In this article we will talk about the Chief Executive Officer designation. Al lot of you may already know about the chief executive officer while some of you may have ambitions or a desire to become a chief executive officer one day. But first let us get to know what a chief executive officer is and why he is usually the highest paid employee in an organization.
What is a Chief Executive Officer
the Chief executive officer is not just the highest paid employee but is also the highest paid executive within the organization. Holding such a designation comes with its own set of responsibilities and duties. The Major responsibility of a CEO, no matter the type of organization he/she is working at is the timely and critical decision-making involvement and its meticulous execution. They are the people responsible for the proper allocation of resources and are the main driving force of the company, while also being the main contact point for the shareholders, the board of directors and the people managing the corporate affairs of the company. Hence the decisions they make, or the resources they allocate are extremely critical as they have a direct impact on company profitability and effective operations. They are usually the ones who make long lasting decisions and any major structural changes too. Simply said they are the face of the company.
Expansion Strategies and Maximizing Shareholder Value
Apart from critical decision making and influencing structural changes they are also involved in expansion strategies, strategies to improve productive and efficiency within a company thereby ensuring and striving towards maximizing shareholder value.
Responsibilities Differ by Company Size and Structure
Now not all CEO’s will have the same set of responsibilities as others as this varies by the size of the company, its assets, workforce, culture, and its corporate structure. What this means is that the CEO of a large company would mainly be involved in making critical and strategic decisions and assessing their impacts so as to maximize company profitability and perception within the public, while the CEO of a smaller setup may even be involved in day to day operations of the company as a means to ensure efficient operations and also to keep an oversight on other employees. As an example we can say that the CEO of a large multinational bank with branches in many major cities of the world would mainly involved in making critical and timely decisions with regards to culture, operations, staffing, or productivity and keeping an eye on their outcomes so as to ensure exceptional shareholder value and secondly a healthy and a productive work environment. On the other hand a CEO of a small software house may directly be involved with its core employees to ensure things are progressing the way they should and be there for them in case they need help, he/she would also be involved in critical decision making but his duties would vary greatly as per the needs of the organization.
What does a typical CEO routine look like?
Chief Executive Officers mostly spend their official time in meetings, either for prospective business/expansion opportunities or with their fellow employees to ensure job satisfaction, accountability, and planning for the future. Good CEOs are ones that spend time with their employees, making sure they enjoy their work, listen to feedback and make appropriate changes and also recognize outstanding performances. These are the CEOs that are admired by the workforce and become an example or a mentor for others to follow.
CEO’s hold critical planning meetings with senior managers and team leaders to ensure activities are going according to plan so that productivity does not suffer. Various teams bring their input, worksheets, performance charts and any concerns so that all these things can be addressed effectively and by the decision makers themselves. An important responsibility for employees is to make sure they address their concerns, or their ideas in these meetings so that changes or amendments to the work process or culture could be made to enhance productivity and overall well-being of the organization.
How to become a Chief Executive Officer
I am quite sure most of you would want to be the CEO of the organization you are working, and why not? it is a position that enjoys good privileges, exceptional benefits and of course a good pay cheque. But what does it require to be a CEO, what skills do you need to hold that position, and how to climb up the corporate ladder might be some of the questions you might have. Let us dig into the skills needed to be a CEO.
Effective Communication
This might sound cliché, but effective communication is the topmost skill required to become a CEO. What it means is that you have exceptional communication ability. You have what it takes to conduct an excellent presentation involving explaining company performance, areas to improve upon and overall strategy. you must also be good at delivering good or unwelcome news, news about layoffs or changes in hiring strategies in manner that does not affect the workforce too much, using the right words, sentences, and vocal tone.
Decision Making
The second critical skill required is decision making, many of us assume that once we have that position, we can make critical decisions easily but that is not necessarily the case, or simply said its not that simple. Keep in mind the decisions a CEO makes are ones that can have a direct impact on company profitability, company perception and employee satisfaction. These are not small decisions like what are the consequences of someone reporting late to work? or what stationary can or cannot be ordered for a branch of the bank. Big decisions like workforce reductions and its impact, or changes in budgets of company operations etc. are some of the ones that the CEO’s usually make, they literally have to make tough choices and later they have to try to defend their decisions with proper rationale to the shareholders, as these decisions can make or break the company’s future.
Collaboration and accessibility
Another key trait and a true ingredient for a successful Chief Executive Officer is Collaboration and accessibility. What this means is that the CEO should be accessible to the employees of a company. Now some of you might think that is always the case, CEOs are accessible to employees and the employees can meet the CEO to discuss about things like a project or a concern. But that is not the case, some CEO’s create hierarchical barriers which mean you simply cannot meet the CEO directly, you have to address your concerns to the reporting manager, who will then convey the message up the hierarchy hoping that it reaches the CEO but normally it does not. This is not a good practice, and effective CEOs are those that do no create hierarchical boundaries, are accessible to their employees as the employees might want to talk to the CEO directly about something which they are not comfortable with talking to their manager. An accessible and CEO who listens is the ones who creates a collaborative and supportive environment. One in which productivity and employee satisfaction thrives.
Ethics and integrity
CEO’s need to make critical decisions as that is one of the primary responsibilities of their job, but while making those decision they must adhere to ethical standards. Decisions should be made based on true facts, with an objective to improve company profitability and operational effectives through right measures. Having authority does not mean you can make unethical decisions, like fudging numbers or portraying high employee satisfaction to the shareholders whereas the employees stand disgruntled. As a CEO has decision making powers, using those powers ethically and with integrity is critical to company perception as once a company had its image tainted due to purposeful negligence or unethical activities it is next to impossible to regain the brand integrity that has been lost.
Visionary Leadership
Another particularly important trait of a successful CEO is visionary leadership. The ability to foresee, the ability to adjust to change, to be able to manage emotions well in critical situations. A visionary leader is one who states goals clearly to his team, sets periodical milestones, devises a practical plan to achieve those goals/milestones and recognizes and appreciated employees who execute the plan effectively. He/she is the one who empowers the employees to do their best knowing that they have the back of their leader. This inculcates a feeling of determination and sincerity in the employees to their best as they know they have someone who is with them through difficult times as all of them are working towards a common goal and that is not to achieve individual goals but rather company profitability as that will lead to a great organization and happy employees.
So, you now have a better idea of what it takes to be CEO, what I would say is work on your skills, your personality, identify your areas of improvement and quite importantly have a mentor. Its not that hard to be at the top of the corporate ladder, with the right focus, dedication, and persistence it surely is possible. Good luck and wish you all the success!!
