Let me start out by stating that I am a CEO. I have been a CEO for about 8 years now and I know this will upset a lot of fellow CEOs but I believe the position needs to be eliminated. I have a great many friends who are CEOs, many whom follow my posts, and they work extremely hard and some of them are very proficient in their duties, but I still believe strongly that the position be eradicated from the current business lexicon.
Why?
CEOs have often been the guiding force in the future of many businesses. The so called captain at the helm, steering the ship in the right direction, and making profits for the business and its shareholders. CEOs have provided vision and leadership to their respective companies while maintaining employee morale and customer confidence.
So again, why eliminate the position?
Simply put, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely...."-Lord Acton
Here are 4 reasons why we need to eliminate the CEOs
Relationships - The CEO partners and fosters relationships with fellow board directors such as the CFO, COO, but not often with the people who matter...employees. The foundation of their success has been on building relationships which will get them more pay, stock options, or stock, but not the real foundation of success which is their employees. They are distanced from the front lines much like a general in a battle, and the empathy they once had for employees has been eliminated so they can remain objective about hiring and firing. Yet this distance also makes them clueless as to what is going on in the nuts and bolts of their business.
Authenticity - In many cases since the CEO lacks emotional intelligence they will never be authentic or genuine in their interactions with fellow board members or employees. They will use misdirection and political savvy to gain an advantage over people they deem "enemies". Yet when they are authentic no one believes them, and so both parties suffer. Even with small start ups, the CEO will often misinform partners in order to gain a larger ownership share when the company sells or goes public.
Collaboration - I'm not sure CEOs even know what this word means, because they are often so focused upon seeing their vision brought to fruition that they ignore all sense of collaboration. In their singular focus they overlook suggestions from other board members or employees to ensure that their agenda is followed...to the letter. Sometimes even demanding that people step down or resign because they're "not a team player". The CEO cannot see that just because they disagree doesn't mean they're not looking out for the team.
Information - I have one word with reference to CEOs and information: Enron. If you're not familiar with that scandal, the CEO was giving misinformation regarding profits and earnings through questionable accounting practices. This over inflated the price of Enron stock and when the stock fell from $90 to $1, the shareholders were left with nothing but paper. The company filed for bankruptcy and was out of business shortly thereafter. CEOs act many times in their own best interest so getting the correct information can be tricky.
As businesses evolve and change, so will the role of the CEO. Too many CEOs have taken advantage of their position to make themselves rich at the expense of shareholders and employees. Maybe it's time we eliminated the position and place the decision making power in the hands of a committee rather than just one person. That can be hard when you're the CEO of start up but you can always change your title to "COC"...Chairman Of Change.
What do you think? Should we eliminate CEOs?
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