Business & Finance

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CEO Success

Wenting Li

Egle Slezas

CMN6005

2023.11.05

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Topic: What sets successful CEOs apart

Leadership is an important element in steering the success of an organization. While there

are several individuals holding executive positions, not everyone who able to become a successful

CEO. It takes a lot of effort and actions to make someone a successful CEO. Becoming a CEO is

not challenging but proving to an organization and the customers and other stakeholders within

the organization and outside that one is successful in the position they hold, requires exceptional

qualities. Successful CEOs are decisive, they possess global experience and a significant

understanding of cultural differences to build a global company. These are just some of the

qualities that successful CEOs have that set them apart.

There are several characteristics that successful CEOs demonstrate in their leadership and

management of the organization. Botelho et al 2017 argue that successful CEOs are nothing more

than what most people believe that CEOs are charismatic, confident and pedigree. Most successful

CEOs instead are very decisive. They believe that it is better to make a wrong decision than to not

decide at all. Every decision that is made within the organization is well-thought-out and informed,

however, sometimes challenges might arise and the need for urgent decisions to be made requires

someone who can act fast. CEO is about acting with less thinking and talking and emergencies

require just that (Christian,2021). Therefore, successful CEOs prefer making a decision fast instead

of waiting for perfect information that might intensify the situation. By making decisions, it means

that they can deal with mistakes and often treat those mistakes as learning opportunities.

Global experience and awareness of cultural differences are other unique trait that set

successful CEEs apart. As a result of globalization, most organizations are trying their best and

using possible means to attain global success and establish a global company. To attain this kind

of success requires a CEO who has global experience in the sense that they should have acquired

global talent capabilities that embrace both the diverse populations of the world and understand

the cultures that are represented in the workforce (Gordon & Martin,2019). Global companies have

different cultures and appreciating diversity and cultural differences is a means of gaining the

attention of a bigger audience. Capturing a bigger international audience comes with its share of

challenges and CEOs need to be able to handle global growth and be comfortable in international

markets and settings.

To achieve success, CEOs deal with several challenges because the job itself is a tough

one. The challenge of achieving the goals that have been set for the company is not easy at all

(Wakslak & Joshi,2022). They also have to deal with employers’ dismissal which sometimes has

negative impacts on the organization. It is costly for shareholders who might put pressure on the

CEO and that pressure affects their rationality sometimes.

Many people have the potential to lead and becoming a successful CEO is one of the main

things that executives watch out for. However, not every CEO is successful and this means that

there is always much to be learned from those who have achieved the success. The main thing is

to be decisive and take action always. To attain global success, CEOs have to understand

differences in cultures and work towards recognizing diversity not only for their consumers but

for people working within their organizations. Decisive CEOs make decisions because it is better

to make a wrong decision than none.

References

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Botelho, E. L., Powell, K. R., Kincaid, S., & Wang, D. (2017). What sets successful CEOs apart?

Harvard Business Review, 95(3), 70-77.

Christian, B. (2021). 7 Traits That Set Successful CEOs Apart From Everyone Else.

Gordon, V., & Martin, D. (2019). The 21st-Century CEO: Intrinsic attributes, worldview, and

communication capabilities. Journal of leadership & organizational studies, 26(2), 141-

149.

Wakslak & Joshi. (2022). Research: Men Speak More Abstractly Than Women.