How to Become a CEO
Geoffrey, a fellow I once met, headed a five-person professional development training company that served client companies all over the US. His business card identified him as a chief executive officer. To me, that seemed deceptive; CEOs typically are people who lead large organizations. Then again, by listing himself as a CEO, Geoffrey became able to attend gatherings of mega-company CEOs, allowing him to network with people who could become future clients. So, perhaps the title was deceptive, but it was also strategically brilliant.
Strictly speaking, a CEO is responsible for establishing the organization’s vision, building its culture, allocating capital to the company’s priorities, managing overall operations and performance, and implementing corporate policy. Because Geoffrey performed functions like these, maybe he was entitled to call himself a CEO, in which case I wonder why so many other heads of small firms don’t use the title themselves.
If you aspire to become a CEO, you need, at minimum, a heavy dose of personal drive and ambition. Communication skills (both speaking and listening) are top priority, and so is being able to get along with others. It’s essential to excel at your responsibilities, but top-notch performance isn’t enough if the powers-that-be are unaware of what you’ve done. Therefore, it’s also important to keep your higher-ups apprised of your accomplishments. Even better, explicitly take on tasks and projects that will propel you into the limelight, so they can’t remain unaware of your skills and talents.
Some organizations require candidates for CEO to have an MBA, or in some other way to have gained demonstrable expertise in areas such as marketing, operations management, corporate finance, IT, accounting, and leadership. Gaining experience in each of several areas of an organization is valuable, even if doing so means some lateral moves rather than continuously moving up the ladder. Also critical is developing a strong base of financial knowledge, given that so many decisions a CEO makes have financial implications.
Deciding early in your career that you want the top slot may improve the odds of getting there, as you can plan your career path accordingly. But if you’re in a very small company, don’t give up hope. I once met a woman who had her own solo business as a technical trainer. She gave me her business card, which showed her title as vice president. I asked, “Why do you call yourself a VP when you’re a one-person organization?” Her response: “I want to allow for career growth!” Now there’s a future CEO for you!
