If you are an executive employee (i.e. hired help, not an owner) in a small business, you know what I'm talking about.
Everything used to be pretty transparent: The owner(s) dropped by your office and discussed strategic issues sitting in front of your desk. They ran their ideas by you, stealing yours in the process, which you didn't mind, because you've learned to think of it as a sign of their appreciation. You were a mandatory participant in tactical meetings with various third-parties and considered a welcomed member of the Board of Directors. You were copied on all email exchanges, etc.
Then, BLAM! All of a sudden everything is hush-hush. And it's not like you did anything wrong or have been slacking. No, you are still your highly professional and ingenious self. Yet, when the owners meet (without you now), they close the doors. You know that there are meetings going on without you. You know that there are important matters that your general business acumen could've helped to resolve, but the owners don't seek your opinion anymore. From what you can see (and if you are a CFO, you see more than anyone else) they need your help, but they don't want it. You are excluded from anything outside of your direct professional responsibilities.
And this is unpleasant, to say the least, because, let's face it:
(a) It's a negative change – it would be better not to be included in the first place, then experience rejection for some unknown reason; one minute you were special, an equal, and another (this is how you feel) you are not different from the receptionist, and
(b) The whole damn thing forces you into a guessing mode, which is a direct way to anxiety and depression.
While this situation is definitely common, I will allow that reasons behind it could vary from business to business, and from one owner's personality to another. Yet, I bet that the following four scenarios, crystallized from years of close observation of various business owners, are applicable to the majority of cases:
1. The owner(s) feel intimidated by you. This happens very frequently. Many businessmen have superiority complex and think that they are the smartest people in any room. And then you enter the picture. At some point the owner realizes that you know more, catch faster, and handle things better than him.
Most hired execs (including yours truly) think it's unfair that We, the brilliant and the laudable, are forced to work for "some schmucks," but the person on the other side is hurting too. No, no, no, I'm not going to feel sorry for the poor millionaire boss, but just think for a second – he is caught between the understanding how important you are for the company and his desire to stop feeling like an idiot in your presence.
This sounds like a difficult situation, but rationally speaking this is the best case scenario. IF the boss is a logical person, who cares for his company's (and his own) well being - he will come around; the doors will be opened again. Of course, if he is a self-centered asshole on an ego trip and nothing else matters… see Scenario 4b.
2. The owners fucked something they are responsible for and the business is not doing well (you, the CFO, may not even know it, because the commercial errors didn't translate themselves into fiscal events yet, but it's coming). The last thing they need at this point is you judging them with your I-told-you-so eyes. They feel so awkward that they'd rather hide away than use your help.
3. The troubles are even worth – to the degree that makes them loose sleep and keeps them in a state of perpetual panic. The problem may not even be caused by the business that employs you. For example, one of the owners just got an audit notice from IRS; he knows that some shit could be found in his other businesses that will destroy everything. Or an owner got busted with large quantities of cocaine on him. Stuff like that. Well, you should consider yourself lucky that you are not invited inside those conference rooms with closed doors - you are better off not knowing anything about it for the sake of plausible deniability.
4. The worst case scenario - the meetings are specifically about getting rid of you, while minimizing the impact on the company. We can further subdivide this one according to the underlying causes:
(a) You are too expensive and the owners, while knowing very well that you worth every penny they pay you, don't think the business can afford you anymore, not even with a 30% base reduction.
(b) That owner in the first scenario simply cannot deal with your superiority any longer. He doesn't care how good you are, you've got to go, so that he can forget about you (and he will) and start feeling good about himself again. I have to say, this one is your own fault – if you needed that job, you should've curbed your attitude. (Oh boy, don't I know how incredibly difficult that is!)
Oh yeah, I almost forgot! There is a possibility of a fifth scenario (also straight from my experience with rampant business owners): If the boss starts having frequent (and kind of longish) meetings behind closed doors not with other execs or third-party relations, but with his secretary, you probably need to read my post When Your Boss's Secretary Becomes His Girlfriend, written 2.5 years ago. It is, by the way, one of The Frustrated CFO's Top 5 most popular posts to date. So, I know that this particular scenario is very common.
While the reasons for the closed doors vary, your course of action is limited two just two options: (a) suck it up and continue doing your job for the sake of your paycheck, or (b) look for another job and, if you get lucky (real tough for CFOs nowadays), get out. Take my advice: don't lower yourself to passive-aggressive stance, or seek an open confrontation with the owners, or attempt to "ask around." You will not achieve anything this away and it will only make you feel worse.
The Frustrated CFO 