If one conceives of the ideal CEO, one will have in mind someone who has a vivid vision, strength of will, and substantial experience at his or her company. And that's it for most of them; some of the top CEOs could be nothing like the above description. Here are three reasons why the very best CEOs may surprise you:
1. The Best CEOs Aren't Always Visionaries
While many CEOs are supposed to have a clear vision for the future of their company, research shows that having a vision, whether it is successful or not, can still help a firm. A study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology reports that firms whose CEOs articulated a vision, even when it was not obtained, had an incidence of 50% of bankruptcy filings lowered and had doubled sales growths. This means that for vision to actually give momentum and direction, perfect alignment with the real world does not have to necessarily be observed and sometimes staying single-minded with too much emphasis is detrimental.
2. Best CEOs Are Not Always Persistent
Persistence is one of the most sought-after features of great leadership. Even the best CEOs don't get it right all the time nor continue onto the same path, says Andy Grove, former CEO of Intel. For example, he himself went along the line of trial and error; he was not sometimes conscious of the direction but acted forthwith and corrected his mind whenever he realized that he was wrong. A study by Journal of Management supports this conclusion too, showing that the CEOs who tried and applied a number of approaches were rated considerably higher than those who applied just one approach regardless of results. This, therefore, would point to the aspect of pliability, or being open to new ideas and change, being as vital to success as unwillingness to give up.
3. The Best CEOs Are Not Always Homegrown
The best CEOs are usually homegrown; they know the organization inside out because they have spent their years in the company, having worked their way up. Generally, outsider CEOs perform better in terms of surpassing homegrown CEOs, especially when creating bold and ambitious strategies that say exactly what distinguishes a given company from everybody else. As the outsider CEOs lead firms to failures, they lead to spectacular performances. As homegrown CEOs are safer, they would be more conservative leadership and steadier though less spectacular results.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, in thinking about what makes a great CEO, there is a need to rethink conventional wisdom. The chief executive who is flexible, experimenting, always able to think outside the box-and can sometimes be better than the conventional visionary and tenacious leader either inside or from the outside-will not look like your vision. And do not expect him to emerge the way you think he should. And if you feel that you don't look like any of the average CEOs, then maybe that's why you ought to be that CEO.
