Founders Syndrome and the Importance of Feedback for Founders, Executives, CEOs, and Small Business Owners

Because of the Founder's reluctance to fully delegate and trust in the CEO's abilities, the Founder has created a situation where the CEO cannot fully utilize her skills and expertise. This has led to frustration, resentment, and a lack of innovation and growth within the organization. 

I was working with an executive team suffering from the effects of Founders Syndrome. Its Board Chairman (and Founder) needs help to let go and let the CEO and team do their job. By all accounts, including the Founder's, the CEO (and Exec Team) is exceedingly competent and admired by all stakeholders. In addition, the Founder interferes with the day-to-day operations of mid-level managers in the organization.

By actively seeking feedback from the CEO and other stakeholders, the Founder could quickly identify areas where he can let go of control and empower the CEO and team to lead the organization more effectively.

Interestingly, the Founder loves the idea of executive coaching and suggested it for the entire executive team, but guess what? He did not want it because he thought he did not need it!

Failure to get feedback could be the case with any executive. As a founder, executive, CEO, or small business owner, it's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day operations of running a business. Thinking you know all the answers and believing the way things in the past are the best for the future. But what "got you here, won't get you there," as the #1 Executive Coach in the world, Marshal Goldsmith, says. 

However, seeking out and listening to feedback can be invaluable for growth and success, such as:

Feedback helps you improve: Feedback can provide valuable insights into areas where you can improve. Whether from customers, employees, or other stakeholders, feedback can help you identify weaknesses and where you can make changes to improve your business.

Feedback helps you make better decisions: When you're an executive or business owner, it's easy to get stuck in your head and make decisions based on your assumptions and biases. Feedback can provide a fresh perspective and help you make more informed decisions based on data and input from others.

Feedback helps you build better relationships and staff: Building solid relationships with customers, employees, and other stakeholders is critical for the success of any business. Seeking and listening to feedback can help you build trust and create a culture of openness and transparency. Remember, people want to feel heard. In this day of quiet quitting and a non-engaged workforce, building better relationships is crucial.

Feedback helps you stay ahead of the competition: By seeking customer feedback and keeping a close eye on industry trends, you can stay ahead and ensure your business is constantly evolving and improving. Actively seeking feedback creates a culture of cheerleaders that strive for your betterment.

As an executive, it's easy to become isolated from the rest of the organization. Seeking out feedback from employees and other stakeholders can help you stay connected to the organization's pulse and ensure that you're making decisions aligned with the needs and priorities of the business. Remember that just because you receive feedback does not mean it's the truth. As a Founder or executive, you can ignore feedback if you think it's irrelevant, but you will only know if you hear it.

There are several ways to get feedback, and I am sure one of these can work for you:

Executive coaching: My personal favorite is hiring a coach. This can effectively give executives and founders feedback on their leadership style, communication skills, and overall performance. A coach can provide a safe and confidential space for executives to explore their strengths and weaknesses, receive constructive feedback, and develop strategies for improvement. Coaches can help executives identify blind spots and areas for growth and work with them to develop a plan to address these areas.

360-degree feedback: A 360-degree feedback process involves soliciting input from various stakeholders, including managers, peers, direct reports, and sometimes external partners, customers, or suppliers. The feedback is typically gathered through a structured questionnaire or interview process and is designed to provide a comprehensive view of an executive's performance. The best 360 feedback is usually anonymous to encourage honest and candid responses. This process can help executives identify areas of strength and areas for improvement and can also help them understand how others perceive them. This is often best done with an executive coach.

In-house employee surveys: Conducting employee surveys can be a helpful way for executives and founders to gather employee feedback on a range of topics, including culture, leadership, and organizational performance. Surveys can help executives identify areas where the organization is performing well and where there are opportunities for improvement. They can also help identify areas where employees may be experiencing challenges or dissatisfaction. This is only sometimes effective because the employee cannot ensure the anonymity of the survey, and often in some work environments, the worry of retaliation is real.

Customer feedback: Gathering customer feedback can help executives and founders understand how their products or services are perceived and identify areas for improvement. Customer feedback can be gathered through surveys, focus groups, or customer service interactions, and this works best with active requests for input rather than passive methods.

Feedback is essential for executives, CEOs, and small business owners. By seeking out and listening to feedback, you can improve your business, make better decisions, build better relationships, and stay ahead of the competition. So if you still need to seek feedback from customers, employees, and other stakeholders, now is the time to start. Remember, the success of your business depends on your ability to listen, learn, and adapt.

If you would like to get some great feedback from your staff and put a plan to work on your weaknesses and capitalize on your strengths, please reach out to me at Clifton@MNDFLLDR.com