What makes a great CEO? What sets apart those who become CEOs from the rest?
The CEO-type in almost every segment of every industry, is the client-type. Why? Because clients are the lifeblood of every business.
Jeoff Bezos famously keeps one chair free at all Amazon meetings, to remind everyone in the room that there’s someone who can’t be there. The client.
But not every client leader is capable of becoming a CEO.
✨ So, what sets apart those who turn into CEOs from the rest? ✨
The answer, ironically, is not their sales skills.
Excellent sales skills may have brought them where they are, but the differentiator, is the extent to which they can develop a range of OTHER complementary skills.
They may have started life as a great communicator, passionate about their clients, but now they are also a great technician, a fine executor, or a people leader too.
It is important to mention that not all great CEOs are salespeople.
A small number come up through the technical route, and often this happens in businesses which are inherently technical; finance, engineering, or technology.
BUT even in the majority of these cases, the ones that are viable long-term CEOs have developed the other side of the coin; they have developed strong communication skills, become skilled in presenting, they can sell their ideas to others and win trust.
In other words, where they were introvert, they have developed extroversion traits, and where they were extrovert, they have developed introversion traits.
These are the best CEOs I know, and they are also the most rounded people I know.
What are the qualities of great CEOs that you have met in your career?
Were you aware that you were a part of their growth, just as they were yours?
