In 2004 Peter Drucker said, “The CEO is the link between the Inside that is ‘the organization,’ and the Outside of society, economy, technology, markets, and customers. Inside there are only costs. Results are only on the outside.” The Chief Executive Officers are the rock stars of their company. Every CEO has something unique but here are seven factors, which goes into the making of a good CEO:
- A conceptual framework of what he or she can articulate well. Best results are produced when people know their strength and have an idea of what they can achieve with that.
- A good CEO should never criticize his employee in front of others. Criticize in private and praise in public.
- For CEOs, it is difficult to not think about their company for a single moment. However, a better idea would be to take a break from thinking about your company 24X7 to come up with fresher and better ideas. A balance between work and break from thinking about work is an essential ingredient for a good CEO.
- Hiring and Firing: Hiring the best people is crucial to the company’s success. Your employees form the DNA of the company. Lay off the people that do not fit, promote people internally and most importantly, maintain and retain the best people.
- Coach: Become a teacher, coach and mentor to your direct reports. Instill a culture of learning throughout all levels of the organization.
- Student: Stay active in some form of continued professional development, not just in the your area of functional expertise but as a student of leadership.
- Be creative: In a study conducted by IBM, 60% of the CEOs cited creativity as the most important leadership quality.
Every organization is different and every CEO is unique. Some responsibilities cannot be delegated, like creating culture and building the senior management team. The strategy and vision of a CEO builds or demolishes a company. It is their decision that seals the company’s financial fate. A CEO defines the company and determines its success. They know their passion and their vision and they have the leadership qualities, which are not even taught at Harvard Business School.
