The year? 2013. The place? Likeable Media. I had just stepped in as CEO. When I co-founded the company six years prior, I had about 7 years of real life working experience-- and I felt horribly unprepared to lead a fast growing agency like Likeable. I did it anyway-- while Dave served as CEO, I figured out the financials behind running a business with triple digit growth year to year. I gained confidence, and pushed through the pain of growth. Now, I was stepping into the Chief Executive Officer role. Once again, I felt unprepared, but this time, it was much more public. As the face of the company, I made some key mistakes.
1. Not Wanting To Rock The Boat: Our Chairman and former CEO built a great business. It was working, so why wouldn't I just keep following in his footsteps? After all, it made things a lot easier-- especially since I was married to him! I could just continue along, and not rock the boat. There was only one real issue with this-- I saw a storm coming, and I didn't react. Social media was getting much more competitive-- every agency and their mother was a "social media expert". We grew because of timing and because our CEO had launched a New York Times bestselling book about social media-- but the timing had passed, and social media had changed so quickly that the book needed to be updated. And yet, I just sort of rested on those laurels until it became a much bigger problem.
2. Not Setting Boundaries: When we founded the company, Dave was a larger than life leader. People were in awe of him-- and I was the approachable one. As we kept adding employees, I became their confidant and their friend. This was a classic mistake in any leadership position, but when I became CEO, it became impossible. My nickname in the office? "Cool Mom", named after the character Regina George's mom from Mean Girls! I had very little boundaries set, I shared personal information with staff members, and I knew way too much about them. Totally inappropriate, and it became increasingly difficult to make hiring and firing decisions when the personal was blended with the professional.
3. Not Giving Direct Feedback: I danced around feedback a lot. One of my best qualities is the ability to make everyone I know feel good about themselves. But when giving feedback, that worked to my disadvantage. I was indirect, and danced around feedback for clients and employees. Needless to say, employees felt great, but my feedback never resonated. The moment I realized this about myself, I became obsessed with delivering (and receiving) feedback well-- and this video was the best resource that I found to help solve this for me and for many subsequent women that I've mentored.
4. Not Firing Fast Enough: I believe that you always know when a person isn't right for your organization-- it's just hidden in the way back of your gut behind every desire to make things work. I once tried to calculate the amount I've spent on the payroll of people during their tenure from the time I knew they shouldn't be at my company anymore to the time that I acted on not having them at my company anymore, and let's just say it was a handsome sum.
In each of these scenarios, I didn't trust my gut. Whether I refused to listen to my inner voice about the impending social media storm, or who I should keep at my company, the reality was I knew exactly what to do at the right time, each and every time. So why wasn't I listening? The answer was simple: I was afraid of not being likeable. My husband wouldn't like me if I changed his vision. The staff wouldn't like me if I set boundaries. Clients wouldn't like me if I gave them feedback. And nobody likes the person who fires them! The fear of not being likeable and living up to my company name was keeping me from being a strong leader. And so, I had to change the narrative.
It was likeable to be direct. It was likeable to have people know where you stand. It was likeable to deliver tough messages kindly. It was likeable to go with my gut. It's true, I had lots of bumps and missteps along the way-- I've fumbled my way through many a work scenario. But abandoning the concept that being likeable meant pleasing everyone is the key factor in my success today.
About the Author :- Carrie Kerpen is CEO and co-founder of Likeable Media, an award-winning digital agency that achieved Crain’s 6th “Best Place To Work in NYC.” She is the author of WORK IT: Secrets For Success From The Boldest Women In Business and the host of the popular podcast All the Social Ladies.
Thanks to Carrie Kerpen / Forbes / Forbes.com
https://www.forbes.com/sites/carriekerpen/2016/04/05/four-of-my-biggest-mistakes-as-a-new-ceo-and-the-single-reason-i-made-them/?__s=sopz4qr4xzjoaybanyxc#68da5f20157d
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