The Long Climb: How to Become a CEO
Not every worker involved in business wants to be a CEO, but if you’re looking to be the leader of a successful company, there are some general pieces of advice you should follow to increase your chances of making it. Let’s take a look at them.
Start Early and Study the Right Topics
While many people don’t know what they want to be when they grow up, the path to becoming a CEO is easier if you know early and start preparing as early as possible. If it is possible for you to study business and economics-related subjects before you enter college, do so. Also, participate in extracurricular activities that involve business and management; it can be useful to start your own fledgling business at this point or start a club for young entrepreneurs. The earlier you start this process, the better.
Keep Studying and Get a College Degree
With early education as a foundation, you can go to college confident in your abilities to get the job done. Studying enough to earn a degree takes willpower, fortitude, and dedication, all of which are traits you’ll need if you wish to succeed in business. Naturally, you’ll want to study subjects that are affiliated with business, so focus on business, economics, and/or accounting to give yourself the core knowledge you need.
Other subjects are helpful as well. For example, engineering is huge right now because of the monumental advances in tech sectors over the last few years. Liberal arts degrees may sound strange, but they round out your resume and give you varied experiences, which are important in the grand scheme of things; they will impress your future employers.
Graduate to the Real World and Work
You may have worked before, but after college, it’s time for you to dedicate yourself to work. If you have figured out your dream career, that’s a plus – you’ll want to enter that field as soon as possible so you can begin honing your skills and gathering more experience. If you entered your dream career before or during college, that’s even better. The longer you stay in one career field, the more likely it is that you’ll become a CEO. Make sure you work on honing your communication skills, your grasp of the big picture, your attentive listening, your network, and your leadership skills; these are the key components you’ll need to become a CEO.
Demonstrate Your Abilities and Get Promoted
By working on all the aforementioned qualities, you’re already looking like CEO material. The big push now is accepting tasks that you may not be the best at; if you volunteer for difficult jobs and learn something along the way, your experience and value to the company increase. Even if you make mistakes, you’re learning from those mistakes, and those experiences enhance your resume and therefore your chances of getting promoted. Work with people and show you can manage them effectively. A CEO is a leader of people, after all.
Once you’ve demonstrated your value to the company, sit down and show them why you deserve promotions. After you’ve done this a few times, chances are good that you’re a front-runner for the top spot of CEO.
Visit www.PROPRIUS.com for more information on how to improve your team and career. PROPRIUS is an Artificial Intelligence Industry recruiting firm dedicated to projecting organizations to the next level.
If you are ready to accelerate your team, then schedule a 10-minute discovery call at https://PROPRIUS.as.me/Discovery. We have a dedicated search process designed to locate, connect with, and deliver the most talented candidates.
If you are looking to propel your career, then schedule a 30-minute intake call at https://PROPRIUS.as.me/Intake. We identify the top Engineers in the Artificial Intelligence Industry that generate results, create opportunity and inspire others to perform their best work.
Joshua Crawford | Managing Director | PROPRIUS
