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"In my first year as CEO, I kept wanting to code," Nguyen Van An recalls. "Every time the team hit a tough bug, I'd dive in to fix it instead of letting them work it out. I thought I was helping — I was actually sabotaging."
This is the most common trap for engineer-founders: expert at the work before becoming CEO, lacking the skills the new job demands. And the new job demands something entirely different.
Three Things to Let Go of When Becoming CEO
1. Let go of being the smartest in the room: A great CEO hires people smarter than themselves and creates conditions for them to shine. 2. Let go of needing to know every detail: The most important information a CEO needs is strategic context, not technical detail. 3. Let go of needing to be liked: The right decision is sometimes unpopular — and that's why you earn a CEO salary.
“A great engineer optimizes code. A great CEO optimizes people and systems. These are completely different games — and it took me 2 years to understand that.”