What Does a CEO Do? The Complete Guide to CEO Responsibilities

The CEO Job Description: Core Responsibilities

As a coach, I meet with several new CEOs in any given week. One of the questions I like to ask in initial conversations is "What do you hold to be your accountabilities in your role as CEO?"

The answers are enlightening. Less because of the specifics, and more because of what is shared by most of the CEOs I meet. Most CEOs, irrespective of the stage of the company, market, or location, are not clear on what specifically their job is.

The problem: Most CEOs have vague notions about fundraising, revenue growth, or "increasing shareholder value" but lack specific clarity on their core responsibilities. This ambiguity leads to:

• Micromanagement
• Burnout
• Feeling perpetually like they're failing
• Taking on work outside their actual role

Because they are not clear on what the job really is, many CEOs hold an unspoken and self-imposed expectation that their job is to do it all. Yes, there are other people in the business, but at the end of the day all the work rolls up to them.

The solution: A clear, actionable definition of what a CEO actually does.

The 3 Primary CEO Accountabilities

At my coaching firm, Sanity Labs, we define the CEO accountabilities as follows:

1. To hold the vision
2. To recruit the team needed to execute that vision
3. To resource that team with: a. Capital b. Clarity c. Care

That is it. That is the job.

When I share this definition with CEOs for the first time, I often see their shoulders relax and a smile spread across their face.

"That sounds amazing," they often say. "That sounds like a job I would actually like to have."

Hold the Vision

The first accountability of the CEO is to hold the vision.

The job is not to "create the vision." At least not necessarily nor single-handedly. Nor is it the job to have a crystal ball.

What "holding the vision" actually means:

Here is one simple way to look at vision:

• What is our purpose? (What change are we looking to effect in the world?)
• What does success look like?
• What are our milestones along the way?

Particularly in early-stage companies, holding the vision is more about pointing consistently toward a North Star than it is having a detailed map of the journey to that star.

Starting with purpose helps the team orient around the why. The why has a way of binding a founding team and early employees. It also allows prospective employees, investors, or advisors to quickly assess whether or not the mission of the organization matters to them personally.

Note that it is not the job of the CEO to "create" the vision alone. Nor is it her job to have a crystal ball.

Key vision activities:

• Set 10, 5, 3, and 1-year goals
• Define quarterly milestones
• Lead quarterly planning sessions
• Ensure team alignment on priorities
• Know when to pivot based on data

In addition to a clear understanding of our purpose, or destination, it is helpful to align the team around clear milestones. In other words, as we are headed toward our North Star, how might we know if we are headed in the right direction and making meaningful, timely progress toward that goal?

Recruit and Retain the Team

The second accountability of the CEO is to recruit and retain the team needed to execute the vision.

In the earliest days of a startup, this likely means pulling together the founding team.

As the company finds traction and begins to scale, the CEO's attention shifts from making and early team hiring, to focusing on hiring company leadership and the company board.

Key hiring responsibilities:

• Build the founding team
• Hire executive leadership (CFO, CTO, CMO, etc.)
• Recruit and manage board of directors
• Establish partnerships with advisors, legal, banking
• Create retention strategies and culture

Perhaps the most impactful work a CEO does is to hire a leadership team comprised of domain experts in each key area of the business and then to coach and develop that team into a high-trust, high-function team.

The CEO is also accountable for recruiting and managing the company's board of directors.

Resource the Team with Capital, Clarity, and Care

The third accountability of the CEO is to resource the team with capital, clarity, and care.

Capital

Resourcing the team with capital begins with ensuring the company has a sound business model. There should be a clear understanding of how, now or in the future, the company will have more cash in the bank at the end of the month than in the beginning.

For companies not yet generating a profit, part of resourcing capital needs will likely include raising outside funding. This might come in the form of debt, venture capital, strategic investment, or other means.

Capital sourcing options:

• Getting cashflow positive
• Funding from customers
• Bank debt
• Strategic investment
• Venture capital
• Selling the business

Clarity

The second element of resourcing the team is clarity. Clarity is synthesized in the following two questions:

1. Are we as a team aligned on where we are going?
2. Are we as a team in agreement on how we will work together to get there?

The first question relates to vision. The second question is about values and working norms.

Clarity is about ensuring the team understands what work matters now and, more importantly often, what work or priorities we are saying "no"to.

As the saying goes, "when everything matters, nothing matters." One of the most common complaints we hear from teams is that the leader has not yet learned to say "no".

Another critical piece of clarity is ensuring the team is aligned on the how of the work. What are the cultural and working norms we are signing up for as a part of this team? How do we agree to treat each other? How do we agree to collaborate and communicate?

Care

The final piece of resourcing the team, and perhaps the most critical, is care. The care piece captures the very human elements of supporting the people who are coming together for this journey.

The care piece is about ensuring each person in the organization is supported in the human elements of their professional journey.

What care looks like:

• Regular one-on-ones
• Career development support
• Support during personal challenges
• Recognition and appreciation
• Building psychological safety

An organization of 30 or 300 people will be far more effective when each person has this level of support than when work is allowed to be a place where people get lost or forgotten.

What a CEO Does NOT Need to Do

Many CEOs carry myths about what their role requires. Here's what is NOT in the CEO job description:

• Be the company's product genius
• Have unique market insights unavailable to anyone else
• Work the longest hours (first in, last out)
• Protect the team from all bad news
• Take on any role for which you don't have the right leader
• Do it all yourself

If you want to do any of these things, that's your choice. But they're not required for CEO success.

How the CEO Role Changes by Company Stage

Early-stage (pre-product-market fit):

• CEO often wears multiple hats (founder + CEO)
• More hands-on with product development
• Heavy focus on customer discovery and validation
• Fluid responsibilities

Growth stage (post-product-market fit):

• Shift to true CEO role
• Focus on building leadership team
• Establish systems and processes
• Scale the organization

Mature stage:

• Primarily strategic oversight
• Board management becomes critical
• Focus on long-term vision
• Delegate most operational work

Measuring CEO Success

It is worth noting none of the accountabilities above are easily or permanently 'checked off' or even easily monitored on a spreadsheet.

My coach was kind to me.

He would ask:

"Is the vision clear?"

"Is the company capitalized?"

"Is the right senior team in place?"

"Is the team supported?"

"Well then," he would conclude, "You are doing your job."

It is worth noting what he did not ask me.

He did not ask if the company was worth a billion dollars. He did not ask if revenue was growing quickly. He did not ask whether we had recently won any big-name customer contracts or raised capital from another famous investor.

True CEO success metrics:

• Vision is clear and team is aligned
• Company is properly capitalized
• Right leadership team is in place
• Team is supported and thriving

Not CEO success metrics:

• Company valuation
• Revenue growth rate alone
• Big-name customers or investors

Setting Yourself Up for CEO Success

Now that we know the job is about holding the vision, recruiting the right team, and resourcing that team, the opportunity exists to focus intentionally.

The shift: From anxiety and grind to clarity and connection

Old approach:

• 80-hour weeks
• Doing everything yourself
• White-knuckling through uncertainty
• Measuring worth by hours worked

New approach:

Clear vision. Clear communication. Clear values. Clear working norms. That is the job. Clarity comes from slowness, thoughtfulness, and reflection.

The job is also about connection. Build partnership, openness, and collaboration: with our team, partners, and investors.

Essential CEO tools:

• Rest
• Community
• Self-care
• Meditation
• Proper nutrition

Wherever you find yourself in your exploration of your own leadership style and role, you are not alone. If I can be of support on your journey, please reach out.

-Matt