and New York”
An example of a business focused on increasing revenue this year might be:
“Reach $10M in revenue by end of the year”
Step 4 - Radical Self-Awareness
Let’s go back to our list of problems and decisions now.
How many of those are directly helping the business reach its goal?
How much time did you spend problem-solving vs generating solutions to grow the business?
Who else should be (ideally) solving these problems?
What would you need to be able to spend more time being a solution generator?
Here’s an example from a founder who runs an education business in Sweden:
Business Goal: Double revenue, from $7M to $14M.
In the last week, this founder has…
Problems Solved (or Helped Solve)
Solved Email marketing campaign
Solved Airtable automations that were blowing up
Solved Emails needing answers from them ranging from updates to scheduling
Helped the Head of Ops with a manager they let go of
Helped Engineers decide on what type of CRM to purchase
Helped Interview new manager
Helped Sales create reports to track KPIs
Solutions Generated To Help Double Revenue in Next Year from $7M to $14M
None. No time to do it.
Immediately after this exercise, this founder changed how they ran their business.
They implemented a decision-making process for the team to make decisions without them. Then outlined roles in the business so everyone knew what their job was and was not, including the CEO. They hired an EA to help them stay focused on being a solution generator.
Putting It All Together
It's rare we get someone to say to us, "Hey Christine, you've been incredible at solving business problems. Let the team deal with them now. It's time for you to focus on growing the business”.
So often the CEO starts to find comfort in what they have become so good at, continuing to react to every fire, problem, or decision that needs to be made.
To scale our business, we have to break this cycle. For me, it took a concussion while running my second business to figure this out. Not ideal :)
Spend time thinking about what kind of CEO your business needs you to be. Be deliberate about where and how you’re spending your energy.
That's where the shift begins.
See you next week! 👑
Christine