The 6 essential skills for every CEO

What are your minimum requirements for a good CEO, a client from the private equity domain asked me last week. Of course, much depends on the specific context, I replied. Still, there is something to be said about it in a general sense. In my guest lectures for Nyenrode Business Universiteit and Politechnika Gdańska , this topic is standard in the curriculum I lecture on Human Capital and Leadership. The main tasks of leaders and CEOs fall into about six criteria.

1.?Making sure the company has a good strategy, preferably with a purpose. There will be little discussion about this first requirement I make of every Chief Executive Officer. Everyone understands that being able to set a dot on the horizon with a well-supported story is crucial for any company. However, we can debate whether the CEO should formulate the strategy all by himself or whether those on the management team can provide most of the input. In a world that is changing increasingly rapidly under the influence of technology and digitalization, the CEO cannot fully oversee all the sub-areas and disciplines himself. In the end, it is mainly about the ability to ask the right questions and thus, provided with all relevant input, build the right overall strategy. For me, the CEO should at least make sure that there is a clear and coherent strategy, but not everything has to come from his or her tube. In a labor market dominated by large personnel shortages, the strategy should preferably be provided with a socially relevant theme, or purpose. Managers today can choose where they want to work. A company that focuses only on profit maximization and pollutes the planet or contributes to higher CO2 emissions will find it difficult to retain top talent in the coming decades. By the way, according to management author Jim Collins, the best teams will almost automatically make for good strategy and, on the other hand, good strategy with bad people will almost rarely, if ever, lead to impressive results. And that provides a bridge to the relevance of criterion 2.

2.??Building a strong and future-proof management team. The second requirement for CEOs is almost as obvious as the first. Leaders cannot make their companies better and more professional on their own. To do so, they need the very best people and must build complementary teams capable of meeting all challenges. Because jobs and tasks are subject to rapid change, they must also ensure that teams are future-proof. In addition to knowledge and experience, they would therefore be wise to select MT members based in part on curiosity and their ability to learn and adaptability. This makes the CEO's task more difficult and requires greater Human Resources knowledge. Indeed, the leader must ask the simultaneous question: what do I need in management now, but also what do I need in the years to come?

3. The ability to mobilize people and teams. When the CEO has been able to build the best teams, they also need to be inspired and get moving. Remarkably, this is where you recognize the good leader. For one man or woman, people barely move from their seats, while for another they jump through a burning hoop. There is no universal recipe for success here, but there is something to be said about the ingredients that get people moving. An authentic and passionate leader who dares to be vulnerable, who does not go primarily for his or her own gain, but really goes for the collective achievement with the team and also celebrates successes together, generally does well with people. But "feigned" authenticity, excessive ego and self-enrichment at the expense of the team are almost always recognized miles away and detract from the desire to follow the leader.

4. Creating a framework within which management and employees can excel. Another important criterion for the CEO is the ability to create the framework conditions within which management teams and employees can grow and be successful.? This does not sound complicated, but it is more difficult than thought. Corona has redefined the requirements for work-life balance. People want to constantly learn and develop, as well as spend more time with family, relatives and friends. Money, lease cars and pension contracts have long since ceased to be enough to bind "the best and the brightest" to your company. Inspiration, working with the best people, offering a fast and inspiring learning curve are just as important.

5. Having executive allure.There are more differences of opinion on this criterion than on the previously mentioned requirements. Some people associate it with appropriate dress and appearance. But it is about much more than that. Dress codes have become much more informal in recent years and, unless someone's appearance or attire strongly detracts, it's not really an issue anymore. According to management author John Beeson who wrote the book "The Unwritten Rules, the 6 Indispensable Skills for Promotion to the Top of the Organization," it's mostly about the self-confidence a person shows in order to succeed at that level. When I interviewed him for MT/Sprout in New York at the time, he indicated that for him it was mostly about questions such as:

-?????? Can this person take the lead in difficult and unpredictable situations?

-?????? Can this person make timely and difficult decisions when perhaps not 100% of the information is at hand?

-?????? Can this person communicate constructively with the other strong and talented members of the team, as well as with other external stakeholders such as analysts, etc.?

6. Running the business more successfully (and profitably) while innovating. This last criterion is perhaps the most complicated. Whereas in the past it was quite something if you, as CEO, were able to structurally grow sales and profits, in the present era this is far from sufficient. The world is changing so fast, and all sorts of invasive exotics are lurking. Examples are Uber in the cab world, Tesla in the car world and Netflix in the streaming world. Those who do not innovate risk being squeezed out of the market or made completely obsolete. So today's CEOs must both be able to make the company run better and more professionally, but they must also create a culture for constant innovation. Business development and experimenting with new products or forms of service should be sky-high on the new CEO's agenda these days. But innovation requires a curious mind and the guts to constantly step out of your comfort zone. In other words, the ability to be comfortable with the uncomfortable. And that ensures that we need to screen new CEOs not only for their IQ and what they can do and know but also what drives them and how they are "wired" as a person.

In short, in today's complicated business world, the CEOs of today and tomorrow are playing chess on more boards at once than ever before. However, they never think and decide alone. For the good CEO is not a soloist, although he or she leads powerfully, but surrounds himself or herself with top talents and management teams that constantly help him or her make the company better, more professional, successful, and future-proof.

Ralf Knegtmans is Managing Partner of De Vroedt en Thierry | Executive Search & Leadership Consultancy and Author of books and columns on Leadership, Talent, and Diversity and a subsidiary of Boer & Croon . De Vroedt & Thierry is member of Cornerstone International Group .

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