We are surrounded by “celebrity” CEO(s). These chief executives make movie cameos, grace the front page of fashion magazines & sign autographs. Yahoo Finance showed Tim Cook taking photographs & selfies with Apple customers while he opened a store in New York.
Although, these actions do not preclude positive & successful leadership, magazine covers & instagram followers are not considered building blocks for CEO(s). We are looking forward to welcoming a CEO(s) in the future who can inspire us, not those who prefer attaining fame. Thanks for blurred line between business & social media, lot of CEO(s) have reached celebrity status. However when this hype fades, CEO(s) legacy will not be determined by fame & magazine covers but a different set of fundamentals.
Successful leaders need to possess certain fundamental characteristics that will drive growth of organisation & its culture.
CEO(s) are being held to highest ethical responsibility than they were in the past. With a lot of Chief executives fired more due to lapses & unethical practices than for financial performance & board struggle. Public image is not the right recipe for tomorrow’s CEO. The future CEO needs to portray integrity.
CEO(s) of the past hundred years such as Henry Ford were like monarch(s). During those times, the best way to become chief executive was to build & own the empire. They were power hungry. Even 50 years back, most CEO(s) were males- Walt Disney who were more of managers & followed bureaucracy & process oriented approach. Their main focus was to maximize shareholder value/returns & were beginning to move towards a globalized approach. However these managers & agents of the business still lacked some key characteristics of today’s & future leaders- inclusion, diversity, strong corporate culture,philanthropic initiatives & leadership principles.
Today’s chief executives are agile. The three & five year strategic plan is no longer a practice. Given the element of uncertainty, disruption & rapid changing society & business dynamics, future CEO(s) not only have to be agile but also be kind & empathetic towards people. They need to treat people well & should be able to appreciate that they will not always have answers but their employees might have.
Executive roles are going to folks who are humble & grounded, come from diverse backgrounds, are not the ones who are sitting in corner offices most of the time & do not want to be seen on magazine covers. They are the ones who promote participation of management & build a team of teams. They are approachable & employees irrespective of levels feel free to approach them for any questions or doubts. This is how you will instill confidence & earn loyalty of employees.
Fostering loyalty is going to play a vital role in improving employee retention given that most of the employees in their mid thirties think that job hopping is beneficial for their careers.
Future CEO(s) will not only be focusing on the bottom line but also doing things right. According to a recent study 88% of customers shop with brands that help them make a difference in the world. 86% of the employees aged from 22 to 37 are willing to take a pay cut to work at a company with strong mission & values. CEO(s) of tomorrow are going to be creative, think out of the box, use their wisdom & sense of judgement to find solutions to unexpected problems & hire people with imagination since we would have never heard of problems which may arrive in the future. The technology which will be used to solve those problems have not been invented yet.
Corporate culture will undergo a sea change with 9 to 5 jobs becoming a thing of the past. Flexible & Remote Working are going to take a giant leap. Alternative education would replace the old education delivery mechanism as the education cost continues to rise. Work Life Balance would become a key corporate characteristic since a lot of organisations are implementing mindfulness programs. Leaders of tomorrow have to embrace not only innovation but also flexibility.
Executive leaders do have to build a public image- striking coalitions, networking & engagement with media is a part of their job. CEOs are representatives of their organisation brands. However integrity & agility are far more important than fame. Organisations hiring executive leaders should be able to differentiate between celebrity in the eyes of public & that within the organisation.
