How Should You Spend Your Valuable Time to Be a Successful CEO?
Are you drowning in the endless grind of running your business? Feeling like there aren’t enough hours in the day to check every box on your to-do list? Wondering how on earth other CEOs find time to think about the bigger picture—or even dare to plan for the future? Yeah, you’re not alone.
Most CEOs feel this way at some point. Just the other day, I was chatting with one who confessed he didn’t even have time to take care of his health. That’s a massive red flag. It should never get to that point. So, we took a hard look at his schedule. Surprise, surprise: only 20% of his time was spent on tasks that only he could handle. The other 80%? Stuff someone else could—and should—be doing.
Let’s get real: time management isn’t just a skill; it’s a survival tactic for CEOs. It’s about discipline, yes, but more importantly, it’s about recognising where your time actually matters. Because if you don’t, you’ll become the bottleneck in your business—and that’s a fast track to burnout, frustration, and stagnation.
Here’s the kicker: working less in the trenches might actually help your business grow faster. Sound counterintuitive? Let’s unpack it.
Predicting the Stages of Growth
Knowledge isn’t just power—it’s clarity. When you understand where your company stands in its growth journey, you can actually start planning for what’s next instead of reacting to everything in real time. Growth isn’t just about bigger revenues or fancier office spaces; it’s about navigating those pivotal transitions, the inflexion points that show up as your team expands.
Here’s the thing: the role of a CEO changes as the company grows. Up to around 30 people, you’re probably wearing at least two hats—CEO and something else, like Head of Product or Finance (depending on your background). That’s manageable, but once you hit 100 employees? It’s time to shed the extra roles. By then, your only job should be to lead the company as its CEO.
Sounds straightforward, right? But it’s not. Just last week, I spoke with the CEO of a 250-person company who was still doubling as Head of Sales. No wonder they were overwhelmed. It’s not just a time management issue—it’s a leadership problem. Who’s steering the ship when the CEO is stuck managing day-to-day functions?
This is where tools like a Functional Accountability Chart come in. It’s a simple yet eye-opening exercise: map out all the essential functions in your business and assign accountability for each to a single person. One seat, one person. That includes the CEO seat. Because here’s the truth: if you’re trying to be the CEO and something else, you’re shortchanging both roles—and your company.
The takeaway? As your company grows, your job evolves. Embrace it. Delegate the functional stuff and focus on being the leader your business needs. That’s how you stay ahead of the growth curve.
Formulating Strategy: Are You Giving It the Time It Deserves?
Here’s the blunt truth: strategy is next year’s profit. So, the real question is, how much time are you actually dedicating to it? If you’re like most CEOs stuck in the daily grind, the answer is probably “not enough.” And that’s a problem.
Some of our fastest-growing clients have a simple but powerful approach to strategy: they’re projecting that 30% of their revenue a year from now will come from products or services that don’t even exist today. Think about that for a second. They’re not just riding the wave—they’re creating it. If doubling your business in the next three years is on your radar, that growth has to come from somewhere. Spoiler alert: it’s not going to be from doing the same thing you’re doing now.
To get there, you need to carve out time for what the Working Genius framework calls Wonder, Invent, and Discern. This is the kind of thinking that helps you spot opportunities before they’re obvious, brainstorm innovative ideas, and figure out which ones actually make sense for your business. If you’re not naturally wired for this type of thinking, that’s fine—but you’ve got to make space for it anyway.
And if strategic thinking isn’t your strong suit? No big deal. Build a strategy group within your team. Their sole purpose is to do the heavy lifting: talk to customers, explore what’s happening in the industry, and workshop ideas for next year’s strategy. It’s not about overloading the calendar with more meetings—it’s about creating a dedicated space to think beyond the day-to-day grind.
Because here’s the deal: companies don’t accidentally double in size. They grow because someone took the time to figure out where the next wave of revenue was going to come from. That someone should be you—or the team you’ve empowered to make it happen.
Innovating: The CEO’s Non-Negotiable Role
Here’s a hard truth: if you’re not actively driving innovation, no one else in the company will. As CEO, being the Head of Innovation is a responsibility only you can take on. Why? Because innovation isn’t just about having good ideas—it’s about making sure time, money, and resources are actually set aside for those ideas to grow. That’s your job.
Sure, you don’t need to be the one dreaming up the next groundbreaking product yourself. But you do need to protect the resources that fuel innovation. Otherwise, the rest of your organisation will eat them alive. Why? Because your team, with its challenging targets and relentless deadlines, will always prioritise short-term wins over long-term vision. That’s not their fault—it’s their job. Your job is to think beyond the next quarter.
Ask yourself: how are you managing your time to ensure your company delivers the future projects, revenue, and services that will keep the business relevant five years from now? If you’re not already prioritising this, you’re leaving your company’s future to chance.
Big Deals: Why CEOs Need to Shake Hands
Let’s talk sales. Like it or not, one of your key responsibilities as CEO is being the closer on the big deals. It doesn’t matter whether you’re an extrovert, introvert, or somewhere in between—people buy from people. And you’re the most senior person in your business, which means your presence can tip the scales.
Your sales team should know when to play the CEO card, but make no mistake: when it’s time to seal the deal, you’ve got to show up. It’s not just about the handshake—it’s about building relationships with your most important customers. Showing your face reinforces that your business takes them seriously.
What does that look like in practice? Meet them in person. Give them your direct number. Let them know they can reach out if anything goes sideways. It’s a simple gesture, but it speaks volumes. If they won’t meet you? Well, that’s probably a red flag about their intent to buy.
I remember working with Morgan Lovell, an office fit-out company when I was at Rackspace. Their brand promise, “No snags at handover,” sold me immediately. But it was their CEO’s follow-through that turned me into a fan. He met with me 100 days after the project was completed to ensure everything was flawless. That level of customer obsession matched ours at Rackspace. It wasn’t just a deal—it was a partnership.
That’s the kind of value CEOs can bring to big deals. Not by being the Head of Sales—but by stepping in when it matters most.
Owning Culture Is the CEO’s Job
Let’s get one thing straight: culture isn’t HR’s job—it’s yours as CEO. You’re the architect. It’s on you to build a culture that attracts and keeps the kind of talent you need to deliver your strategy.
At the heart of this culture is one key principle: hire and retain A-Players. Without exceptional people, your business won’t just stall; it’ll slide backwards. Whenever I see organisations struggling to hire or losing top talent, it’s usually because the CEO hasn’t taken culture seriously.
Are you keeping track of staff engagement? If not, you should be. There are brilliant tools like Friday Pulse and Gallup Q12 that can help you measure this. Here’s the secret sauce: prioritise happiness. Yes, happiness. Happier teams are more productive, more loyal, and more motivated. Ignore this at your peril.
What about talent? Do you know what percentage of your staff are A-Players? Are you keeping tabs on who hired them, whether they’re still with you, and why they left if they didn’t stick around? If you’re not already doing retrospectives on hiring and retention, you’re missing a goldmine of insight.
And here’s the uncomfortable question: is your executive team up to scratch? Hand on heart, can you say every single one of them is an A-Player? If not, you’re tolerating mediocrity. That’s not just a culture problem—it’s a leadership problem.
If you’re struggling to hire, chances are your culture isn’t cutting through. Perhaps there’s no compelling purpose that people can rally around. I’ve seen how transformative this can be. One client, Excelsior MAT, went from receiving 30 uninspiring CVs to 300 stellar applications simply by defining their “why.” When people believe in your purpose, they want to work for you.
CEO: The Public Face of the Business
As CEO, you are the face of your business—whether you like it or not. When a quote is needed, a comment requested, or a thought-leadership opportunity arises, that’s your job. Podcasts, interviews, articles—embrace them all.
Yes, you can have a team supporting you, but the message has to come from you. Why? Because your title, influence, and visibility give it weight that no one else can match. The world doesn’t want a PR spin from someone in marketing—they want to hear from you.
Owning the P&L
Here’s another one for your plate: the P&L. Like it or not, you own it. But here’s the good news: owning it doesn’t mean doing everything yourself.
A smart CEO delegates. Every line on the P&L should have a clear owner on your executive team. Travel, learning and development, equipment—you name it, someone should be accountable. This isn’t just about spreading the workload; it’s about building cohesion.
When your senior leaders are responsible for cross-functional areas, it forces them to think beyond their silos. Their loyalty shifts from their department to the executive team as a whole—and that’s the kind of unity every CEO needs to drive success.
So, ask yourself: are you leading like an owner, or are you stuck in the weeds? Owning doesn’t mean doing—it means delegating effectively, empowering others, and keeping your eye on the big picture.
Strengthening Partnerships
Your sales engine is likely a mix of inbound, outbound, channel, and partnerships—and as CEO, you have a crucial role to play, especially in partnerships.
Take New Signature, for example. Their Executive team made a point of being highly visible within Microsoft, attending events like Inspire, Microsoft’s annual gathering in Vegas. This senior-level engagement created strong, peer-to-peer relationships that drove the partnership forward.
If your channel or partnership strategies aren’t delivering, ask yourself: are you operating at the right level? When there’s a size mismatch, it’s even more critical to work peer-to-peer. The higher up you can go in the partner organisation, the more traction you’ll get. Partnerships aren’t just built on strategy—they’re built on relationships.
Your Success, Your Responsibility
Being a successful CEO isn’t about doing everything—it’s about owning what only you can do. Culture, strategy, innovation, big deals, partnerships—they all need your leadership and presence. The good news? When you focus on what matters most, you create a business that not only thrives today but is ready to conquer tomorrow. So, step up, lean in, and make it happen.
Written by CEO mentor and business coach Dominic Monkhouse. Read his new book, ‘Mind Your F**king Business’ here.