Who is Running Your Boardroom?
You are the CEO of Your Life, so Lead
The Executive Team Inside Your Head
It’s noisy inside your head sometimes, isn’t it?
A constant stream of demands, warnings, criticisms, conflicting desires, and sudden impulses. Most of us live our lives reacting to this noise, batting away thoughts like flies, or worse, believing every single thing our brain tells us is an absolute truth.
But what if that noise wasn’t just chaos? What if it was data?
You Are The CEO
Here is an important reframe you can make for your mental well-being and performance:
You are the CEO of your life.
The thoughts, feelings, and impulses you experience are simply “memos” delivered by your internal Executive Team.
Inside you is a vast, diverse team of sub-personalities, archetypes, and identities. They all have different jobs, different communication styles, and different agendas. But they all work for you.
The problem is that most of us have vacated the CEO chair. We let the loudest, most frantic team members run the boardroom meeting.
The Loudest Voices vs. The Wisest Counsel
You know the loud ones.
For years, I called one of my loudest team members “The Saboteur.” They were brutal. They sent me constant memos about how I was going to fail, how I wasn’t enough, and why I should stay small.
But when I stepped into the CEO role, I realized “The Saboteur” was actually just my Chief Protection Officer. Their delivery system was terrible, abusive, even if their intent was positive. They wanted to keep me safe from rejection and pain.
As CEO, I can now receive that memo without becoming activated. I can say,
“Thank you, Chief Protector. I see your memo about the risks of this new venture. I’ve noted your concerns. We are going to proceed anyway, but keep watching the perimeter.”
When you quiet the loud voices, you make space for the others. The quiet ones at the end of the table.
The Inner Wisdom that speaks in a calm, intuitive whisper.
The Playful Creative who wants to try something new just for the joy of it.
The Visionary who knows exactly the man or woman you are capable of being.
These parts send crucial memos that usually get buried under the urgent paperwork of fear and obligation.
Your Internal Boardroom Roster
To lead effectively, you need to know who is sitting at your table. You need to recognize their signature memo style so you don’t mistake their voice for your own.
Below is a roster of 20 common internal team members spanning the human experience—from the protective ego to the aspirational self.
Which of these are sending you the most memos today? Which do you identify with? Do you have others?
The 20-Person Internal Executive Team
These distinct “parts” show up with different energy, intentions, and volume levels in our internal boardroom.
The Protective & Reactive Division (The Loudest Memos)
These parts often rely on fear, shame, or urgency to get the CEO’s attention.
Their intent is safety and survival, but their methods are often outdated.
The Chief Protection Officer (formerly The Critic/Saboteur): Sends brutal memos highlighting flaws and potential failures to prevent you from taking risks that might lead to rejection.
The Risk Averse Analyst (The Worrier): Constantly churning out reports on “Worst Case Scenarios.” Their memos are marked URGENT and plastered with red flags.
The Quality Control Obsessive (The Perfectionist): Demands impossibly high standards. Their memo is never finished; it’s always waiting for one more edit before it’s “safe” to be seen.
The People-Pleasing Liaison: Desperate to maintain external harmony. Sends memos warning you that setting a boundary will cause someone else to dislike you.
The Outraged Activist (The Reactive Defender): The part that flares up instantly when it perceives injustice or a slight against you. Memos are written in ALL CAPS and demand immediate conflict.
The Numbing Agent (The Avoider): When the boardroom gets too heated, this part suggests canceling the meeting entirely. Memos include suggestions for scrolling, snacking, or procrastinating.
The Doubting Thomas (Imposter Syndrome): The archivist who keeps detailed files on why you don’t belong in the room and when you will be “found out.”
The “Doing” & Achieving Division (The Pushy Memos)
These parts are focused on external validation, productivity, and getting things done.
The Relentless Driver (The Hustler): Believes your worth equals your output. Memos are endless to-do lists and warnings against rest.
The Crisis Manager (The Fixer): Loves a fire. Ignores long-term strategy memos in favor of urgent, short-term problem solving.
The Competitive Strategist: Constantly comparing your company’s performance to others. Memos focus on winning rather than value.
The Dedicated Professional: The part identified closely with your career role. Memos focus on competence, reputation, and climbing the ladder.
The Wisdom & Aspirational Division (The Quiet Memos)
These parts hold your deepest truths, creativity, and potential. They rarely shout, so the CEO must lean in to hear them.
The Wise Counsel (Intuition/Gut): Sends brief, clear memos that just “feel right.” Often lacks data backing but is rarely wrong.
The Visionary Strategist (Your Best Self): The keeper of the long-term blueprint. They remind you of the bigger picture and the person you are becoming.
The Compassionate HR Director: The voice of self-kindness. Sends memos reminding the CEO that the staff is tired and needs a break, advocating for grace over grind.
The Objective Observer (Mindfulness): The only person in the room not panicking. They just take minutes on what is happening without judging it. “Memo: We are noticing a lot of activity from the Risk Analyst right now.”
The Playful Innovator (Creative Inner Child): Wants to throw out the agenda and brainstorm wild ideas. Memos are colorful, messy, and full of “What if?”
The Relational & Contextual Division (The Role-Based Memos)
Aspects of us that show up in specific areas of life.
The Nurturing Caregiver (Parent/Partner role): Focused on the needs of others. Memos prioritize connection, safety for dependents, and domestic harmony.
The Social Connector (The Good Friend/Networker): Concerned with belonging to the tribe. Memos focus on fun, gossip, and social standing.
The Adventurous Scout: The part craving novelty and the unknown. Sends memos begging for a vacation or a new hobby.
The Wounded Intern (Vulnerable Inner Child): Holding past pains. They don’t send many memos, but when they do, the whole boardroom freezes. They need reassurance from the CEO, not logic.
The Wrap Up
Coaching Question:
If you sit quietly for five minutes right now, which team member is frantically waving a memo in your face? And which quiet team member is waiting patiently at the end of the table for you to ask their opinion?
Get back in the CEO chair. It’s time to lead.
Gemini and Nano Banana Pro helped with the making of this post. Thank you.
Thanks for the read Kris - I like the recognition that all of us have internal monologues that, at times, can have conflicting interests. Richard Schwartz has some great (audio)books that go in depth on this topic if you happen to be looking for more material!