The Fun In Doing The Impossible

Sundar Pichai of Google n Alphabet, Satya Nadella of Microsoft, Arvind Krishna of IBM, Leena Nair of Chanel, Punit Renjen of Deloitte, Mary Barra of GM, Vasant Narsimhan of Novartis, Roshni Nadar of HCL, Safra Catz of Oracle… the list of CEOs that make us proud and want to be in a position like them goes on. After Katharine Graham rewrote history becoming a first for Washington Post, the graph indeed looks more delightful now with more than 10% of Fortune 500 companies led by women. We have also been hearing successful sagas about Indian-origin CEOs who are ruling the world now. The role of the CEO is the topmost valued and paid one in the company hierarchy. The C-suite is indeed a tough one to fill and takes a lot to become a CEO n to sustain it suc- cessfully. Let’s have a look at what makes them win the topmost job and thrive at it.

The title of being a CEO definitely comes with great financial rewards and other benefits. It also offers you other luxuries such as freedom, reputation and respect. It is imperative, however, to identify who you are, not what the title holds out for you. Identifying yourself is a huge pertinent trait this job demands inorder not to falter in the forthcoming organisational challenges. A CEO faces new challenges on a daily basis; bears the brunt to take full responsibility for an organisation's success or failure. One might think that he then might have all the authority over the consequences and control most of what will determine it. Unfortunately, that is not the case in reality. This one job is more com- plicated than we imagine, tougher than the admirable façade it adorns on the exterior. All of the CEOs come up with vast experience, and critical and smart thinking abilities. Still what awaits him on the battlefront can be the most unexpected of a problem. The trials that the companies face and the decisionmakings followed on it can make or break the company no matter what the past or history is. You need to have many weapons in your armour to develop business strategies for your company. Grow its brand value, win competitions and to create the right market space for your products and services. Most of the time when a CEO is being promoted into the line from its current executives, it becomes more of a smooth transition with less opposition, than when you hire one from outside the company.

The job is usually a lonely grind and you need to be ready to face adversities all on your own alone. The future CEOs especially will be confronted with many unforeseen glitches and challenges. We just are emerging out of the most difficult phase of our generation, the pandemic. When it comes to the skill sets a CEO possesses, the ability to communicate smoothly will definitely count as a priority. Building connections with peers, clients and bosses matters. A great leader will undoubtedly be a People person. But as per the general notion, it is really not always mandatory for a CEO to be an extrovert. In reality, if we glance through the most successful CEOs across organisations, most of them were less outgoing personalities. It is your genuine urge to make an impact on the world that matters. They are the architects of their companies, reimagining the designs n structures and moulding into a more stellar performer than before. One of your goals is to lead your herd, motivate and inspire them to be their best, and create a culture that would inturn benefit society as a whole. This demands aligning your team you’re your beliefs and policies and get them to trust you with heart. Instilling that conviction in them is not an easy task, but a good CEO will encourage his team to the front. Leadership is about cultivating relationships; just as a CEO expects his team to trust following him, he needs to take that giant leap in trusting his team as well to shoulder them with significant responsibilities. Continued investment in making the right networks and connections can inturn eventually lead them into orbiting you one day making your dreams and visions coming true. Leadership and Managing ability, strong decision-making skills, listening skills and Patience – a diverse range of personal characteristics is demanded out of this position inorder to ensure success. There are a lot of benefits to being a CEO – You are able to roll out your decisions and do what you think is right, You get to make your own call, you are in a lucky position to control your destiny, you eventually get to make the difference you always dreamt about, you make more money than the rest, you get to enjoy the luxurious comforts and attention than the rest. For an adventurous heart, it is never boring but always exciting, take risks and to make things happen. Even though achieving CEO status is indeed a big dream come true, it is also risky to dream that big. It's your choice to make. Along with all the advantageous rewards, the pressure and criticism coming along with this role is just as high. Sometimes you might find no one else to share the peak problems of the company. A CEO might also face lawsuits incase of any unethical behaviour or manipulation anyone else does in the organisation. You might have to face negative comments in such situations, as you are the face of the company and you holds reputation due to the name of the company. The Himalayan number of emails and highly urgent call schedules and frequent unavoidable travels for meetings will make your life re- ally tight and busy. This can result in higher levels of stress and anxiety. Taking critical business decisions pushes you to the edge of the cliff. Conflicts of interests are a normal in a CEO’s life which she has to handle on a regular daily basis. There are thousands who look upto you for superior performance expectations. At the end of the day, it is a CEO who leads the company forward.

What matters is the magna- nimity of your desire to make things happen; to make a difference in the world, to see your visions executed for the better. It takes a lot of courage to hang on till the end. But it’s worth it at the top. To see the fruits of all your experience and efforts is indeed a treat for your eyes. Everything is theoretically impossible until it’s done. So let’s take that leap of faith and make the impossible happen