The CEO-type in almost every sector is the client-type. Clients are the lifeblood of every business, so it follows that the person responsible for defining strategy and driving the firm’s largest decisions knows the clients intrinsically; their profile, their needs, their behaviours. Steve Jobs was famous for predicting what phone users would need before they even knew it themselves.
All the C-suite, but CEOs especially, are typically the leaders who hold the client line internally and make sure those needs are met, all too aware of the danger of not doing so. Jeoff Bezos famously keeps one chair free at all Amazon meetings, to remind everyone in the room that there’s a VIP who can’t be there. The client.
But not every strong client leader is capable of becoming a CEO. So, what it is that sets apart those who turn into CEOs, from the rest?
Ironically, not their sales skills. Excellent sales ability may have brought them to wherever they are, but it is not enough on its own to take them to the next stage. The differentiator, is actually the extent to which they can develop a range of other complementary skills. They may have started life as a great communicator, passionate about their clients, but now they are also a great technician, a fine executor, or a people leader too.
It is important to mention that not all great CEOs are salespeople. Strong CEOs can also come up through the technical route, and often this happens in businesses which are inherently technical; finance, engineering, or technology. But even in the majority of these cases, the ones that are successful long-term CEOs have developed the other side of the coin; they have developed strong communication skills, become skilled in presenting, they can sell their ideas to others and win trust. They learn quickly.
In other words, where they were introvert, they have developed extroversion traits, and where they were extrovert, they have developed introversion traits.
This is so much harder to do than it sounds. Extremely high levels of commitment, motivation, and drive are essential. In the push to develop their relationships and businesses, they develop themselves in the process, and are able to cross the kind of behavioural, technical, or other learning boundaries that leave them with a much more developed personal profile.
It is no accident that the role of a CEO is one that many people may like to have, but very few people are really built for.
