> No one knew what I was doing, and I couldn’t explain why I was doing it when asked.
> I had shut down. Even as we were meeting, I was obsessively thinking about the change
> I literally paid zero attention. In my righteous anger I was unreachable.
The common thread is communication; specifically the lack of it. These quotes are huge red flags.
The CEO saw a problem and clearly communicated it -- you've gotten results but cannot explain how or why, and that isn't good enough going forward. The author even had a chance (real or not) to act on this feedback by way of a warning and a coach. Instead of embracing and acting on clear feedback from his new boss, he panicked and shut down; allowing one negative interaction to throw his entire sense of self into disarray. This is strong evidence that indeed they were likely not the right candidate for the position as the company grew.