Would you like to become a CEO? A CEO, or Chief Executive Officer, is the ultimate position in business. Subject only to the board of directors, you're responsible for the strategy and operations of a business. You don't usually become a CEO by accident, however, this is truly a case where you make you own luck. Read on to learn how to become a CEO.
Unless you've started your own business, and retained control of it, you'll need to be selected by an independent board of directors to become a Chief Executive Officer. Aside from becoming a majority shareholder so that you can appoint yourself, there are things you can do to increase your chances of becoming a CEO. You should develop personal skills and qualities that are shared by CEOs to prepare for the position. Many CEOs have MBAs from top schools, and have worked at companies whose alumni have gone on to head other major corporations.
Featured Video - Jack Welch on Leadership
Jack Welch, renowned former CEO of General Electric, speaking on leadership and the state of corporate America at UCLA Anderson Business School.
In a question and answer session Jack discusses how young managers learn leadership, and the difficulty of making the transition from being an individual focussed foremost on one’s own performance to being a manager, whose focus must be on building great teams and coaching others to excel.
He goes on to discuss what’s important for progressing within a corporation, including over-delivering for your boss, making them look good, and keeping personal ambitions from interfering with contribution to the team.
Later in the video, broader questions of corporate life and governance are discussed, from the appropriate role of the Board, to frank discussions of CEO pay.
Overall the video gives a very good picture of the life of a CEO of a major corporation, the issues they deal with, and what it takes to get to such a role.
The video also gives some idea of what it’s like to attend business school, which may itself be an important step to consider for people looking to progress into top management positions.
Step 1: Personal Qualities
- The CEO is responsible for managing a company, and is ultimately accountable to either the board of directors of a public company or the owners of a privately held firm. Other executives, such as the chief operating officer, the chief financial officer, and the chief information officer, all report to the CEO. In order to be successful in the position, a CEO needs to exhibit leadership, good communication skills, charisma, financial acumen and a strong understanding of the business.
Step 2: Get an MBA From a Top School
While not an essential prerequisite, graduating from a top MBA program can help you make connections with others who will someday be heading major companies and sitting on their boards.
Additionally, the companies whose alumni are most likely to become CEOs tend to hire heavily from top MBA programs. CEO Magazine's subscribers have rated the following programs highly:
- Harvard University
- University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)
- Stanford University
- Northwestern University (Kellogg)
- University of Chicago
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan)
- University of Michigan Ann Arbor (Ross)
- Columbia University
- Duke University (Fuqua)
- Dartmouth College (Tuck)
Step 3: Start Your Career With a CEO Factory
- Certain companies have a proven track record of producing alumni who go on to be CEOs of major corporations. One in five CEOs of public companies with a market capitalization of at least $2 billion have all worked at one of these organizations:
Conclusion
While the only sure way to become a CEO is to start your own business and place yourself at the helm, you can increase the odds of being selected to run a large company by developing the personal attributes needed by CEOs, by making contacts at an MBA program, and by gaining work experience at companies known for producing chief executives.
References
Fast Facts
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Responsibilities
Oversees overall operations of the organization
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Fact:
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Projected CEO job growth, 2006-2016
2%
