Let’s take a look at general characteristics that are usually found in leaders and CEOs around the world. It’s important to realize there are different profiles and when speaking of leaders this is not an exception.

1. By Jason Hanold
* How Do I Know If I Can and
Should Be A CEO?
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of unsplash
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2. The profile of a CEO does not necessarily fit into a neat
little box. Every CEO has a different way of handling
things and thus despite being successful in his or her
field, may very well have different characteristics from
other CEOs. This makes it a bit difficult to make an exact
list of what a CEO should act like, or be like. In spite of
this, there are some traits that you can aspire to have if
you want to be a CEO. If you’re on the fence whether
you have what it takes, and want to find out this will be
a good read.
First, let’s take a look at general characteristics that are
usually found in leaders and CEOs around the world. As
this article started off, it’s important to realize there are
different profiles and when speaking of leaders this is not
an exception.

3. Some leaders may have the required skills to start a company,
but others may have the skills to lead an already established
company to success. As a result, it will be necessary to consider
not only the traits for one kind of CEO, but all of them to see if
and where you fit on the spectrum. In most cases, CEOs will have
more developed traits than others, so you’ll need to see what
kind of leader you want to be and determine which
characteristics you have and which you’ll need to start honing in
on if you want to be a leader.
Being a visionary
A leader will need to see beyond the current state of the
company, have an eye for talent, all while having the ability to
prepare for everything that may come in the company’s future,
be it challenges or milestones. Knowing how to see the best in
people and recruit the top talent at any given moment will be
one of the most important traits for a leader. As long as your
team is up to par with the goals that you have for your company,
then you can rest assured that you can strive towards high
performance.

4. Be a good manager
If you can plan on a tactical level, you’ll have a trait all leaders
and CEOs will strive towards. Knowing how to plan to reach goals
and make use of the necessary resources effectively, will go a
long way as a leader. Now, keep in mind that being a leader is
not equivalent to being a manager, but is knowing how to
identify one. A CEO can easily hire an excellent manager, but
recognizing the differences between a leader and a manager and
choosing the traits that allows them to succeed as CEOs will be
the trick.
People skills and traits
A CEO, besides understanding the technical and administrative
part of the business, will need to ensure that they have skills that
allow them to flexible, be good leaders, and show a work ethic
that others are willing to follow. As a leader, you will need to
inspire trust, be respectful, motivational, and inspirational. CEOs
will almost always be disciplined and focused enough to lead, but
to also think of the big picture.

5. In some studies it is evident that there is no one formula
to make or break a CEO. You will find a great variety of
profiles leading companies all over the world, from those
who have a BA or MBA to those that have no degree at
all. Although it is also true that some of the top CEOs in
the world graduate from schools like Harvard, Stanford,
University of Pennsylvania and Notre Dame, on the other
hand you can find examples like Mark Zuckerberg,
Michael Dell and Richard Branson who are dropouts. Most
of them will be good communicators, calculated risk
takers, extroverts and innovators who disrupt the status
quo. They command respect just by their manner of
dealing with people, their knowledge, their experience
and their take on the business and field. CEOs tend not
to dabble too much on social media, while staying in the
public eye just enough to make an impact on their
company and field.

6. In the future, the role of CEOs will have a change from
what we recognize today, with a great increase in female
CEOs, more and more IT savvy top executives, and will
also be expected to have quite some experience in the
new trends such as telecommuting.
Now, that you’re closer to deciding you may want to read
up on some of the challenges that a new CEO may face at
the Jason Hanold SlideShare page. All in all, if you truly
want to be a CEO, you’ll need to see yourself identified
with at least some of these characteristics and be
prepared to fine tune those that you’re missing so a team
will follow you towards the future of the company you
are the head of.