THE ROLE OF A CEO

I just finished my Vistage International meeting yesterday. Vistage International is an organization of CEO's where CEO's get together once a month for an all day meeting. In these meetings we talk about the various issues that are on the minds of the CEO of a Company. One topic that was discussed was "What is the Role of a CEO"?

There was quite a bit of discussion around this topic.  We talked a great deal about what we should be doing and what we should not be doing. At the end of the conversation, we came down to six essential roles of a CEO. Here they are:

STRATEGIST - This role sets the future direction of your Company. The process of creating an effective business strategy for a Company includes creating the vision.

AMBASSADOR - Meeting with important clients and partners once or twice a year for an informal lunch or dinner. The idea here is to get to know the client and for them to get to know you.

INVENTOR - Success in business requires the CEO to continually search for new products or services. The inventor ensures the strategic direction of the Company by aligning new products or service ideas with the client.

COACH - Being a coach or mentor to your direct reports. The CEO should instill a culture of learning throughout all levels of the organization. This will ensure they can see the big picture of the Company just as you can.

INVESTOR - You should know the market value of your Company. Given that, you should also strive to grow the business in the way the market value will increase. You should see your Company as an investment.

STUDENT - Stay active in some form of continued professional development. This practice should lead you outside your area of expertise to make you a more rounded business executive.

These six essential roles should be an everyday occurrence for you and your Company. They should be driving your daily calendar and how you make best use of your time.