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Today’s we are talking about 4 things that great CEO’s do differently according to an article that comes from Harvard Business Review. This is based on a 10 year study called the CEO Genome project. Who doesn’t want to be great?! But there is one question in this show that we will also be addressing that isn’t in the article;  do CEO’s matter and  how much, if at all, do CEO’s truly affect the outcomes of an organization?

Right off the bat, one of the things that I loved about this article is that they are focused on behaviors of the CEO, not personality. This is key to the relevance and application to our own leadership whether you are a CEO or not.  We can change and manage behaviors. Having to become a different person is an entirely different story.

Here is the list:

1. Deciding with speed and conviction
2. They get their team on-board.
3. They adapt “proactively”
4. The deliver results reliably

But, do CEO’s matter to the success of the organization. Well for sure, forced CEO turnover does cost businesses or rather shareholders about 112 billion. The bigger answer is Yes, sort of. All leaders do as we are going to see. 22% of the variability in an organization can be attributed to the CEO. That means the other 78% belongs elsewhere. But more so than great ones, bad ones really matter. Especially when it comes to fraud and paying themselves more than they likely should which contributes to an overall toxic culture.

What do you think about these behaviors in your leadership?