I Used To Know The CEO

There was a time when connecting with the top of the org chart, namely the CEO, didn’t feel like striving to climb Mt. Everest; it felt… reachable.

Not in a “Frequent happy hour meet-ups” kind of way. Just a human way. A town hall where questions got answered, and ok, sometimes it was scripted, always moderated, but it wasn't full-blown avoidance. Maybe it was in the form of a Monday morning meet-and-greet where

names were remembered just enough to matter. Or, the cheerful, unmistakable “Good morning!” echoing down the main corridor as the CEO made their way to the office. Not forced. Not performative. Just… present.

Consistent enough that even if you never spoke directly, you felt it. You knew who was leading. You knew they saw the people around them. At every job I’ve had, across very different levels, I could say the same thing:

I knew the CEO.

Well, not personally and definitely not deeply, but enough to feel like they existed beyond a title. Enough to believe that maybe, they cared.

Then Came the Contrast

All of a sudden, I went from environments where leadership had a pulse you could feel… to one where it felt like leadership existed behind a firewall.

Three CEOs in three years

and the only connection and engagement felt by most became an emailed memo, that’s it.

No introduction that felt human. No presence that made you pause and say, "Okay, this is the new boss." Nope, it was just a notification. A new email, easily lost in the shuffle of everything else, and an expectation that everyone keeps moving as if nothing had changed. Sometimes, from where you sit, you notice things differently. I remember raising the concern once. Carefully, professionally, raising the tiniest flag of concern. The response: Let’s just say… I'm still waiting for someone to get back to me to discuss.

When Leadership Becomes a Notification

There’s something quietly disruptive about not knowing who your CEO is. Not just their name, anyone can memorize that. I mean knowing them in the way that makes leadership feel real. Without that, work truly becomes transactional.

You log in. You deliver. You log out.

There’s no emotional anchor, no sense of “this matters beyond my role.” No internal pull to

protect or advocate for the company because… what are you protecting? A logo? A quarterly goal?

Think about companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Apple. Regardless of opinions, there’s

clarity in leadership. Names like Jeff Bezos, Satya Nadella, and Tim Cook aren’t just listed on an org chart. They’re visible, recognizable, and that visibility does more than inform...it connects.

And When There’s No Connection…

People adjust in ways that add up. Effort becomes calculated instead of instinctive.

Loyalty becomes conditional instead of assumed. Engagement becomes something that has to be managed instead of something that exists naturally.

You start to see:

• Employees stretching themselves across multiple roles, sometimes multiple companies, because value feels self-defined

• Teams operating in silos because there’s no unifying presence at the top

• A quiet erosion of pride in the work, because it no longer feels tied to a person or purpose

  
  

And when organizations try to reintroduce “connection,” it often comes packaged in perfectly worded messages that miss the mark entirely. You can’t retrofit authenticity.

Presence Isn’t a Strategy Deck… And Messaging Isn’t a Substitute

Somewhere along the way, presence got replaced with messaging. As though a combination of words could replace direct communication. Having something written

to employees versus for them. The gap between those versions is where trust lives... or dies. When employees don’t know their CEO or high-level leadership, there’s less instinct to go above and beyond. They are more likely to disengage mainly because there's less of a reason to stay or ignore when something better, sometimes just different, comes along. It’s not about excessive visibility; it's about just enough to remember a person is being impacted by decisions.

I didn’t need access to the CEO. I didn’t need one-on-one time or insider conversations. I just needed enough to feel like they were real. If I was asking for it, with my proximity, I'm sure others felt the same. When all you get is a monthly memo, you don’t just miss the CEO, you start to feel like the company is missing something too, and all messages start to lose their impact and feeling.

Okay, remote work removed the hallway greetings and most face-to-face engagement, not the need for connection. If anything, it raised the bar. Visibility can’t be passive; it has to be intentional. Not louder, not more frequent, not more polished...more human. A message that sounds like an acknowledgement of what employees are actually experiencing.

When Disconnection Starts to Cost You

Employees aren’t lacking information; they’re lacking connection.

And if they can’t see or feel leadership, they adjust. They protect their time, their energy, their effort, because nothing is pulling them into something bigger than their role.

Visibility isn’t about being everywhere. It’s about being real somewhere, often enough that it sticks.

Once leadership stops feeling real, people don’t push harder… they pull back. Not loudly, not all at once, but enough that over time, the company feels it. It shows up in disengagement, quiet exits, and turnover that feels constant but hard to explain.

When that starts to happen, it’s no longer a visibility issue; it’s a connection problem that’s already taken root… and one that’s far harder to fix than most companies expect.