Core Competencies of the CEO
For a CEO to be successful he needs to have core competencies to deal with any type of situations in the organization. He has to be on his toes all the time and he needs to see that all the goals of the organization are met on time. Let us have a look some of core values that a CEO needs to have to succeed in an organization. Not all CEO’s can survive in an organization and this is because and this is because they are lacking in one or more of the core competencies. He needs to be a master of all the core competencies mentioned below to succeed in his role of being the most important salaried person in the organization.
First of all the CEO needs to have a clear vision and how he is going to achieve his goals. The CEO develops and inspires sense of purpose with his executive team. He needs to constantly motivate them to achieve nothing but the best for their organization.
The CEO is also the main person who is responsible for creating a working culture in the organization. The values that he develops in the organization will go a long way in achieving the organization’s goals and strategies. The values in the organization refer to the acceptable behavior that is required form each and every employee in the organization.
Once the goals are drafted, the CEO needs to have a strategic thinking plan in place. The CEO should be able to see ahead clearly and anticipate the consequences and trends that may occur in the future. He should have a perspective and broad knowledge of any risks or eventualities that can happen in the future and be ready to tackle them head on.
The CEO needs to be an exceptional communicator. He should get his point across clearly to his subordinates and the other employees whenever the need be. He needs to align people in the right direction by giving them clear instructions and establishing a clear communication channel across all levels in the organization. The CEO needs to communicate well not only inside the organization but outside the organization as well with suppliers, customers and directors of other organizations.
Another core competency expected from the CEO is to build an effective team and promote collective work. The employees should be made to realize that working collectively for the organization will get the best results. Any arguments or discrepancies between the employees should be solved as soon as possible. The departments and their individuals should work in collaboration with each other. The CEO should provide them with development opportunities so that they can advance their career within the organization.
The CEO needs to know how to optimize the various resources of the organization. Here managing the human resource is the most important factor as it is human resource that takes care of other resources. Apart from optimizing the application of resource an able CEO will also discourage any type of wastage in the organization.
Business acumen is what today CEOs need is. They should have thorough knowledge about the trends and practices of the industry. The CEO should have a firm understanding of the market and the competitors. He should be well versed with their strength and weaknesses. Similarly he should make the most of the strengths of the organization and find a solution for its weaknesses. He should strive to continuously learn. He should have an open mind about his successes and failures. He should be well versed with the use of computer systems since this is the age of computers. He should sift through vast amounts of information related to his business and the market.
The other core competency expected from a CEO includes the ability to handle any type of emergency/risks and also be flexible. He should have an open mind that things are not going to be perfect always and he should adjust and be compatible according to the changing scenario. He should be able to perform even in the most dynamic environments with equal ease and speed.
Customer focus is another significant factor to be considered by CEOs. They should be well aware of the customers’ needs and preferences and all his aims should be directed towards satisfying the customers. The CEO should also anticipate the future needs of the customers and work towards developing products and services even before the customers begin to realize the need. The company can make excellent profits if the CEO can think in this direction.
Maintaining a sound financial position in the company is one of core aspects of the CEO. Though much of this aspect is for the CFO, the CEO should be well aware of the financial position of the company by working in close collaboration with the CFO. This is because he needs to make budgets for the various departments in the organization and he also needs to allocate them proportionately. The ley leverage points that he should be aware of are the profit and loss statement, the balance sheet, liquidity, investments, long term profits and the short term cash flow of the company.
The CEO should make optimum use of the current best practices. He should not blindly jump on the fads but he should capitalize on various factors such as outsourcing, technology, social networks and work force. He should be able to identify the exact resources that solve the purposed without much wastage. The best CEOs have always been able to bring the right people at the right time to do the right thing.
The CEO naturally has to be a leader, able to lead from the front. He should follow a leadership style that is best for his organization and employees. He should motivate his employees continuously by understanding their needs and fulfilling them as long as they are within the preview of the organization. He should think well for the employees and help them to advance in their career. He should be a good listener and he should solve the complaints and friction issues between the employees as soon as possible.
The CEO understands that the employees are the most important assets of the organization and hence it is best to optimize the performance of the employees by providing feedback, training and thinking about the employees’ strengths and weaknesses.
