Busting 3 Myths About What Makes Successful CEOs

Rethinking what makes a qualified CEO

I talk and write frequently about how we need to rethink what makes a person qualified for executive leadership or CEO roles. We’ve grown up in a society that values specific attributes and achievements—ones that often apply primarily to men and limit opportunities for women leaders. That’s why it’s been heartening to see a few different research studies that have examined what makes successful CEOs and leaders. The takeaway: Nearly everything we’ve thought about CEOs is wrong. 

Ready for some myth-busting? Here are 3 misconceptions about what makes a good CEO. 

Myth 1: Successful CEOs were CEOs before

Reality: A new study shows that having been a CEO can actually make you less successful. Curiosity, adaptability, flexibility are all keys to the success of rookie CEOs. When analyzing the successful second-time CEO, researchers found that a learning mindset was key—they didn’t assume to know the answers, even though they had experience in the role before. That learning mindset happens to be an attribute women score very high on. The myth of experience has been key to preventing female leaders from ascending to the top spots in companies. The bottom line: Consider diverse candidates for leadership roles and never assume that because someone hasn’t already done something, they wouldn’t be successful.

Myth 2: Confidence is an indicator of success 

Reality: The CEO Genome Project worked to uncover the specific attributes that differentiate high-performing CEOs from underperforming CEOs. There was no correlation between on-the-job performance and an Ivy League degree. Do you know what else didn’t matter? Confidence. In many cases, those who came across as confident were less likely to actually have the skills needed to successfully execute. Engaging stakeholders, not in an effort to be liked or with false bravado, but by showing them that they will make difficult decisions with the success of the team always in mind was a key indicator of success. The bottom line: Learn to look past charm, charisma, and confidence and ask candidates for examples of when they’ve made unpopular decisions, their thought process for making difficult decisions, and how they handled an unexpected setback.

Myth 3: Men perform better under stress

Reality: A new study from HBR reveals that female leaders have been some of the most successful during challenging times. We certainly saw anecdotal evidence of this over the course of the last year (Jacinda Ahern anyone?). The study also found that being introverted was an indicator of success. Yet, many organizations and people are drawn to the charismatic extrovert—the person who commands attention in a room. Other factors that led to success included decisiveness, adaptability and reliability. Notably, the study found that making a wrong decision was better than wavering on decision making. Adaptability also made a difference. When assessing CEO candidates, boards and organizations need to ask about how candidates navigated situations that were out of their control. Adaptable leaders also know that setbacks happen and use them to reflect and grow. Lastly, to evaluate reliability, ask prospects about their 90-day plans. They should include a lot of listening, learning and engaging, and not much executing (part of being reliable is not over-promising). The bottom line: We must learn to assess real leadership potential and that starts with learning what really makes people and organizations successful.

Commitment to leadership myths have held back women leaders

Commitment to myths like these has not served women or businesses very well. What we think of as an effective leader in theory — and what produces results in practice — are often very different. By dispelling notions of what makes a great CEO, and acting on the evidence, we can build more diverse organizations, increase the ranks of women CEOs, and make for more successful businesses as a result.