Corporate Career Success - How to Become CEO by wws
For many people the ultimate success in a corporate career is to reach the most senior position in the corporate ladder, which is typically accompanied by a C-level title: CFO, CIO, CMO, COO, and, the top company title of CEO. Reaching the top job in the corporate world requires many years of experience and several qualities and skills such as leadership, communication skills, charisma, financial acumen and a strong understanding of the business. The only exception to this rule is when an entrepreneur, who usually has a completely different set of skills, launches a successful business venture and becomes the CEO. However, most successful entrepreneurs recognize that in order to run the company effectively and continue growing they need to hire a professional CEO.
In the days of the internet bubble, many young people, sometimes straight out of college, sought the top C-Level jobs at a startup dot-com. A few of the startup companies recognized that in order to survive they needed to hire professional business managers, or “adult supervision”. Others were managed by kids who kept on spending their venture capital on lavish parties and never made any money. We know how that story ends.
For those taking a more traditional career path in the corporate world, you too can become a CEO someday. There was a time when that position was reserved for a privileged few, usually from a wealthy family background, an Ivy League degree and the right political contacts. Today, for the most part, the top chiefs get to their position through merit, that is, their ability to lead, achieve results and influence people at that level. There are no secrets to reaching the top position in a corporation, but if you are serious about pursuing the top position, you need to educate yourself. The best way to find out how to become the boss at the top is to learn from those that have already achieved that goal.
Before we further discuss learning how to become the chief, let’s define a few terms. The CEO title stands for Chief Executive Officer, and it is the common way in corporate America to describe the individual who is responsible for managing all the other executives in the company and who is ultimately accountable for achieving company results. The title of President is usually redundant with CEO, and is also used to describe the head of the company, but it has special legal meanings that are significant. For instance, banks require the President to sign certain legal papers. In many countries the President, who can also be called Managing Director, or sometimes Executive Director, holds the top job.
There can be many chiefs in the company, but they all report to the CEO. Some of the most common titles include Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Information Officer, Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Legal Officer. To make it a bit confusing, sometimes the Chief Operation Officer is also the President. The COO is responsible for carrying out the operations of the company, and in these situations the CEO is more focused on developing the company strategy and dealing with the outside world. The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is responsible for the company’s financial statements, but in many cases CFOs carry a broader set of responsibilities, including administration, legal, strategic planning, human resources and computer systems. With the increasing role of information technology in company strategies, the role of Chief Information Officer (CIO) has become more common and gained more clout among executives.
The best way to get a firm understanding of what you need to do to reach the top job in your functional area, or even the CEO job, is to learn from those that have already reached those jobs. Before you become a chief, you need to start thinking and acting like one. Many employees get too focused on their own part of the work and don’t get to understand the business as a whole. They think it is their bosses’ responsibilities to understand what is happening at the next level above them. This is a big mistake. You should attempt to learn as much as you can from your boss and try to understand what problems he (used generically here for both genders) is trying to deal with on a daily basis. Then try to help your boss achieve his goals and solve his problems.
Don’t be afraid to reach out to the chief, including the CEO. CEOs are just folks like you and me. They come in all shapes and forms, have different personalities, different education and backgrounds. Some are nicer, warmer, more honest, and more down-to-earth than others. Some have come from wealthier backgrounds, but others started from scratch and built their careers one step at a time. But most importantly, they are all human.
If you are too far down the corporate ladder to have an opportunity to interact with the CEO or even the top officer in your functional area, you can still learn by reading about them. If you want to learn more about CEOs, I would recommend the book How to Think Like a CEO
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- Secure in self
- In control of attitude
- Tenacious
- Continuously Improving
- Honest and Ethical
- Thinking before talking
- Original
- Publicly modest
- Aware of style
- Gutsy / A little wild
- Humorous
- A tad theatrical
- Detail oriented
- Good at their job and willing to lead
- Fighters for their people
- Willing to admit mistakes, yet unapologetic
- Straightforward
- Nice
- Inquisitive
- Competitive
- Flexible
- Good Storytellers
Notice that the first item on the list is secure in self. Being confident is extremely important in anything that we do in life. One common characteristic of chiefs is that they have more self-confidence than most other people. So how do you build enough self-confidence to reach the top job? Through small victories.
Most chiefs have had many successes in previous positions of lesser responsibility. This does not mean that they never failed. Much to the contrary, they learned from their mistakes and carried those lessons with them so that that they wouldn’t make the same mistake again. If you are going to make a mistake, it is better to make it early when the consequences of your mistakes do not have as large an impact as when you are the CEO. Jack Welch, the famous ex-CEO at General Electric was very aware of the importance of building self-confidence is his subordinates. He has written and lectured about giving high potential employees an opportunity to get additional responsibility and build enough confidence to take on the next job in the corporate hierarchy. Many of the CEOs of the largest companies in America came from GE, where they had a chance to hone their skills and build their self-confidence.
We will cover self-confidence extensively in the Personal Development section of Worldwide Success, so be sure to also check the article is that category.
. Yes I admit I was, and maybe still am naïve. But as time goes on it starts to sink in. To be successful it is all about the decisions we make in life. It is a mind game. What we choose to do today may very well change the direction of our lives. We play the game right, we live our lives right.
