6 Types of CEOs I encountered as a Television Business Journalist...

As a television business journalist who interviewed and interacted with hundreds of business leaders, I observed 6 kinds of organization leaders in the course of my work,

1.  The Ostrich –They firmly put their heads in the sand and won’t speak to media no matter how good a story their organization has or how grave a scandal their organization faces.

2.  The Parrot- They speak a lot (Often in high pitch) but often shallow on content. They keep regurgitating their spin and will not address facts not in line with their preferred position.

3.  The Dove- They are lovely but timid. They will smile a lot, are highly polite and courteous, but often unable to inspire confidence on their organizations, its products and services or resolution of a crisis.

4.  The Eagles – They are overly dominant and aggressive, often condescending to journalists and everyone around them. They love to show they are in-charge, and love humiliating the press forgetting the old adage ‘never shoot the messenger’

5.  The Peacock – Always proud and singing self-praise or that of their brands and organizations. They will never accept positive critique of genuine concerns on their leadership, their brands or on their organization.

6.  The Owls – These are confident but measured, knowledgeable but humble, broadly informed but not condescending, modest in celebrating personal and corporate wins but genuine and sincere in responding to product and organizational shortfalls. They are comfortable in their skin, they appear to say, I am ready to help, to explain and to deal with your query, they inspire confidence with their staff and externally with their customers and with the media. They are the darlings of the media. At Seal Communication we are striving to create more Owls in the market place.