The only person who will really run your career with your best interests and values at heart is you. You are the CEO of your own career. What does this mean? If you are the CEO of your own career and you expect to gain maximum success and happiness in your role and organisation, then career management and personal development are a must.
What Makes a Good CEO?
Like most management roles, the skills of a CEO are transferable. Whether you are directing a top consumer brand, leading a small but growing business, or sitting at the helm of your own personal brand and career, the core qualities required are just the same.
Vision and purpose
The strongest businesses, led by successful CEOs, are those whose purpose underpins everything they do. Visionaries don’t start out with planning what they are going to do or deliver. They start with working out what they want to achieve and why it is important. As CEO of your career working out your why is essential and should govern every decision you make towards creating a fulfilling and successful future for yourself.
Ability to learn from the past
Every experience is a learning opportunity. Maybe you’ve worked for a tough boss, you’ll have learnt key strategies to cope, built resilience and identified, at the very least, what kind of organisation / management style that you want to adopt in future. Perhaps you’ve led a project that was a big success – what went well, and how did your approach and input contribute to the outcome? As CEO of your career, make sure you reap the benefit from every task, project and experience along the way, so that you don’t repeat mistakes, fall into the same traps, or miss vital opportunities to shine in the future.
Strong communication skills
A great CEO is inspirational, articulate and authentic. Your ability to emulate these qualities will impact how those around you view you; your peers, superiors and industry influencers. You not only need a good understanding of self – awareness but also the confidence and communication skills to be your own brand ambassador.
Relationship building
Successful CEOs develop strong networks around them and continually build a following. You should do the same in the context of your role, as you build your personal brand within the working environment and culture. It’s hard work, and not always fun, but attending industry events, reaching out to new contacts, utilising social media tools, whilst maintaining contact with old business acquaintances will serve this new chapter of your career well.
Realistic optimism
The first 100 days are all about defining goals. What will you do, deliver, achieve that will justify your appointment? Keep yourself grounded firmly in reality but set yourself some clear and optimistic goals. Don’t be afraid to challenge and stretch yourself. Setting carefully thought-out goals in the early days will ensure that you neither over promise and under deliver.
Calculated risk taking
A strong CEO knows when to play it safe, and when to take a risk. It’s never wise to plunge into the unknown without weighing up the facts and the possibilities, and without some sort of back-up plan or exit strategy in case it goes wrong. Perhaps you’ve been hired to question the status quo, shake things up a little, or make changes; all of which can be challenging. Be prepared to weigh up the pros and the cons and embrace a bit of measured risk in your career.
Look ahead and adapt proactively
Every CEO knows that the best laid plans can come adrift at any point. Likewise, your career may take twists and turns that you didn’t plan for. Everyone hopes for the best in a new job, and that’s usually the case. But be aware that you can’t anticipate and plan for everything. If things go a little off track unexpectedly, it may be necessary to re-align your short to medium term goals accordingly.
Deliver reliably
Know the importance of getting the job done and doing it well. A CEO who is all vision, but no action or output doesn’t generally lead their brand to success.
Stretch potential
Never stop striving for improvement. Knowing what you don’t know is as important as knowing what you do know. If you’re aware of a skills gap in your experience, seek out the opportunity to upskill. If you know that you need to work on certain soft skills to get ahead, seek guidance.
