Lockett: CEO optimism and CTO skepticism create inherent startup tension
Rachel Lockett · A guide to difficult conversations, building high-trust teams, and designing a life you love · Nov 23, 2025 · at 1:02:50
Executive coach Rachel Lockett outlines the recurring interpersonal and operational tensions between technical and executive co-founders.
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“CTOs tend to be skeptics. They're, they love facts. They seek knowledge. They want depth of awareness and understanding, and they also like to be self-sufficient. This is a total generalization, but I've seen this pattern over and over again. The CEO is the person who had to sell the vision. They're a person who loves big picture vision strategy. They often are great at influencing others. They love to sell ahead of the reality of what the company's actually built. This creates an inherent tension between blind optimism and skepticism, and it's a dance that these two roles play together.”
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