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Chief executive officers (CEOs) hold the highest leadership role in organizations. While they generally report to a board of directors, their main duty is managing the company’s operations and financial performance. Achieving the position of CEO can be a challenging journey, especially if you're not the company’s founder. However, by sharpening the right skills and strategically selecting your career path, you can significantly improve your chances of reaching the CEO role.
Steps to Becoming a CEO
Building Essential Skills
Enhance your communication and public speaking abilities. Effective communication, including public speaking, eloquence, and active listening, is crucial for any aspiring CEO. Sharpening these skills will make you a stronger candidate for a leadership position in the future.
- Working with a mentor can be an effective way to develop these skills by providing guidance on specific areas to improve.
- If you're still in school, consider enrolling in courses on rhetoric or public speaking as valuable opportunities to enhance your communication skills. Participating in theatrical productions or similar activities could also help refine your speaking abilities.
PROFESSIONAL ADVICE
Elizabeth Douglas
CEO at Mytour
CEO at Mytour
Elizabeth Douglas, CEO of Mytour, offers the following guidance: “As a CEO, it's essential to maintain a clear vision that you’re constantly collaborating with your team to bring to life. Strong communication will empower you to guide your team in executing that vision and strategy effectively.”
Harness your drive and push yourself to put in the extra effort. Ambition and a strong work ethic often take precedence over communication skills when it comes to qualities needed to become a CEO. Get ready to embrace the idea of working longer hours than usual to build the dedication required to reach the highest levels of success.
Obtain a bachelor’s degree relevant to your career goals. While formal education is not always a strict requirement for becoming a CEO, most CEOs do possess at least a college degree. Pursuing a bachelor’s degree in a field that aligns with your future industry—like computer science, public policy, or business administration—can be a great step forward.
- For example, if you aspire to lead a multimedia empire, obtaining a degree in communication or television might prove particularly beneficial.
- Many CEOs hold degrees that are indirectly related to business but are tailored to their specific industry. For instance, Larry Page, the CEO of Alphabet, earned a bachelor’s in engineering and a master’s in computer science.
Gain hands-on experience in your chosen field through work or volunteering. To become a CEO, substantial experience within your industry is essential. Seek out jobs or volunteer opportunities that offer direct exposure to the field you wish to lead. Remember, accumulating experience early can give you a significant advantage in the long run.
- For example, if your goal is to lead a coffee company, working at a coffee shop—preferably one owned by the same company—could be an excellent way to gain industry knowledge.
- Consider volunteering or seeking roles that focus on conflict management or organization skills. Positions like camp counselor, conflict resolution assistant, or convenience store manager could be valuable experience builders.
PROFESSIONAL ADVICE
Elizabeth Douglas
CEO of Mytour
CEO of Mytour
Elizabeth Douglas, CEO of Mytour, offers this advice: “To advance to the position of CEO, it’s crucial to understand, in great detail, the various functions that need to be performed for a company to thrive and succeed.”
Earn an MBA to enhance your qualifications for a CEO role. While CEOs come from diverse educational backgrounds, most large corporations prefer candidates with a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA). If your goal is to be hired as a CEO, consider pursuing an MBA.
- However, if you intend to start your own business, an MBA may not be necessary, as there are no formal education requirements for becoming a small business owner.
- Typically, MBA programs are open to applicants from all bachelor’s degree fields, though business majors may have an advantage. These programs welcome a wide range of students.
Gain management experience whenever possible. Beyond industry-specific experience, most CEOs have significant backgrounds in business management or similar leadership roles. Building management experience early on is one of the best ways to position yourself as a CEO candidate.
- For most large corporations seeking a new CEO, prior senior-level management experience is often a key requirement. To build toward this, start by working in entry-level management roles to gain relevant experience.
- For instance, if you work at a movie theater, aim to become an assistant manager when a position becomes available. From there, work towards advancing to general manager and take on even more management responsibilities.
Embracing Challenges
Seize opportunities to take on greater responsibilities. Many CEOs who rose through the ranks did so by stepping up and accepting significant challenges early in their careers. When opportunities for more responsibility arise—especially roles outside of your current experience—take them and embrace the challenge.
- This is particularly true for management roles. For example, if you’re offered the position of president for your division, take it, even if you don’t feel fully ready for the responsibility.
Seek out opportunities to showcase your CEO potential. Depending on your current role, you may encounter situations that require the decision-making and leadership abilities of a CEO to resolve. Stay alert for such challenges and seize the opportunity to tackle them head-on.
- For instance, if you're working in sales, you could take the initiative to address a struggling product or enhance your department’s underperforming results.
- Taking on these challenges can also demonstrate to your superiors that you're ready for more responsibility, helping to accelerate your path to a promotion.
Don’t hesitate to apply for roles or promotions even if you feel underqualified. Ascending to the position of CEO means continuously moving up through higher and more demanding roles. While you may not always feel prepared for these positions, apply for them whenever they arise; they are steps toward your ultimate goal of becoming a CEO.
- Even if you’re not entirely confident in your readiness for a new role, you will gain the experience and skills you need once you're in the position. If you've developed the right qualities for leadership, you'll thrive in this new challenge.
Take on smaller projects to prove your ability to create something impactful. You might think that focusing on a smaller project won’t contribute much to your journey toward a big goal like becoming a CEO. However, such projects allow you to build something meaningful from the ground up and can make a significant impact on your company.
- For example, if you're tasked with launching a new product, use this as an opportunity to lead a project you can control, where the success will be directly attributed to your efforts.
Climbing the Ladder to CEO
Start in a smaller position without fear of the hierarchy. To eventually become a CEO by working your way up, it’s important to begin in a lower-level role and progress through promotions. Apply for the highest position you're qualified for, even if it’s an entry-level job.
- For example, if you hold an engineering degree, you might start by applying for an engineering position at a company and gradually work your way up the ranks.
- Remember, no role is too insignificant as a starting point. Even entry-level jobs, like custodial positions, can serve as a stepping stone for someone with aspirations to become a CEO.
Aim to lead an operational division of a company. Regardless of where you start in your career, set your sights on becoming the head of a major operational division or an international business within the company. Those in these positions are often the first in line for the CEO role at large corporations.
- Operational divisions are those directly involved in the core operations of a business. In a manufacturing company, for instance, operations include design, planning, procurement, and production, while marketing and human resources are separate from this category.
- While it's possible to become a CEO by rising through other departments, most CEOs are promoted from operational divisions.
Consider working at a smaller company for broader experience. To become a CEO, it’s not mandatory to work at the company where you want to hold the top spot. In fact, you might find more opportunities for senior-level management experience at a smaller company, where upward mobility is often faster.
- This approach also allows you to expand your network beyond the confines of a single organization, which could help you land a CEO position at a different company in the future.
Building Your Own Business
Choose and research your business idea. The first step is to define the core of your business—what product or service you’ll offer, and how you’ll sell it. Then, investigate the uniqueness of your product, identify competitors, and assess whether your product genuinely addresses a consumer need.
- Thorough research at this stage will help you avoid costly mistakes once you launch your business.
- The more you understand how your idea compares to existing offerings, the better equipped you'll be to create a product that stands out and succeeds in the marketplace.
Develop a business plan for your venture. If you're aiming to be the CEO of your own company, you need a well-structured plan to guide your startup's success. A solid business plan will help you minimize early-stage risks and answer key questions about how your business will function.
- For instance, outline your target customers, your marketing strategy, and other essential details.
- While you can’t predict everything, ensure your business plan is at least one page long. Shorter plans often don’t cover the critical aspects of your business model adequately.
Create a strategy to market your business. The success of your business hinges significantly on how well you market your product. Plan ahead to determine how you’ll promote your product to potential customers, and then take action to implement your strategy.
- For instance, consider setting up a website for your business and start advertising it on social media platforms even before your official launch.
Build your team of employees and advisors. While you might initially run your business alone, you’ll likely need trusted advisors to guide you in specialized areas. If you aim to grow your business, hiring employees will become essential at some point.
- For example, unless you're trained in law, you'll probably need a lawyer to help with legal matters. You may also require professionals in accounting, insurance, or marketing as your business expands.
Submit the necessary paperwork. After crafting your business plan and assembling your team, the final step is to file the official documents that will legally establish your business. This typically includes obtaining the relevant licenses and registrations from your state, though other paperwork may be required based on your location.
- You'll also need to secure the appropriate business insurance before you start operations.
Important Considerations
- The majority of new businesses fail within the first 10 years, with a significant number closing in the first year. If you're launching your own business, be prepared for the possibility that it may not succeed in the long term.
