The CEO mirror test: 5 questions to assess your leadership without bullshit

Intro

Being a CEO can be a very lonely job.Especially in SMEs and scale-ups in Belgium, the Netherlands and across Europe.

You sit between:

• shareholders and the board,

• your management team,

• your employees,

• and your customers.

Everybody expects clarity and stability from you.But who helps you to see yourself clearly?

In my work as a strategic sparring partner and in my book “100 Days to Make Your Mark as a CEO” I often start with one simple idea:

Before we redesign the company, let’s put a mirror in front of the CEO.Without drama, without ego, without bullshit.

That’s where the CEO mirror test comes in.

Why you need a mirror as a CEO

If you lead a company – whether it’s a family SME, a scale-up with investors or a regional champion – your leadership style becomes part of the operating system:

• how fast or slow decisions are made

• how open or closed people communicate

• how safe it is to bring bad news

• how much ownership your management team really takes

If you never look honestly at your own leadership, you risk optimising products, processes and structures… while the real bottleneck stays untouched.

The 5-question CEO mirror test

You can do this exercise alone, today. You only need a quiet space and the courage to be honest.

Question 1: If I were my own employee, would I be happy working for me?

Don’t answer from your ego. Ask yourself:

• Would I feel trusted?

• Would I get clear direction?

• Would I dare to say what I really think?

• Would I see a future for myself in this organisation?

If the answer is “I’m not sure” or “probably not”, that’s valuable information. Not to beat yourself up, but to get real.

Question 2: What concrete behaviour of mine creates stress or confusion in my organisation?

Think of specific examples:

• last-minute changes of plan

• unclear priorities

• emotional reactions in meetings

• being unavailable when things get critical

• contradicting messages to different people

Write them down. These are not “personality flaws”, they are leadership patterns you can work on.

Question 3: Where am I holding onto control because my ego doesn’t trust others yet?

Every CEO has domains where they struggle to let go:

• key customers

• product decisions

• financial details

• hiring for senior roles

Ask yourself honestly: is this about risk management, or is it about ego and fear?

If you want a scalable SME or scale-up in Belgium, the Netherlands or elsewhere, you cannot build everything around your own presence.

Question 4: If my management team could redesign my role, what would they remove?

Imagine your management team or your closest leaders are in a room without you.They get a blank sheet: “Design the ideal role for our CEO.”

What would they:

• keep?

• add?

• remove?

If you really want to grow, ask them this question in real life.You don’t have to agree with everything, but you will hear how your leadership is experienced in the real world of your organisation.

Question 5: What am I avoiding deciding on, that everyone knows I should decide on?

In almost every company there is at least one “elephant in the room”:

• a person who is not in the right role

• a product or service that no longer fits the strategy

• a client or partner that drains energy and margin

• a strategic direction that needs a clear yes or no

As CEO, your avoided decisions create uncertainty and cynicism.Naming that decision and planning a clear next step is often one of the most powerful moments in a 100-day plan.

How this links to your 100-day plan as a CEO

The CEO mirror test is not a one-off exercise. It becomes truly powerful when you:

• connect the answers to your next 100 days,

• translate each question into small but visible changes in behaviour,

• and communicate openly with your management team about what you are working on.

In “100 Days to Make Your Mark as a CEO” I use this mirror as a starting point for:

• clarifying your role

• aligning your leadership with the strategy

• and building a company that can grow without burning you out

More info can be found in the book: https://www.lannoo.be/nl/100-days-make-your-mark-ceo