Strong team relationships are paramount to a positive company culture, specifically during the early growth phases. These connections improve psychological safety and build trust within a team, improving collaboration and employee engagement. As companies grow, their needs evolve, yet many CEO’s decisions are impacted by their long-standing friendships. While CEO friendships with team members can foster a positive company culture, when these relationships cloud judgment, it can result in poor decision-making, increased mistakes, and losses for organizations. To maintain long-term success, CEO’s must find the balance between relationships and professional accountability. 

In the workplace, there are many benefits to developing friendly relationships within teams. Groups prioritizing relationships tend to have clearer communication and increased collaboration. Relationships and connections built with a CEO increase transparency and psychological safety in the workplace. The full benefits of a communicative team are only enabled through two-way communication between a leader and their team. Simultaneously, psychological safety can be improved as leaders foster an environment where employees feel more confident sharing feedback and ideas across levels. Combined, these improvements are critical for sustaining growth through the early stages of an organization. However, one of the most crucial focuses for many executives is building team trust. When the CEO of a company takes time to develop relationships with employees across different groups and positions, they can impact the culture of their team, improving employee engagement and commitment. 

In the beginning stages of a company, executives must become friendly because, in this stage, relationships are a cornerstone to success. In the early stages of a company, the CEO and employees are likely friendly, working in a small but collaborative and communicative setting. When working on smaller teams, trust develops relatively quickly, and strong relationships contribute to creating a close-knit, family-type community. These relationships foster a strong sense of camaraderie in the workplace; however, it is important that as a company grows, leaders are properly equipped for the new requirements, demands, and changes of their roles. 

With growth, these relationships and workplace dynamics can become complex. Leaders experiencing rapid growth and change together bond over their connection and success. As a company grows, it becomes challenging for leaders to maintain such close relationships with peers and direct reports. CEO’s may face new challenges in upholding their personal relationships or building team culture. Nevertheless, many CEO’s are reluctant to replace the individuals they have formed relationships with, even if the organization's needs have outgrown the individual's capabilities. Complex relationships in the workplace commonly lead CEO’s to make biased hiring and leadership selections that may not reflect the business's evolving needs. While friendships may be crucial for early growth, they can blind a CEO’s understanding of team members' strengths or weaknesses in leadership positions. 

When a CEO’s relationships begin to impact leadership outcomes, it becomes challenging for that individual to take a step back and evaluate the team members’ qualifications from a holistic and objective point. However, recognizing and tackling this issue is essential to securing the longevity of a company’s success. CEO’s must prioritize finding a balance between personal connections and professional accountability by adopting strategies that will ensure the most qualified individuals hold leadership positions. Below are some tools to help enhance decision-making: 

The most effective way for a CEO to reduce the influence of personal relationships on decision-making is to use objective performance metrics. Concrete metrics allow CEO’s to analyze leaders' efficacy and evaluate the potential for future leaders based on quantifiable metrics rather than subjective opinions or relationships. Utilizing a tool such as AIM Insights to track, benchmark, and review performance metrics is crucial for improving data-based decision-making. Furthermore, AIM Insights may be a critical tool for leaders of expanding teams to track and manage their groups to maintain an objective record of performance. 

Through defining key responsibilities and setting clear expectations, CEO’s can establish a fair and impartial system for evaluating individuals' suitability for a position. Utilizing measurable outcomes and enabling leaders and direct reports to view progress towards goals encourages transparent communication and accountability. 

2. Promoting a Culture of Accountability

An additional tool in these scenarios is working towards creating a culture of accountability. Encouraging accountability within the workplace culture does not necessarily need to be set by the CEO or leadership team. Accountability can be encouraged by direct reports through open communication and feedback. Cultures of accountability welcome criticism and allow opportunities for individuals to learn from their mistakes. 

Furthermore, if leaders are hoping to increase accountability practices within their teams, they should consider implementing a performance review process. Through formal feedback, employees are given the chance to reflect and improve on their practices, bettering the team and business as a whole. 

3. Engaging  Mentors or Executive Coaches

A final tool for minimizing bias in decision-making is engaging an outside party such as a mentor or executive coach. Because a mentor or coach is not immersed in organizational relationships, dynamics, or friendships, they are enabled to offer a different, likely clearer insight on the situation. 

If an outside party observes the leadership team, they may be able to advise CEO’s as to the exact weaknesses in the organization. Additionally, consultants can suggest solutions and strategies to better these inadequacies without risking personal relationships or connections. A horizontal mentorship program could enable CEO’s to connect with other executives that may be able to provide clearer guidance in these situations. Many executives have had experiences with similar scenarios and can help CEO’s recognize when personal relationships cloud their judgment or give advice on prioritizing the businesses in decision making. 

To promote the longevity of organizational success, CEO’s have to navigate the balance between fostering personal relationships and maintaining professional responsibilities. While leaders should certainly work to build team trust, upholding unbiased decision-making processes should be the primary objective. By leveraging tools such as AIM insights for performance metrics, implementing accountability practices, and including mentors or consultants, CEO’s can create a more objective approach to match leaders' capabilities with the needs of the growing company.