How to be a good CEO (Chief Executive Officer)
Everyone thinks
that being a startup CEO is a glamorous job or one that has to be a ton of fun.
Here are some of the how to be a good ceo.
1.
Be fair
Fairness comes
first. No one wants to work for someone who is unfair. When you are let down,
hold people accountable for it, but when push comes to shove swallow your
pride. Be the bigger man.
2.
Be the benevolent dictator
Listen to
everyone's opinion, create healthy debate but then take a firm and binding
decision. Show decisiveness and conviction. The benevolent dictator is the one
who is decisive, taking action with the best intent at heart.
3.
Lead by example
You should be
working harder, longer and care more than anyone else about your business.
People need to see that commitment from you. As the leader of your business a
lot of the behavior in your organization will be shaped directly by your
behavior. If you don't care about customers, your team wont either. If you
don't care about quality your team wont either. If you're not super responsive
they wont be either. The best way to shape your culture is to set the example
yourself, set the standard of quality, what's acceptable and what's not. People
will then follow.
4.
Hire people who are better
than you
Hire people who can
do their job much better than you ever could. Your instinct as a founder is one
of the most important assets of the business, but you need to complement it
with expert knowledge in the different functional areas of your business.
5.
Show empathy
Show empathy not
sympathy. Sympathy is letting emotions rule you. It's feeling sorry for people.
Empathy is getting under other people's skin to understand them. Don't let your
success go to your head. Emotional intelligence is as important (if not more)
than analytical intelligence in running a business.