It’s CEO. Not CEO-lite.

Running a small business or NFP as the CEO doesn’t come with the perks of corporate life—no executive assistant, no strategy team, no HR director to lean on. You’ve got the title, the accountability, and somewhere between 3 and 10 people in the org chart (including yourself on a good week).

The job isn’t smaller. It’s wider. Messier. And very often, lonelier.

And while no one really tells you this before you step into the role, it doesn’t mean you have to white-knuckle your way through it.

Let’s talk about what helps.

1. Start With the Obvious: You’re Not Failing—The Role Is Structurally Wild

The workday maths doesn’t lie. Between governance, compliance, people leadership, admin, firefighting, and still needing to deliver strategic impact, your calendar isn’t full—it’s overflowing. And that 20% that’s meant to be ‘strategy’? It’s usually spent rewriting board papers and unjamming the shared drive.

What helps:

– Get brutal about clarity: What’s yours to execute vs what you’ve been absorbing because no one else can?

If the organisation has no governance structure, no policies or procedures, team vacancies, no admin support, and significant people issues, you’re going to want to fix it all. And you can. Gradually, over time, with resourcing. You need to identify what’s going to improve the organisation strategically as well as operationally and then plan and prioritise accordingly. The fact that none of the scaffolding you’re used to exists signals a long-term issue—it doesn’t need a short-term fix, it needs a long-term plan.

– Use a CEO-only lens: Ask yourself weekly—what are the CEO-level tasks only I can do? Start protecting time for those.

Your success will be measured by these things, not by how many policies and procedures you’ve drafted or emails you’ve replied to. These are the activities that make meaningful difference to the success of the organisation’s vision and mission. So ensure there’s time to work there.

– Park the guilt: You can’t create strategy in 15-minute bursts. You need real thinking space—and it’s okay to claim it.

You’re a high performer. Of course you’re going to want to get the operations sorted out as well as execute the strategy and deliver the vision. And—you’ve got to find some self-compassion and space to do the real CEO work. The kind of work that requires testing, reflection, and the strategic thinking that only comes with time and space. Allow yourself the opportunity to do this by giving yourself the kindness of not expecting it all.

2. Build What Was Never Built (And Don’t Do It Alone)

You walked into a role with organisational debt. The scaffolding just… isn’t there. No onboarding. No documented strategy. A “policy suite” made up of a few dusty PDFs and a bunch of good intentions—if you’re lucky. People and performance issues that have been going on for years…or decades. There’s a reason for this and it’s not a good one. You don’t have to just accept that it will always be that way. But you do have to consider it in terms of the overall organisational context and strategy and get board and budgetary support.

What helps:

– Prioritise one stabilising structure at a time. Trying to fix everything at once is the fast track to collapse.

Decide on the one structure that will make the most significant difference to your capacity to function and then get that done. Taking that off your plate will free you up to do your actual job—be selfish because in an organisation this size you are the MVP.

– Be transparent with your board: “We’re designing, while documenting, while building, while flying the plane. Here’s what’s realistic this quarter.”

Your board probably has no idea that the scaffolding is missing. They will rarely have thought to ask the previous CEO about what exists and it’s VERY common for the handover from one CEO to the next to be… underwhelming. Make sure your board understands the situation you find yourself in so that they can set realistic expectations.

– Get support to get you clarity and complete the busy work.

First, find a coach, mentor or trusted advisor who can provide the space for you to get clear on where you should be focusing your energy vs what needs to be done operationally. Then get the contractors, consultants or FTE to build the required scaffold wherever possible. You are a CEO, your expertise in not in creating administrative processes and procedures or writing HR policies. Investing the time in getting clarity will pay dividends later and help you prioritise spending for the longevity of the organisation.

3. Stop Playing Translator, Babysitter, and Human Shield

One of the most exhausting parts of the role? Managing up and down and sideways, often at the same time. You’re teaching governance to some board members, managing the operational expectations of others, and trying to lead a team that’s stretched thinner than your last decent nerve. Your board needs to operate as a board or they risk taking up so much of your time you can’t deliver.

What helps:

– Set the expectation: Your role is CEO, not Board Educator, Board Manager or Risk Committee substitute. If you have concerns about the governance mix, say so.

Do a board review early (especially if there is no governance model, risk framework, poor behaviours or an operational focus from the board). You need the board doing their job so you can do yours and the fastest way to diagnose that is to get a board review done. This is an external party that will come in and assess the functioning of the board and make recommendations. It’s a great experience and professional development for the board and a fantastic expectation setting exercise for you.

– Use short, sharp governance updates. No one wants a 20-slide pack if you can summarise the operational reality in 1-2 pages with appropriate context.

The saying “Noses in, fingers out” amongst GAICD exists for a reason. Your board should be curious about the operations, risk, financials etc of the operation but they manage these at a governance level based on the agreed risk framework and appetite. The board papers and discussions should reflect this. It’s tempting when your board likes detail to provide more and more but a good board paper for anything related to operations should be labelled as “For Noting” and be no more than 1-2 pages. This is your domain so don’t overshare the details – this distracts the board from where they should be focused – governance.

– You don’t have to shield everyone. That’s how burnout happens. Let the board hold their part of the load.

Board behaviour is not yours to manage. If you feel behaviour is inappropriate raise it with your chair and ask them to address it and let you know what they’ve done so you can manage your expectations. You are equally entitled to a workplace free from bullying, harassment and micromanagement as anyone else. Don’t be afraid to raise these issues. And if your Chair is the issue then talk the Vice Chair or another Officer. It is appropriate and reasonable for you to expect the board to act in line with the values of the organisation and call out where they’re not.

4. The Identity Shift Is Real—Make Space for It

Going from senior or executive leader to CEO isn’t just a title change. It’s a total recalibration of how people relate to you and who is around to support you. Suddenly, you’re the one holding final accountability—and that can be isolating. You’re used to having a boss to act as a sounding board, provide meaningful feedback and development and act as air cover when things go wrong. But none of that exists anymore.

What helps:

– Name the shift. Don’t pretend it’s business as usual—especially to yourself.

What you’re experiencing is normal and it’s hard! It’s ok to feel overwhelmed, worried you made the wrong decision, scared that you’re going to fail.

As long as you do something about it that helps you move out of those feelings. Because trust me, I’ve felt them and the women I work with feel them. So allow yourself to recognise them for what they are – a trigger to take action to change something.

– Find CEO peers or a coach where you can be you again, not the performing version of the leader.

This is an external sounding board who doesn’t need you to have it all together. When you can unravel all of the spaghetti in your head and the complex ideas, admin and thinking that’s currently swirling around your brain.

They create space for you to think, normalise your experience and build up your clarity and confidence to take meaningful action. You don’t need to do this alone and your board should be willing and able to support you by funding this.

– Start leading differently. From clarity. From alignment. From enoughness—not overcompensation.

You have inherited the organisation at a point in time. Your role now is to decide what it’s future holds and execute that. It’s not to immediately fix every issue and gap that existed long before you arrived. So allow yourself to lead accordingly. Don’t get overwhelmed by the operational issues to ignore the strategic imperatives.

Your job is to leave the organisation in a better state than you found it, make that your measure of success, not fixing every issue that exists when you arrive within 6 months.

If This Sounds Familiar

I work with smart, driven, deeply capable CEOs who are doing one of the most complex leadership roles out there—often in silence, often without backup.

You don’t need to work harder. You need to get clearer on what’s yours to hold—and get the kind of support that matches the weight you’re carrying.

That’s where I come in.

DM me or book a coffee date if you’re ready to stop absorbing the organisational load solo and start leading from a place that actually feels good again.

If nothing else I can help you normalise what you’re experiencing or help you identify what’s really going on.

You’re not behind. You’re not broken. You’re just trying to lead in a system that wasn’t designed for humans. Let’s change that.