Hmmm... kinda like a CEO, then.
Indeed! Or like a naval ship, where the executive officer is in charge of the daily operations, and the captain directs what the ship does.
A good President understands that (s)he doesn't know everything and lacks the bandwidth to direct everything done by everyone in his government. A good President "hires" excellent people who, among them, do have all the necessary knowledge and expertise.
A poor President can't acknowledge their limitations, and tries to micro-manage everything - like Carter.
A lousy President "hires" lackeys whose principle goal is to keep their President in office, and hope they don't do too much harm in their nominal duties - like WJC. A horrible President can't handle his peeps being smarter or better than him/her in any way, and "hires" incompetents. And the amount of harm done depends on what happens in the rest of the world - like Obama.