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CEO
Skill 4 of 5

Align Upward on Expectations

Aligning upward turns the expectations you were hired against into a shared, current definition of success with the CEO or board. The version formed during hiring rarely survives contact with the role, so a leader who skips the explicit conversation runs against a target only they can see. Confirming the resources the mandate needs and keeping an update rhythm keep the plan grounded. Resetting the definition of success early, when the ground contradicts the brief, keeps you from owning a miss you could see coming.

Proficiency Level

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Measurable Behaviors

Behaviors are optimized to be directly observable for evidence-based skill tracking.

Agree a shared read of the situation with your boss

Walks the diagnosis up and reaches a jointly agreed view of the situation before committing to targets.

Confirm the resources and authority the mandate requires

Checks that decision rights, budget, and support match the ask and surfaces any gap while it can still be resolved.

Hold an explicit expectations conversation with your boss

Agrees a stated definition of success with the CEO or board, not the version left over from hiring.

Reset the definition of success when the ground contradicts it

Renegotiates the definition of success when the ground contradicts the brief rather than commit to a target known to be wrong.

Set and keep a regular update rhythm with your boss

Agrees a reporting rhythm and surfaces problems before being asked, then holds to it.

This is a preview of how behavior tracking works in Admire

What Strong Upward Alignment Looks Like

A leader who has mastered this has agreed a written definition of success with their boss, confirmed the authority and budget the mandate needs, and holds a reporting rhythm that surfaces problems early. When the ground contradicts the brief, they renegotiate the target rather than commit to one they know is wrong.

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