Aspiring to Be a CEO: What Skills and Strategies Should HR Managers Focus On?

I am working in an MNC as a Training and Development manager. What skills are required for a person to become a CEO of any company? What are the strategies to be followed? Can anyone shed light on this?

Regards,
Geetha

The CEO shall be a perfectionist-cum-visionary in the Enneagram personality type. He shall have attention to detail as well. He shall have a helicopter view of everything.

The CEO shall be as resilient as an ocean; in rough weather, he shall keep the mast up. The financial ratios he should be looking for shall show remarkable improvement in "Bottomline" and "Topline" growth.

He shall be a good communicator, communicating in simple language, even the most complex concepts. He shall specify what he wants and by when, but he shall not 'prescribe' how things should be done to achieve.

'Caring-for-people', compassion of the highest order, yet uncompromising on results to be expected. Deploy the vision to everyone in the organization so that they understand 'shared vision' in its true spirit. Lead by the sidelines, he shall set the direction; should it fail.

Recognition and rewards instantly are the good qualities he should have.

Mr. Srikumar,

Thanks.

Has anybody come across HR professionals becoming CEOs? I have noticed that in most companies, the top executives often come from Marketing or Sales, as they are typically revenue-generators.

Regards,
Geetha

Hi there, Geetha! It's great that you've brought up this question, as I had addressed it quite some time ago!

1) How long have you been in the HR profession, and in which sector and at what level have you worked over the years?

2) When you refer to a CEO, are you talking about the Business Head or the Enterprise Head of a corporation with multiple businesses? I know a few HR professionals who lead departments such as Engineering & Exports, Business Development, Marketing, Corporate Planning & Strategy, and so on. Understanding this detail would help me provide more insights. I do have specific answers to your question as well.

If you don't mind, could you please share the location from where you work? This information is relevant in the current context.

Regards, M.S. Sreekumar

Personal email ID: sreerazia@yahoo.co.in