What do I need to do to become a CEO?
The other day I got a request to talk to the writer of an article that many C-level folks think about at one point or another in their careers:
“What do people need to know and do in order to become a CEO?”
The article is here: How to Become a CEO
From my own work with VPs through C-Suite execs, there are a few defining actions people can take to clinch a CEO job.
1) Learn to communicate about both value and values. While other leadership roles focus on numbers, results, and initiatives, the CEO holds a unique position as the visionary and messenger for company values just as much as the company's numbers. Someone aiming to be CEO needs to speak about brand authenticity, inclusion, and sustainability with as much fluency as EBITDA and write-downs.
2) Build a network that will pull you up into the CEO role. Leaders eyeing the corner office don't get there on their own; instead, the springboard to a CEO job is in the network you've created for the decade beforehand. Long before you throw your hat in the ring for the top job, it pays off to consistently network with CEOs, VC/PE leaders, executive recruiters and other well-connected business leaders.
3) Deconstruct the CEO job and build those skills into your career portfolio. Board-level presentations, company all-hands speeches, mergers and acquisitions fall on the shoulders of the CEO, but you can volunteer for those activities long before becoming a CEO. That way, when interview time rolls around, you can speak confidently and from experience about various aspects of the CEO job.
4) Choose roles that give you a clear path to CEO. Some feeder jobs into the CEO role have more likelihood of promotion into the top job: COO, Chief Strategy Officer, General Manager, etc.. In your chosen industry, take a look at the career paths of the people who've recently become CEOs, and see if you can mirror the most common trajectory.
5) Craft a vision and pitch for the future, not a recitation of your skills. Companies hire CEOs mostly based on vision and only partly on skill, since almost every CEO candidate will have some version of a similar skillset. Have a vision of the future for the company you're targeting, similar to a campaign platform as if you're running for office. The right company will see what you bring to the table, and may even overlook a skill or experience gap if they believe in your vision for the company.
Long-Range Strategy
Leaders with CEO aspirations are likely quite familiar with long-range planning, and getting to the pinnacle of the C-suite is no exception: it requires a long-range plan.
Long before you take the helm, you’ll need to map out the path, the people, the portfolio, the perspective and the pitch that will give you the best possible chance of getting that coveted CEO role.