Nothing prepares you for being a CEO

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Being a CEO is one of life's great privileges, and responsibilities. Whether you are heading up a company with a handful of people or leading an organisation with thousands, to be a custodian of your organisation’s future and everyone within it is both an inspiring and an awesome responsibility.????

It’s not without challenges. Few good CEOs can honestly say the responsibility doesn't weigh heavily on them from time to time.???

For instance during the pandemic, balancing the needs of keeping a business running, with maintaining the safety and wellbeing of employees gave me a few sleepness nights.???

And right now, as economies across the world remain unpredictable, meeting the aspirations of ambitious employees, while being sufficiently cautious to keep everything stable and on track, is I'm sure high on the minds of many a CEO; me included.???

Very little prepares you for the task. Despite all my previous board experience, and close working relationships with CEOs earlier in my career, when you finally get to the top, everything changes.???

It's the difference between seeing a photograph of the summit of Everest, and actually being there. You have sight of everything. And a giddy feeling of responsibility as you look around you.???

But I wouldn't change a thing. Being a CEO is an incredible honour and privilege, and if you are someone who aspires to, and has the talent for, this role I can’t recommend it enough.??

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My own observations are this:?

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1. It's not about power. Almost the opposite; the most effective CEOs tend to be the ones who give much of the obvious power to their team.??…But don’t let go of the steering wheel. Effective CEOs make sure they maintain enough information to spot what is coming up. Some of this is through setting up the systems to know how the business is doing, such as monthly reports. But much of it is about knowing what is happening on the ground.?
2. Although the job of a CEO is to lead and inspire, there does also need to be an ability to make tough, sometimes unpopular decisions. This ‘hard edge’ exists because organisations have hard edges; revenue, profit and cash flow are what keep a business afloat.
3. But financial performance is a lagging, backward looking measure. What drives a business forward is its people, what drives people is a sense of belonging, and what drives belonging is inclusivity. Ultimately, the measure of inclusivity is on who you hire, who you promote, and, sometimes in extreme circumstances, who you let go.??
4. Always be present. In a world of Zoom, Teams and busy schedules, the temptation to ALT TAB your way through an online call might be there, but as CEO your gift is your time and everyone should feel they have access to it. Even if top of your to do list is a major corporate restructure, and top of theirs’s is how they don’t like the new office colour scheme. If it’s important to them, it’s must be important to you.?
5. Your job isn’t to be right. One person being right, even if it’s the CEO, isn’t enough to take an organisation forward. Your job is to help the organisation be right. When things go wrong, step in and put your shoulder to the wheel without blame; when things go right, step aside and let people shine.??
6. Ultimately the CEO is a role, not a person. You may occupy that role for a while, maybe even a long while, but ultimately you are likely to be handing the reigns to someone else at some point. How would you like them to view you and your legacy??

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Have I got all the above in right in my career? Absolutely not! But the desire to do the right thing, and the openness to know when and how to adapt are what leads you onto higher ground. Maybe even the top of Everest.?

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What are your own views on being or aspiring to be a CEO? Why not drop me a comment or DM.?