What is CEO disease? It’s not a real disease. It’s wanting to be seen as perfect. The term refers to the phenomenon of many leaders living in what is known as a ‘feedback vacuum’. The higher you climb within the hierarchy of an organization, the fewer people are inclined to share their honest and often critical opinions about your decisions or leadership style. No genuine feedback exists. It separates you from reality.

The consequences of CEO disease are disastrous, both for yourself and for your organization. You will want to surround yourself with more an more yes-men and yes-women.

CEO disease is similar to the concept of perfectionism. Perfectionism, as described by Brene Brown in her book Atlas of the Heart, is mot striving to be our best or taking time and effort to work toward excellence. Healthy striving is internally driven and is evidence of a growth mindset. Perfectionism is externally driven by the question what will people think?”. Perfectionism tells us that we need to know everything. Perfectionism tells us that our mistakes and shortcomings are personal defects. So we don’t really try, or if we try and fail, we assign blame and find excuses. The dangerous belief is often adopted: I am what I accomplish and how well I accomplish it.

As Brene Brown says, there are components required to achieve mastery in an area of life. First, you need curiosity and genuine interest. Ads Carol Dweck says, mastery requires a growth mindset. The problem is that perfectionism kills curiosity because it says we already have to know everything, or we risk looking “less than”. Perfectionism can be even worse. It can set you on the path to depression, anxiety, addiction and life paralysis.

The person with CEO disease has two choices. Should they confront and work on their shortcomings, or should they create a world where they have none?