CEO is the top position in the corporate hierarchy. The position comes with the responsibilities of most of the important decisions and setting the direction of the company. CEO drives the organization through every odd to not only survive but also grow in the hard environment of the corporate world. How to become a CEO is the real question. The position requires strong nerves, qualities, and skills to create a positive impact on the growth of the company. They inspire people around him and make them feel ownership of the organization.
CEOs enjoy the perks of top position but the job is not that easy. They have to deal with many circumstances to develop for this key role.
What Does CEO Mean?
CEO stands for Chief Executive Officer. It is the top executive post of the corporate company. Apart from becoming a CEO by opening your own company, most of the time it is selected by the directors of the company.
CEO plays the role of a bridge between the company and its directors. They provide updates on new and ongoing projects to the directors.
What Does Chief Executive Officer Do?
Some of the company’s high-level decisions come from its Chief Executive Officer. Along with that, they manage the resources and operations of the company. The level of responsibility depends on the level and structure of the organization.
CEOs do corporate-level meetings to grown develop new business opportunities. They interact and deal with other CEOs and directors to grow relationships and networking.
Also Read: Why Choose a Career in Human Resources?
Essential Steps to Become CEO:
Education Requirement:
Acquiring a bachelor’s degree is the first step in this journey. The degree can be in business administration, leadership, engineering, accounting, or the law.
Some top researchers think that having a bachelor’s in engineering with a master’s in business administration is a good combination. Moreover, a study shows 40% of CEOs hold an MBA degree, 27% engineering, and 14% law.
With the world, changing so fast, future CEOs have to face many unforeseen circumstances. So having a good mix in their knowledge, techniques, and abilities will help them a lot.
Experience:
Along with education, the CEO job requires years of experience in managerial and executive posts. With experience, one can develop and sharpen skills set essential for a CEO. Some people start a small business during their bachelor’s degree. This helps them to develop skills at a very early stage of their career.
After education, you have to start with the entry-level managerial positions in a company. Afterward, progress to the advanced levels like general managers and then to the executive posts.
Some people switch jobs to jump to the next level of experience. This can also help in many cases. But to get the top position you must have to spend enough time in the same company. This will develop the trust level and help you to understand the hierarchy and system of the company.
What Skills are Required for the CEO?
The position of CEO has many things on the plate and they are dealing with all of them at the same time. So there is a requirement of the combination on several skill sets. These skills are:
- Management Skills
- Leadership Qualities
- Communication Skills
- Networking Capabilities
- Decision Making and Problem Solving
CEOs must have the personality to absorb the tough times and lead from the front. 
Characteristics and Traits of CEO:
Sometimes having a relevant education with experience and skills, does not make you the chief executive officer. Professionals are looking for a man of good character and traits. In those cases, a personal track record does not help in future success. Moreover, they think that the person to whom they are giving the responsibility of their business must be honest, reliable, and truthful.
In the end, you can develop all that is required to become a CEO. You can also get everything from education to experience and from skills to the character. So you just have to remain focused on the path and start working on the path.
Wish you the best of luck.