For young adults, the opportunity to become a CEO or Chief Executive Officer who has the highest responsibility in a company certainly sounds tempting. However, did you know that it takes a process that is not simple to reach this position? In fact, all CEOs in various parts of the world have come a long way, fueled by hard work, persistence, positive characteristics, and very strong qualities as leaders. Have you become a CEO? Don't stop there! Instead, continue to strive to improve your personal and professional qualities in order to maintain the position.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Becoming a Confident Leader
Step 1. Embrace the role with confidence and dare to take control
Basically, the CEO of a company doesn't have to be the founder or owner of the company. On the other hand, the CEO of a company is also not an entrepreneur. Instead, the CEO is the person who is responsible for running the company, such as by overseeing various financial decisions, addressing imbalances within the company, and ensuring that everything runs smoothly in order to increase the company's profits from year to year.
A good CEO is generally a combination of a person who is full of ideas (such as an entrepreneur), willing to take risks and think ahead, willing and able to actively participate in the business, good at managing finances and human resources, and always willing to dive into the details to all levels. things are perfect
Step 2. Define a clear vision and be able to define a specific company culture
To become a quality CEO, you must be able to control the direction of the company, one of which is by creating a unique and “cultured” work environment. In other words, a good leader must be able to make employees feel involved in something truly special, which is much bigger and more important than themselves.
- List the principles or values that define the company culture. Later, everyone in the company must be able to remember and believe in these principles, and implement them in their daily work.
- For example, you could define 5-10 key company principles. Instead of using very general diction like “Respect others,” try using more specific word choices, such as “Inform each client of the company's financial services in a way that makes them feel heard and valued.”
Step 3. Face challenges boldly without overshadowing the fear of failure
One of the characteristics of a good CEO is being willing to try, fail, make adjustments, and try again. That is, people who do not deserve to be CEOs are those who are always afraid of failure and use that fear as an excuse not to try. Remember, being a CEO is a never-ending challenge, with very high risks and very high rewards. If you are someone who is lazy to play with fire, you should consider other career options.
- Even if your company's “Widget 2.0” product is not well received by consumers, move on with confidence to develop “Widget 3.0” while continuing to learn from previous mistakes. Rest assured that this time, you will definitely succeed, and accept the fact that your position can always be replaced if positive changes are not made immediately.
- If you are a student who wants to be a CEO one day, try to identify your abilities to meet the challenges so far. Are you the one who always wants to take control when something goes wrong? Do you always give your best at school even if the stakes are huge? Are you able to handle failure well?
Step 4. Steer the company on a new path, if necessary
As CEO, your responsibility is to keep the company's business going. Although many daily tasks have been delegated to other employees, you are the only one who can see the life of the company. Therefore, if there are major changes or improvements to be made regarding the direction of the company's business, do not hesitate to act.
- For example, you may need to close a factory or relocate an office, which of course will affect the lives of many people. In that situation, show your sympathy, but accept the fact that this decision is the best solution for the company and, therefore, should be made.
- Drawing on facts captured by your unique perspective, try to communicate and explain your plan to all employees in a clear, honest and open manner. Once they know your vision clearly, they shouldn't mind helping you make it a reality.
Method 2 of 3: Have a Positive Interaction with Employees
Step 1. Have a chat with employees and listen to their opinions
To increase employee engagement within the company, don't just sit in the CEO's office and make decisions that you think are important. Instead, a true effective CEO is almost always involved in everything, visiting every department, helping employees complete difficult projects they could do alone, chatting with employees regularly, and listening to their feedback.
- Accept everyone's opinion. Ask employees' needs, encourage employees to make suggestions regarding changes and/or improvements that need to be made, and emphasize the fact that you take all employee opinions seriously. However, keep insisting that the final decision will still be yours.
- Allow employees to provide anonymous feedback, such as via online forms or conventional suggestion boxes. At the same time, give them the opportunity to meet you for direct feedback.
Step 2. Earn the trust and respect of others, so that they are willing to “follow” you when it comes to business
In fact, a CEO will not be a good leader if no one is willing to follow him. In general, employees only want to be led by someone they can trust and respect. To be that kind of person, stick to your principles, keep your word, and treat others as you would like to be treated.
If, for example, you have made it clear from the start that you will not tolerate inappropriate behavior, stick to those words. However, if you admit that you won't act until you've listened to the other person's explanations and thoughts, try listening to their explanations before making a decision
Step 3. Have high expectations of employees, but be willing to accept mistakes with open arms
Show that the company you represent has such a high level of trust in them that it allows them to keep trying until they succeed (as long as they perform well of course). Boost employee productivity by training them to take risks and make self-assessments. After all, you always have the opportunity to act if you realize there is an irreparable error within the company.
- To have a successful career as a CEO, you must be able to trust your employees to do their job. Therefore, make sure that everyone has the appropriate role, then give them the space to develop the company in their own way.
- The people who are able to learn and grow from mistakes are the ones who don't need to be fired or reassigned.
Step 4. Be a thick-skinned leader, but don't ignore criticism
As a CEO, you will be the main target of criticism from inside and outside the company. In particular, company employees, company directors, shareholders, business analysts and company competitors will constantly express doubts and criticize you. To keep you and your company successful, try to accept the truth that lies hidden in the criticism, but toss out anything hurtful or irrelevant in it.
For example, if someone accuses you of being too rigid, are you able and willing to question yourself as a leader? At the same time, are you aware and confident enough to evaluate and change your strategy, if necessary?
Method 3 of 3: Keeping Spirit and Agility
Step 1. Delegate tasks without disengaging from your daily responsibilities
As a CEO, you must be able to trust employees to realize the company's vision without needing to be guided directly. At the same time, you also have to keep an eye on the company's operating processes, even if you are not directly involved in many things. No matter what area of business your company is in, variables such as technology, markets, consumers and competitors can change rapidly. Make sure you (and the company) don't fall behind when those changes occur.
- Distribute responsibility and authority, if necessary, but don't lose sight of it. This means staying involved and understanding important information so you can jump right in to make adjustments and/or changes, if needed.
- For example, even though he is not in charge of designing the company's website, a CEO still has to understand the preferences of consumers and the company's competitors in order to make various necessary improvements and changes.
Step 2. Use your experience to advance your career ladder
Most CEOs manage to maintain their position for years, even up to ten years, either in the same company or in different companies but still in the same industry. Once you reach that position, don't be a nut who forgets the skin! Instead, use all your knowledge and experience to run your business in the most efficient way possible.
For example, use your experience to differentiate written policies and rules of thumb, take advantage of connections that can connect you to people or places you no longer relate to, and anticipate the behavior and beliefs of lower-level employees in your company's business
Step 3. Cultivate your curiosity and don't be afraid to question standard procedures or policies
A good CEO should always want to know the reason behind something happening, and whether or not it might be improved. If you hear the phrase “that's how it is here,” your automatic response should be “Why?” Whatever the situation, don't be lazy to ask questions, look for answers, and ask questions again. Cultivate your curiosity!
Also increase your curiosity about other people. Don't hesitate to ask about their needs, their goals, the things that excite them, the things that frustrate them, etc. Remember, a good CEO must be good at “reading” other people
Step 4. Continue to innovate, develop yourself, and maximize the job opportunities you have
Once you become a CEO, understand that the business you run will determine the future of the company. That's why you need to be able to think a few steps (or years) ahead, be aware of the opportunities that arise, and analyze situations that could potentially occur in the future. Remember, there are plenty of highly qualified people out there to take on your role.
Follow trends and always think about your company's position in the global eyes. How do you stay the biggest player in the business? If currently the biggest player is not your company, how to shift their position?
Tips
- If you want to be a CEO, show your maximum performance in school. Most CEOs can reach this position after completing their undergraduate education, working for several years as an employee, experiencing career advancement, and continuing their education to master's level.
- As a prospective CEO, financial knowledge is one of the knowledge that must be continuously honed. If you didn't study accounting, economics, or finance in college, try to take as many courses or extracurricular activities in these areas as possible. After work, take advantage of every opportunity offered by the company to attend seminars, special classes, and various other events to increase your financial knowledge.
- If you want to be a CEO, try to build the widest professional network possible early on. While studying in college, attend business seminars and other events that can expand your connections whenever possible. Also do internships to show your leadership qualities and willingness to work hard to all colleagues.
- Even if your current job is far from being a CEO, keep trying your best. Be an employee who is able to support the company's achievements and is good at working in teams so that all your efforts will be recognized by superiors. Try as much as possible to show your seriousness in treading professional life to your boss.
- Take advantage of all the unexpected opportunities and challenges that come your way on your way to the CEO position. Being ambitious isn't always bad. In the process of improving the quality of a career, one manifestation of an ambitious attitude is the willingness to take an unplanned path. Some CEOs even started as ordinary employees who gradually progressed up the career ladder before finally succeeding in occupying the highest positions in the company!
