What
makes
a
successful
CEO
?
We
can
read
in
textbooks
and
autobiographies
what
constitutes
a
successful
company
leader
,
but
the
latest
research
suggests
that
there
are
many
misconceptions
.
Most
of
you
are
familiar
with
the
head
of
your
company
.
Even
if
you
haven't
had
the
chance
to
meet
them
in
person
,
you
will
probably
have
heard
them
speak
at
a
conference
or
shareholders'
meeting
,
seen
them
on
the
television
or
on
YouTube
,
or
at
least
read
one
of
their
newsletters
.
Have
you
ever
wondered
,
though
,
why
they
are
the
CEO
and
not
you
?
A
ten
year
long
recent
study
looked
at
the
careers
and
qualities
of
thousands
of
CEOs
and
the
conclusions
are
rather
surprising
!
The
research
conducted
by
ghSMART
,
a
Chicago
based
management
company
found
that
people
coming
from
quite
ordinary
beginnings
can
reach
the
top
of
the
firm
.
In
the
process
,
they
found
many
about
what
is
needed
to
make
a
good
leader
.
Let's
have
a
look
at
some
of
them
in
detail
.
?
You
need
to
have
huge
.
Of
course
you
do
!
Look
at
Apple's
Steve
Jobs
?
whose
every
word
is
leadership
,
a
larger
than
life
character
who
still
commands
a
huge
following
.
But
it
turns
out
that
charisma
is
highly
.
While
many
companies
will
hire
the
extrovert
,
largely
because
of
their
interview
,
it
was
found
that
introverts
exceeded
their
board's
expectations
more
often
than
extroverts
did
.
?
Great
leaders
don't
make
mistakes
?
and
when
they
do
,
never
admit
it
.
Wrong
!
Research
found
that
nearly
all
CEOs
had
made
significant
mistakes
,
with
nearly
50%
things
that
they
had
to
resign
.
But
,
significantly
,
almost
80%
then
went
on
to
secure
another
top
job
.
The
key
seems
to
be
a
willingness
to
acknowledge
what
went
wrong
and
to
learn
from
the
mistake
.
?
Experience
in
a
sector
is
essential
.
Untrue
!
In
fact
,
coming
from
outside
a
particular
sector
can
be
an
advantage
,
bringing
a
fresh
perspective
and
new
ideas
.
Expertise
in
an
area
can
be
learned
.
Having
a
range
of
experiences
,
strong
soft
skills
,
and
problem
solving
ability
can
be
significantly
more
useful
.
?
A
leader
needs
to
be
ruthless
.
This
idea
achieved
popularity
largely
as
a
result
of
the
philosophy
of
former
General
Electric
boss
,
Jack
Welch
.
Each
year
he
divided
his
workforce
into
three
groups
based
on
performance
?
the
top
20%
were
,
the
middle
70%
received
coaching
,
and
the
bottom
10%
were
.
What
is
often
overlooked
is
that
Welch
was
a
special
character
in
many
ways
.
Taking
one
particular
characteristic
out
of
context
is
doomed
to
failure
.
Autocratic
leadership
fails
more
often
than
it
succeeds
.
The
highest
performing
leaders
are
prepared
to
support
from
employees
,
boards
,
and
shareholders
before
implementing
change
.
?
Graduates
from
Harvard
or
Oxford
make
the
best
leaders
.
It's
a
common
misconception
that
to
become
the
top
man
or
woman
at
a
business
you
need
to
have
attended
one
of
the
world's
top
universities
.
Of
course
you
need
a
strong
intellect
to
succeed
,
but
the
top
schools
do
not
have
a
on
talent
.
In
fact
,
nearly
10%
of
the
highest
performing
CEOs
never
went
to
university
.
One
high
-
performing
CEO
put
his
success
down
to
three
main
things
:
making
life
better
for
all
his
stakeholders
?
including
employees
,
truly
understanding
his
business
,
and
being
people
centered
.
Let's
see
what
you
understood
!
Crear