CEOs stuck in earlier leadership phases need to stop delaying and pick one concrete action. Schedule a 30-day commitment: Phase 1 leaders write one goal with owners assigned, Phase 2 leaders calculate a right-to-grow ratio by the 15th, Phase 3 leaders create a break list and assign one item to someone other than the CEO.
CEO on day 500 who never established command is not doing phase 3 work. He's doing phase 1 work late against a team that has already decided how much of him they need to take seriously. Okay, your third move, pick the one thing and put it on the calendar. One, not 5. Take the earliest phase you failed, take it as a deliverable and convert it into a single day commitment in the next 30 days. Not a project, a date and an outcome. If phase 1 is what you failed, a leadership meeting on the calendar this month that ends with 1 written goal and named owners. That's episode 2. If phase 2 is what you failed, the right-to-grow ratio calculated off your actual P&L by the 15th. 2 lines, 30 minutes. That's episode 4. If phase 3 is what you failed, the 30-day break list and one item off of it permanently assigned to a named human being who is not you by month end. That's all you gotta do. Go name someone to do it.
