Startup CXO

Chapter 2Scaling a CXO

Congratulations, you just got promoted from Director of X to CXO! You're now in charge of a whole functional department, you now report to the CEO, you're now on the Executive Committee. You have a whole bunch of direct reports that either represent the team you used to lead or yesterday were your peers. You've reached the pinnacle of your career in X function. The only other ways to grow your career vertically are to lead your function at a larger and larger company, or to become a CEO. Wow!

That feeling of euphoria is wonderful. I remember having it when I worked at MovieFone and became the head of marketing and product management instead of just the “Internet guy.” It definitely led to a nice celebratory night out in Manhattan with friends.

But then, the reality set in the next morning. Uh oh. I've never done this job before. Maybe I know how to do 25% of it. I'm only 26 years old. Is anyone going to respect me? I have so much to learn. Can I fake it? How on earth did I find myself here? This phenomenon is called the Imposter Syndrome, and it's totally normal. In fact, if you grow your career quickly, it would be weird not to have at least a touch of it.

The good news is, you're not the first person to be promoted to an executive role for the first time (and of course you're not the last, either). Every single executive, at any company, had their first executive role at some point. While there's some credence to the expression “fake it till you make ...