5 Ways to Start Thinking Like a CEO Even if You’re Naturally a Worker Bee
My last class to get my coaching certification was Entrepreneurship 101. I’ve always loved entrepreneurship and have even started a few boutique companies over the years.
My teacher asked if we would consider ourselves a worker bee, a CEO, or a combination of both.
A worker bee gets off on demolishing their to-do list. They know how to time-manage like a champ. They engage in some serious hustle. They’re not afraid of the dirty work. Hell, they prefer it.
A CEO has the vision. They engage in higher-level thinking and strategizing. They prioritize time to look at the systems put in place to make them better. They engage often with their imagination and use it to continue cultivating their business strategy.
I knew instantly I was a worker bee. Tapping into my CEO brain is something I enjoy… that is, when and if I give myself a chance to.
You need to engage in elements of each to manage your business to the best of your ability.
The worker bees maintain a level of productivity and growth for a consistent period. Their fault is they get stuck there. There will always be a list of worker bee tasks to do, and the list is constantly growing. Meaning they’ll rarely prioritize engaging in their higher-level CEO brain.
The CEOs will always have great ideas and systems they want to implement to get shit done! Sometimes they just don’t want to be the ones to get the shit done. They want someone else to do it so they have the time to think of the next great idea. Which is great… just not practical for most entrepreneurs starting a business. When there’s not the capital to hire a bunch of people to make it happen.
Each one has pros and cons, but the goal is to become an element of both to optimize how you show up as an entrepreneur. Then create a weekly habit system to tackle your worker bee tasks and blocks of time solely dedicated to being the CEO.
This will allow space to grow your vision and strategize ways for your worker bee self to implement it.
Here’s how to give your CEO self a fighting chance so all your worker bee tasks and efforts can support your overall vision.
What are the tasks of a worker bee?
The worker bee tasks include everything that keeps your company up and running. It’s the actual operation of your systems once they are in place. It’s the budgeting and accounting. Working with clients and client outreach. Content creation and marketing, and all other admin-related tasks that easily fill up your to-do list.
What are the tasks of a CEO?
The CEO’s tasks include creating a vision for the company and curate a plan of action to support that vision.
Once the action is being taken on the foundational plan, a CEO must track what’s working and what’s not working. They know which metrics are important to track.
After seeing what’s adding value and what’s not, you need to strategize an alternative plan. How can you revise the tasks that aren’t working? Or what can be implemented to create future growth?
A CEO grows their tribe. They cultivate new relationships and networks while maintaining the relationships they already have.
A CEO must prioritize learning new information and strengthening their skill sets. They need to be stretching what they already know and filling their brain with more knowledge.
There needs to be a vision for the bigger projects that may not make an impact today or next week but will six months from now. There needs to be time set aside to work on these future-based projects.
For instance, if you’re a freelance writer… do you want to write a book? That is something your CEO needs to strategize on how to make time for.
How to think more like a CEO
1.) What’s your “why”? What’s your greater mission/vision?
Do you know what you are “why”?
What’s your mission and greater vision for your company? Why is it important for you to continue showing up?
Create a “why” statement for yourself. Then take time every day to re-declare it to yourself.
Our WHY is the purpose, the cause, or the belief that drives every organization and every person’s individual career.
WHY does your company exist?
WHY did you get out of bed this morning?
And WHY should anyone care?
Your WHY is what sets you apart from everyone else. It’s your purpose. It’s what inspires you to take action. Your WHY is also what inspires others to take action, spread your ideas, or buy your products.
If you don’t know your “why”… I would make it a top priority to figure out.
Your “why” will ground you when shit is hitting the fan and you want to run for the hills.
Your “why” informs your worker bee tasks and why they’re created. Are your worker bee tasks contributing to your “why”? If they’re not, how can they be shifted so they’re serving your overall mission?
2.) Tracking your metrics.
Your metrics allow you to know what’s working and what’s not working. What efforts and actions are making progress for your business and career, and which ones are wasting your time?
You need to look at your worker bee actions and decide if they’re moving the needle of your mission.
It’s also imperative to know what metrics are important to track. Does your follower growth on Instagram really matter in your marketing plan? What about your reader stats? Or website engagement?
What information is important to know so you can continue growing your business and making a larger impact.
3.) Set aside time to strategize and use your imagination.
You have the metrics, now how are you going to use them to make your business better?
This is where your imagination comes in. If you keep putting the same action forward, you’ll most likely continue getting the same results. You need to think past where you’re currently at and be willing to innovate. You need to make sure there’s a time where you step away from your desk and use it just to think.
Think about how to continue growing, how to keep improving, and allowing your imagination and innovation to run wild.
4.) Building your tribe.
Who empowers your vision and mission? How do you connect with them? How do you continue building your tribe and network?
You learn from your tribe, and vice versa. You guys trade secrets, you help each other through trials and tribulations and celebrate your triumphs.
Another side note about your tribe is that all tribe members are not created equal and they shouldn’t be. Just like worker bee tasks all support the greater vision and mission, so do all the different tribe members. The most important tribe member for a budding solo entrepreneur will most likely be an accountability partner.
I recommend finding one that you trust to be both your hand holder and butt-kicker. This should be someone that clearly understands your mission and your why. They should know your strengths and weaknesses. You guys should help each other grow and flourish every single week. Their brain will help ignite and illuminate your own.
5.) You need to keep learning.
What are you doing to continue learning and growing? What classes are you taking or books are you reading? What are you doing to fill your brain with new information? Information you can then use to help keep your company growing?
Information is a valuable currency that you need to keep collecting. How you implement the information you’re gaining can pay you back two-fold.
Batching your workdays
It’s difficult to jump back and forth between your CEO brain and your worker bee brain multiple times a day. If you look at your weekly schedule, you should structure your worker bee and CEO tasks on separate days.
Below is an example of how you can batch your week for your worker bee/CEO tasks:
Monday — Worker bee day: Today is your content creation day. You write and plan your posts across all social platforms for the week. You make sure all the low-level marketing is taken care of. The weekly newsletter is written and set to go out.
Tuesday — Worker bee day: Mornings are set for new and existing client calls. Your afternoons are for any necessary admin tasks.
Wednesday — Worker bee day: Mornings are for new or existing client calls. Afternoons are for budgeting and accounting.
Thursday — CEO day: Mornings are for analyzing metrics and strategizing. Afternoons are for tribe building: How are you reaching out to new and existing clients? Are you attending a workshop or networking event?
Friday — CEO day: Mornings are for strategy and imagination. Get out of your normal workspace and think about what you can innovate or create. How can you strategically implement this into your current company? What will you keep the same next week, or what will you change? Afternoons are for working on long-term projects.
Saturday and Sunday — Are for learning and life. Read, take an online class, get out of the house and talk to new people. Fill your heart and soul. Breathe and just be.
Launch now and let your scrappy shine through
Your CEO brain can sometimes get stuck in being afraid of failure or paralyzed by perfectionism. Your business is your baby and you like your ideas. You want to see them shine through in their best light.
Fall in love with failing fast. The sooner you can put your ideas out into the world and get much-needed information on what’s working or not, the sooner you can create an even better plan. The sooner you’re growing and learning.
Do not be afraid of launching version 1.0 of your business, website, or idea. You can’t get to version 2.0 without putting version 1.0 out into the world. You will be constantly changing it as you grow. Hit publish and keep moving forward. Do not be afraid to let your scrappy shine through.
Everybody started at Phase 1. They had to. There’s no workaround or alternative choice. Everybody you admire has been where you currently are. They all had the same fears and wonders. They all chose grit and scrappiness instead of perfectionism and imposter syndrome.
Take-Aways
Every company has a CEO who creates the mission and vision and worker bees who do the tasks to give life to the mission. You are both the CEO and worker bee.
A company is a machine that has many moving parts while operating. The moving parts want to function in sync and at the optimal level. When one part is going out of whack, the CEO has to reconstruct how to get back to operating the correct way. The worker bees then put action to the strategy and keep the growth continuing.
If you’re currently a worker bee, hell yeah. You know how to roll up your sleeves and get the job done. But take a moment to imagine what amazing growth can happen if you take time to put on your CEO hat?
Imagine the innovation and imagination that will be infused into your worker bee tasks?
Imagine where your business can grow if you always remind yourself of your “why”. Why you need to show up every day and why you choose to.
Make time for your CEO brain to shine through in all its scrappiness. Then put on your worker bee hat and make your dream happen through your action.
Maddie is a certified coach, writer, and voice-over artist. Self-declared boxed wine aficionado.
