There is no doubting that being a CEO takes a dedicated person with the ability to lead others, but exactly what leadership skills are required? Team leaders, line managers, and heads of department have to have leadership skills, but for the CEO, more important decisions that essentially affect the whole company need to be made on a regular basis. Members of the C-Suite need to be able to recognize strengths and weaknesses, react to the needs of the organization as well as those of the individual, and they must have clarity in both their thinking and communication. Some of these attributes can certainly be taught, through effective leadership management courses, but there are some that are innate.
Recognizing Strengths
Everybody within an organization has their strengths, and it is essential that you are able to identify the strengths of individuals. Not only this, but you should be able to act on those strengths and employ them in a manner that best meets the needs of the company, the team, and the individual.
Recognizing Weaknesses
Equally important is the ability to recognize weaknesses, and areas for improvement. By recognizing weaknesses, it is possible to arrange training and education programs to assist in developing team members and employees. According to Carmen Rossiter, Program Director at the Schulich Executive Educational Centre, “Risk Management has become a core competency for organizations.” Meeting business performance goals today is directly tied to effectively managing the risks your organization faces. A CEO should also be able to recognize their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as their company’s and industry’s, so that they can build an effective team around their specific requirements.
Reacting To Employee Needs
As CEO it is your responsibility to ensure the success of the company, as a whole, but it is also your place to help team members and employees to develop. An effective CEO needs to be able to nurture talent and to promote those that perform well, in order to ensure that the company benefits the most from its members. It’s important to be able to read others, but not to over analyze situations.
Clarity
Clarity is essential, and it is not only essential that a CEO is able to clearly outline their plans and requirements to others, but they must first be able to clearly define their goals and objectives to themselves, to stakeholders, to the board, and to other executives within the organization.
Willingness To Make Tough Decisions
Tough decisions need to be made on a daily basis when running a company, and it is down to the CEO to make the toughest of all. An executive reshuffle may be on the cards, and this may even necessitate the removal of somebody that helped to build the company up. However, if that person’s skill set is no longer beneficial to the organization or the role that they play, then the tough decision may be to let them go, or to move them to a more appropriate position. Accord It is the CEO that needs to step up and make the most difficult decisions of all.
Conflict Management
Even well-oiled machines, successful organizations, and highly effective teams will have moments of conflict, and if these conflicts are allowed to escalate, they can destroy the success of a business. Effective conflict management can be taught, many Business Schools offer related programs such as Schulich Executive Education Centre. This enables the CEO to better recognize conflicts, understand healthy competition and brainstorming, as well as how best to deal with the potential fallout.
Being a CEO should be challenging, as well as highly rewarding. Leadership skills are not only essential but should be honed through experience, and through a willingness to continue learning and developing.
