The Essence of the Executive Mindset: “I can’t blame my boss anymore”

When I was in the early stages of my career, I found it easy to blame my CEO when things went wrong.

When I started my business back in 2011, and I felt miserable for things not going well.

I observed myself for immediately trying to blame my boss and then I realised… I WAS the boss!

It’s the same when you are CTO in a company — you are now operating at an executive level, and the responsibility shifts entirely to you, leaving no one else to hold accountable.

This is the essence of the executive mindset — embracing full accountability and understanding that success now hinges on your ability to own outcomes of the people under you.

It doesn’t matter John or Mike aren’t performing well — their performance is now your responsibility and you are accountable to the C Suite for their results!

It’s no longer about simply managing tasks; it’s about leading with vision, navigating challenges, and recognising that every success or failure reflects your leadership.

Adopting this mindset also means that you are less likely to be one of the many CTOs who lose their executive position within 3-5 years of their company starting.

By accepting that you’re now at the helm, you realise you are no longer an engineer who can lament to and with the other engineers about “management” because YOU ARE MANAGEMENT!

#cto