It sounds like you previously had a supervisor who was able to be a buffer between you and the CEO, allowing you to have some independence and not much interaction with the CEO. Now, not only has your “buffer” disappeared, but now you have to deal directly with the CEO and his micro-managing ways. Yuck!

Here’s the thing, you aren’t going to be able to change the erratic and impulsive management style and the micro-managing of the CEO. I’m guessing that he feels these are effective strategies that have benefited him over the years. Given that, all you can do is learn to “manage up” with him. Allow me to explain: Managing up means making win-win suggestions to your CEO that benefit both you and your CEO. To do this, first identify what needs of yours are not being met by your CEO as well as what behaviors of his are simply an annoyance, but don’t actually impact your ability to get your work done. I mention this because you don’t want to be spending any time nor energy on annoyances. Your time is too valuable for that. Let these go. What you want to focus on is your unmet needs that are hindering your ability to get your work done. In other words, what do you need “more of” from your CEO in order to be more productive. This could be things like having more independence, or having more input, or sticking with decisions once agreed upon.

Once you’ve identified what you need more of from your CEO, then think about what the benefits would be to both you and him if you got those needs met. Then, initiate a meeting, or incorporate this into an already existing meeting, and ask for what you need. As you do this, be sure to point out the benefit to him as well.

Here is an example: “Do you mind if I make a request? What can I do to gain your trust so that you don’t feel like you have to continually check on me to see if I’m doing the work that you passed on to me? I want you to be able to count on me but I don’t feel like I’m getting a chance to prove myself.” In this case, you’d be asking your CEO to not only spell out what a trusting relationship would look like but you’d be getting him to begin to trust you. Hence the win-win. Plus, making a request is much more effective that delivering a criticism to your boss. Granted this is a hypothetical situation, but hopefully you get the idea.

In summary, only take on the issues that impede your ability to get your work done, and let the rest go.