The move most CEOs make.
There’s a fairly predictable pattern that follows the moment – the nagging disturbance – described in Part 1 that most CEOs (understandably) fall into.
In the Hero’s Journey, the CEO senses that something isn’t quite right. Not broken, but not as clean or as energised as it once was.
Instinctively, they respond in the way they’ve been trained to. They move toward action: revisit the strategy, clarify priorities, tighten accountability, and refocus the team.
It’s exactly what you would expect of a capable leader, and, to be clear, none of this is wrong. Things begin to feel more under control again.
But something more subtle tends to happen at the same time. The underlying signal — the one that prompted the response in the first place — doesn’t fully go away. That ‘disturbance’ retreats a bit, but never fully. It just becomes quieter.
Over time, a pattern can start to form. Each time the signal appears, it’s met with more doing. And each time the business responds — but only to a point.
What was initially a light sense of misalignment can gradually become something more structural the longer the signal is ignored. This is because the response, while effective in the short term, doesn’t answer what’s actually being asked. So the cycle continues, and the business, as a whole, begins to move gradually further from its optimal state.
Which raises a slightly uncomfortable truth: that the instinct to push through may be the root of the problem.
I often miss beautiful and important parts of my life because I am too focused, too busy, too stretched, or too hassled to notice them. This saddens me, to be honest. I feel like the real beauty of my life is being relegated behind the pressure of the day.
It’s this same overwhelm that causes CEOs to miss the ‘invitation’ that this disturbance is offering. There’s someone knocking on the door, but the music inside is playing too loudly for the visitor to be heard. So they remain outside – locked out.
Let them in. Notice the disturbance and be with it. Resist the urge to quicken or fix. The visitor is there for a reason, and they have a message to deliver that matters. That message will likely relate to:
- Whether your work still fulfils you
- Whether you should still be leading your current business
- Whether you have outgrown your current ‘form’ and are being asked to evolve into something different and better
- Whether your business is still relevant to society
- Whether you have given up your personal aspirations in the name of career advancement
A Hero’s Journey is not driven by rational thinking. Rather, it is something that is calling you. Heed that call bravely and stay on the journey, which will unfold in magical ways if you let it.