Leadership! Are you working like a CEO?

Leslie DicksonPosted by Leslie Dickson on March 26th, 2010 | 0 Comments

Ok, so maybe you’re not a CEO…just yet. But you don’t have to hold the title to think and act like one. Whether you’re a manager, a senior consultant, or even a management trainee, you can make a difference to your organization by adopting some of the best practices of top leaders. These interesting (and actionable!) ideas I found in articles this week can help anyone at any level build a stronger, more effective team.  

In a great piece by Inc Magazine, CEOs were asked for their best productivity tips. One of my favorites was this one from Kevin Ryan, founder of DoubleClick and now head of internet start-up AlleyCorp. He says he’s always interviewing because he believes 80% of business success is in the people. That includes talking on a regular basis with up-and-comers in his organization who are two or three levels down from him. Why? “I want them to know I’m paying attention,” he says.  How could you reshape your organization by thinking of communicating with others as a productivity booster – not a distraction?  

Similar advice is found in an article from The Chief Executive titled: You’re Always a New CEO. Carlos M. Gutierrez, former chairman and CEO of Kellogg Co, may have said it best: “You need to over-communicate, to be willing to walk the talk and to make sure the actions are consistent with the messages.” How well are you communicating with the people in your circle of influence? Do you want to make those interactions more productive? Start with few ideas on effective communication skills from VoicePro®.

Here’s another suggestion, this time from the global business arena. In a CNN article titled What Bosses Can Learn from Indian Business Leaders, one core suggestion was “act as a role model.” Are you modeling the behavior you value in others? Does your behavior align with your words? Actions do, as they say, speak louder than words. 

Here’s one more tip that reminds us what CEOs know: listening is as important as talking for good communication. On the website of The Center for Social Leadership there’s a great member post for new CEOs that applies to all of us. The writer suggests spending the first six months on a “listening tour.”  Isn’t that the truth? How else can we be clear on how well the company’s (and our own) goals and expectations are being understood? Unless we listen to people first, our communication is likely to be a scattershot, not on target. As important as listening is, our experience at VoicePro® suggests it demands an incredible amount of concentration and self discipline. 

No matter where you are on your career ladder, try these ideas out in your own workplace. See how acting like a CEO can take you, your organization and your career to the next level.

Image by KovaZg

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