If you have aspirations of becoming a CEO, you will require a considerable amount of intelligence, focus, determination and flair for business. The career journey to the pinnacle gets very narrow at the pointy end, and this means there will be no shortage of suitable candidates with management skills interested in any CEO vacancy.
Not all Chief Executive Officers (CEO’s) take the same path to the top job, but there are certain choices and key milestones a worker can make to give themselves the best chances of success. CEO's are destined for greatness from an early age but, 70% of CEO's didn't set out to become CEO's early in life.
Robert Half’s CEO Tracker research reveals the characteristics of the typical Chief Executive of an ASX listed company.
It finds 82% hold an undergraduate degree and 54% hold a post-graduate degree, such as an MBA, (Master of Business Administration). Half have a background in finance and 59% have worked internationally, most commonly in the Asia Pacific, Europe or North America.
CEOs are predominantly professionals, who have acquired knowledge, wisdom and sound judgement over time, and often great chief executives work their way up through the company, with the research showing most or 62% of chief executives have been promoted internally into the role, showing dedication to a company may pay off. However, one third of CEO’s are still hired externally.
In terms of personal qualities, CEOs need to be clear communicators who are capable of both giving direction and accepting expert opinion. They must be energetic, calm under pressure and ever-objective, while having the creative ideas needed to give the business an advantage over its competitors.
Those who reach the top share four key behaviours that anyone can master at any point in their career:
1. they are decisive,
2. they are reliable, delivering what they promise when they promise it,
3. they adapt boldly, and
4. they engage with stakeholders without shying away from conflict.
Demographer, Bernard Salt says workers with their eye on the ‘plum job’ should typically spend their 20’s trying new things and gaining a range of the skills, but then settle into an organisation in their 30’s to be ready to make the move when they are bout 40.
Becoming a CEO, calls for confidence, leadership and strong communication skills while being able to motivate and inspire a broad range of employees. It is a position that needs a willingness to adopt fresh ideas, embrace new technologies and responsibly explore opportunities to achieve sustainable company growth.
Before you decide whether you want to pursue the pathway of a CEO, it’s important to establish your ability to thrive under pressure, juggle multiple demands, grasp new concepts quickly, and recognise potential opportunities that will contribute to a company’s bottom line. And beyond the qualities of a CEO, you need to ensure that you make your own case for selection as strong as possible, by also gaining the required skills and experience.
With the advancement of automation, digital transformations, regulatory frameworks, and globalisation, companies need leaders who can not only meet business goals, but also successfully take advantage of these changes, whilst also possessing the strong financial acumen in order to keep their organisation afloat during continuously fluctuating economic conditions.
Ultimately, when it comes to knowing how to become a CEO, the facts remains that there is no singular pathway. Every candidate must find their own journey to success if they aspire to achieve the top position of any organisation.
