Leaders are role models. A CEO is not only a leader but the most important person that drives the company to success. CEO’s need to be dedicated and work hard to inspire and lead by example. With the importance of growing a business, your company is in constant threat of competition. Everyone in the organization has to play the role to also help in the company’s growth and wellbeing to continue to stand out from the competition. However, as a leader you help to influence your team’s behavior to promote that growth.
Here are 7 skills that CEOs master to ensure they are able to lead and bring home the profits.
1. Vision and Execution
Execution is key. We have all heard this but as a CEO, one not only plans, but knows that execution is an integral part to his success. Not only his success, but also the success of his team and company. Leaders are not only about talk, but strongly believe in action.
As a leader, you also need to have the vision to steer the members of the organization in the right direction and have the servitude to pull the trigger when necessary.
On the topic of vision, Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group has stated, “you do need to develop an overall vision for your company—one that is strongly supported by a more targeted strategy at each business that falls under your umbrella. The two things are not mutually exclusive, but complementary: one should not override the other.”
Zuckerberg’s advice on execution is all about making sure that you move things beyond the idea stage, and into the real world. That means getting yourself organized and getting other people involved. He states that “ideas need to be brought to life through execution — the ability to actively pursue an idea to make it work.” Execution is a process that acts upon that initial idea to continue to develop and perfect until the idea becomes more clear.
2. Passion
On the down days and in the downturns, the leader must be able to stay motivated and push, even when the odds are against them.
Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, strongly believes in the fact that passion is what drives you to keep trying despite all the failures you come across. His passion is using technology to bring people together.
Leaders don’t get their drive from others, but it comes from within. The passion is what sets the leader apart and it is a quality one must have in order to keep going despite all the challenges. It allows them to follow through, it gives them the will to keep going, even when the odds are stacked against them.
3. Accountability
Accountability is a key part for any leader. A true leader does not pass the blame for failure, but graciously accepts responsibility for the problems he inherited. He owns it, then collaborates with his team to solve it. There are absolutely no excuses.
With accountability, you:
1) Never put the blame on subordinates when you had an input to resolve a situation
2) Build trust within your team
3) Creative a positive environment 1within the workspace which boosts productivity within the team
4) Define and cement your role as CEO
4. Decisiveness
Decisiveness, simply put is defined as being able to come to a firm conclusion quickly, effectively and confidently. A CEO needs to make the right calls at the right time, even when pressure is upon them. However, Colin Powell developed his own rule of thumb for decision making which he the called 40/70 rule. The rule states that the best time to make a decision is when you have between 40 and 70 percent of the available information.
With less than 40 per cent, you will likely make a poor choice, and with more than 70 per cent, you will end up taking too long, and the decision will be made for you.
Teddy Roosevelt once said, “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing.”
As a leader, making decisions will be inevitable. Some will be harder than others but remember choosing to not make a decision is worse than not making one at all.
5) Diplomacy
In the words of Henry Kissinger, “Diplomacy: the art of restraining power.”
Diplomacy is the art of dealing with people in a tactful way. As a CEO, it would invlolve maintaining peaceful relationships among your team members.
By being diplomatic your staff is also assured that you have the ability to defuse situations with the outmost tact and fairness. They also won’t believe any favoritism is involved or any loyalty is shown to any particular team member.
5. Emotional Intelligence
Employees need a level headed leader who will not lose their cool, who is willing to understand persons and know how to manage his/her emotions. This is where emotional intelligence comes in. It is how you manage your emotions to think, act and respond in a positive way.
A CEO’s behavior has a lasting effect on their employees and will impact their overall performance. A CEO whose behavior creates a safe space for their employees creates a situation where they can be expressive and creative which will also lead to increased productivity. On the other hand, a CEO whose behavior triggers negative emotions in others causes immediate and lasting unproductive effects in those employees.
One of the key attributes that comes with emotional intelligence is empathy.
With empathy, you can understand the emotions, needs, and concerns of your employees, pick up on emotional cues and know how to effectively respond to them. This builds stronger relationships and helps to maintain them.
For more on how to master emotional intelligence, try out this course on Udemy.
6. Brevity
Leaders have to get to the point, no fluff. Why? Because people can see right through it.
Being able to write and talk in a concise manner allows for effective communication. As cliche as it sounds, communication is key. When you don’t mince words, fewer people question you. They assume that when you speak up, you’re speaking the truth as you see it, you are just pure decision.
At times, individuals will speak, but end up repeating themselves and no value is achieved. They may also lead to over-explaining and the receiver of the message completely missing the point.
By being concise and to the point, you not only ensure that what you are contributing is of value, and delivered with maximum impact, but you also demonstrate to those around you that you respect them and their time.
7. Transparency
Transparency is what will earn you trust, loyalty and respect as a leader. Again, mastering effective communication is key. Keeping employees in the loop, sharing the good and the bad and welcoming honest feedback from team members are all ways of demonstrating transparency. There should be no unpleasant surprises, no concerns around uncertainty, and no cowardly behavior that may weaken one’s reputation.
Essentially, transparent leaders strive to practice what they preach, set clear expectations, and communicate effectively with every member of their team.
Everyone wants the corner office with the great skyscraper view, but does everyone have what it takes to reach there? Maybe we all do and maybe we don’t. What are your thoughts on our list?
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