Ready to transition from business pro to CEO?

1. Ready to transition from business pro to CEO?    It’s time to make the jump. You’ve put in your time in management, even at the upper level, and you know it’s your  turn to see your name stenciled on that ultimate door. You want your turn in the CEO chair. You feel ready, but are  you? Really? Stop wondering. While every job is different and every management position requires different  nuanced approaches, there are a few core skills every CEO needs to succeed.  Know how to BE in charge rather than ACT in charge. Yes, the buck stops with you, but if you have to keep saying  that, you’re not the real boss. This metric begins and ends with the intention and ability to take responsibility. That  means you understand what your level of responsibility is and you build your workday around embracing and  delivering on that responsibility. Further, you must listen to others, not just to overrule them, but to allow their  wisdom to contribute to your collective success. CEO isn’t a “my way or the highway” position, it’s the top of what  should be a collaborative pyramid. Sure, it’s your head the rolls when things go bad, but you don’t create all the  success any more than you’re actually responsible for all the failure.  Know what to change and what to emulate. Any time there’s a change of power, the culture of the business changes  slightly. That’s simply due to differences in people. Everything from competency to personality to leadership style  will change the Way Things Go at your business. The key competency here is in knowing what to change and what  needs to stay the same. Some elements of company culture are more important than you … forgetting that has been  the demise of many CEOs before you.  A good CEO knows how to build relationships, both with his key people and between members of his staff or team.  If your people are at each other’s throats or if trust is non-existent on your team, it might make for an exciting,  competitive environment … but it won’t likely be a healthy one. Sooner or later your people will need to work  together to accomplish something that needs doing, and it sure helps when you have plenty of practice and genuine  trust.  Finally, you need to understand how to get more out of your assets as well as your people. Change should not be  followed by status quo. If you don’t know how to get the same people to produce more or better, and you don’t  know how to get more results from the same supplies, you need to step up that skillset.  So, how did you do? Did you check off all the competencies on the list? Are you lacking in any areas? How do you  plan to address these weak areas?  Elie Hirschfeld​ is a real estate developer from NYC.