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Writer's pictureMaja Arnadottir

CEO Competencies and Success Factors


Do you have what it takes to be a successful CEO?

Are you someone who can come up with vision and strategy, ensure tactical success, develop relationships and communication, has inner motivation, prior business competencies, and feels fit for the occasion?


While organising files and cleaning my computer, I came across a PNG image titled; CEO Competencies and Success Factors. Unfortunately, I cannot credit the creator nor remember where it came from but this list felt interesting enough to share. What do you think?

Do you have what it takes to be a great CEO?

How would your or how do you "advertise" for a CEO?

If this was a job description; would you be interested in showing up to the occasion?

What might you take from or add to this list of CEO Competencies and Success Factors? Feeling fit for the job? Does this sound like "a tall order"?



Vision and Strategy
  • Agile and able to integrate material from a wide range of learning and thinking, operates effectively in complexity and ambiguity.

  • Develops a "core" understanding of issues that challenges assumptions and the superfluous, distills the complex.

  • Both optimistic (expects success, frequently identifies potential and opportunity, never feels victim and takes calculated risk) and realistic (practical, assertive, evaluates the situation and clearly identifies problems).

  • Anticipates problems and opportunities, both reflective (considers multiple "angles", considers the short and long-term ramifications of decisions and actions) and decisive.


Ensuring Tactical Success
  • Can be hands off or hands on, depending on the situation.

  • High standards of self and others, competes with self.

  • Active manager of performance / drives execution by clarifying priorities, confronts problems and problem performers.

  • Hires, develops and retains truly excellent talent.


Relationships and Communication
  • Insightful regarding others.

  • Capable of empathy and effective listening.

  • Can communicate effectively with different internal and external constituencies.


Motivation
  • Interesting in being / motivated to be CEO, willing to put in time and effort.


Business
  • Created and maximized success in more than one business entity.

  • Demonstrated ability to sustain commercial value in a business.

  • Raised the profile of their previous business entity.

  • Overall experience leads to credibility with board and investors / owners.


Fit to Situation
  • Fit to current and upcoming business stage / scope / scale.

  • Fit to current and upcoming business strategies and tactics.

  • Fit to current and aspired organisational culture.

  • Fit to and / or actual experience in industry / market.


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