The role of CEO is the highest moment in a manager’s career and with the due distinctions that must be made based on the size and complexity of the company, it is in any case a source of satisfaction and concerns.
I experienced these sensations and I try to tell them.
RESPONSIBILITY
The responsibilities can be many depending on the size of the company and the Board. The vision must be clear and must be transferred to our team, and everything must be done as quickly as possible because this is what stakeholders expect.
EMPOWERMENT and LISTENING
Even if you have made your career path in all company sectors (finance, operations, sales, etc.) it is essential to be able to count on the support of managers and department heads. For this purpose, two fundamental skills are necessary: delegation and humility!
Delegation, because one can’t do everything alone. A team essentially based on trust must be built, leaving behind age or other prejudices, and choosing only on merit and trust.
Humility, because power wears out and is a tool to be used with the utmost caution!! It is essential to keep in touch with reality, not to feel like supernatural beings, and always ask questions and question yourself!!
Ask, inquire, be curious, and don’t stop at the surface. Many times whoever has the problem also has the solution: listening to what he says because will often it be a source of improvement, in solving the problem as well.
OPEN TO CHANGE
Change determines a company’s ability to remain on the market; those who don’t change are hopelessly stuck in the starting blocks in a world that moves at the speed of light. A leader must look to the future with curiosity, be conquered by the news, and use them to the fullest!!
Let’s forget about being the best: the market and customer needs change.
RESULTS
The CEO must always be concrete, everything ultimately boils down to numbers that must be achieved at all costs. Persevering in achieving results is the greatest commitment that we must set for ourselves… working and committing ourselves to 110% are fundamental conditions for success. The variable luck is there and exists, and it must be exploited. Although, in truth, I think that lucky people are those who are simply optimistic, and who always think positive, even in negative situations.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
If one has become CEO after a long career as a manager, you must also start thinking as an entrepreneur, and have a vision of the business that goes beyond numbers!! Above all, giving substance to this vision!! In short, making a dream come true!!
ETHICS
Shareholders are the ones who believed in us, and we must never lose their trust. The CEO has ample room for maneuvering, but he must always maintain ethics and professionalism that allow him to always be appreciated for what he does and for who he is. The company is not ours, it has been entrusted to us, therefore we must maintain the right rigor and always be correct. Morality is very important: no compromise on this point.
COLLABORATOR
Employees are the architects of our success. Every CEO has the opportunity to write a new page in the book, get out of the logic of the past, identify talents (which are often hidden), and enhance them. Jack Welch’s old 20-70-10 rule is still relevant (20% are the talents that need to be constantly stimulated, but they are the ones who drive the company, 70% are the crowd, but in this crowd, you can hide talents that it’s up to us to find and enhance, 10% are the people who “row against”, that depress and reduce the performance of those around them If we can’t solve their problem, the best thing to do is take them out of the company. Motivation and involvement generally don’t work for them).
CONTEXT ANALYSIS
You need to be well aware of the context in which decisions are made.
Understanding whether all responsibility should/can be assumed or shared with other members of the Board, and much even if it comes to the job from inside or outside. In this second case, it is very important to make a complete diagnosis of the company situation, to understand the company culture and the environment, and also to understand whether to first acquire the trust of the system and top management or proceed immediately on one’s own path with potentially indigestible decisions.
Very important is the ability to adopt an outsider’s perspective, i.e. try to anticipate the perplexities of an external observer and quickly identify any flaws.
Surely it is inadvisable to always act in the same way or on the basis of general rules considered universally valid. Far better to focus on fewer priorities, without setting the bar too high on your ambitions. In fact, speed and effectiveness are essential, because the opening of credit by stakeholders and the window of opportunity do not last long. Without exaggerating with activism as an end in itself, but moving in a strategic, targeted, and rapid manner.
FAMILY
The family is our fixed port, our true point of reference, our source of energy recharge, which will give the necessary stability and must never be forgotten!!
The challenges are not few because the CEO, in general, represents the executive and decision-making body of the company, the subject responsible for the company’s strategy, and responsible for providing the members of the organization with the guidelines to implement it.
If you will grow into your new position as CEO, make your transition easier by staying curious, humble, and open by following these simple tips.
Great article Aldo
CEO will only be able to manage if he manages self first.
The attributes that you assign for a successful CEO to have are those of a leader as well.
I find the comment of Ruel an example of the high quality of your post. I agree with him .
Grateful for your wisdom shared and your thoughtful engagement always, my friend. Thank you.
This is beautifully constructed and articulated. My favorite point was about humility. “because power wears out and is a tool to be used with utmost caution”. It is we as the general collective that assign supernatural human beings status on our leaders and I feel that there remains a ‘divine right of kings’ attitude that we have not evolved away from. I am an advocate of “who has the problem, has the solution”. There is the paradox that a CEO must be concrete in terms of achieving results, and you also mentioned the paradox, which is that the CEO needs a vision that goes beyond the numbers. I like the viewpoint that a CEO must look to the future with curiosity and “be conquered by the news”, using both to the fullest. Echo fully that morality is very important and should not be compromised, the shadow a CEO casts on her or his organization is immense. Lastly, there is a key message that applies to all, as you write “The company is not ours, it has been entrusted to us”. I love all the wisdom here.
I’m glad you found value in this read and added more value with your insight!
Your support is very important for me to continue sharing experiences and points of view.
My heartfelt thanks for your time and appreciation.