I’ve watched nonprofit executives destroy their organizations with with “CEO ADHD”. They start a project, get distracted by the next opportunity, then abandon the first initiative before seeing results. The pattern repeats until they’ve created a graveyard of half-finished projects that drain resources and demoralize staff.

This behavior stems from pressure to secure the next revenue stream. But there’s something deeper at work.

The Real Problem Lives in the C-Suite Triangle

After managing multi-million dollar budgets for over two decades, I’ve identified the true culprit: communication breakdown between the CFO and COO.

When these two positions don’t align, they send “two different lines of thought” to the CEO. This creates confusion at the top and eliminates any hope of organizational discipline.

The CEO becomes reactive instead of strategic. Project completion becomes impossible when leadership can’t maintain consistent direction.

Research confirms this pattern. Leadership turnover has reached crisis levels, with organizations filling 43% of C-suite roles in just two years. Meanwhile, 70% of projects fail to deliver promised outcomes.

Building Operational Discipline

The solution requires structural changes, not personality fixes.

First, establish clear communication protocols between the CFO and COO. They must present unified recommendations to the CEO, not competing perspectives.

Second, implement project completion gates. No new initiatives start until current projects reach defined milestones.

Third, create accountability systems that track project outcomes, not just project starts. Measure completion rates and resource allocation efficiency.

The Cost of Scattered Focus

Project abandonment creates invisible organizational trauma. Staff lose confidence in leadership direction. Donors question the organization’s ability to execute.

Most damaging, the mission suffers when resources get scattered across incomplete initiatives instead of concentrated on impactful programs.

Strong CFO-COO alignment creates the foundation for sustainable project management. When these roles work in harmony, they provide the CEO with clear, consistent guidance that enables focused decision-making.

The organizations that thrive understand this: completion beats initiation every time. Functional relationships between key executives create the discipline needed to see projects through to meaningful results.

CEO ADHD kills nonprofits. Operational discipline saves them.