Nicole Stepp 10/24/12

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I want a CEO who cares and wants
to take care his/or her people and who works
to change things for the better. CEOs must
have certain qualities in order to keep a
corporation successful and for themselves to
be successful. As a boss, it is his/or her job
to make sure employees are happy and feel
good about themselves and their work. The
ultimate success of a corporation depends on
the effectiveness and organizational skills
the CEO holds. I believe certain qualities to
be found of an exceptional CEO should be
excellent leadership skills, competent to
make decisions, vision, and communication
skills.
One of the most important qualities
should be leadership skills because the CEO
sets an example for the corporation and its
employees. A lot of qualities that a CEO
should uphold fall under being a leader such
as honesty, fairness, reliability, confident,
flexible, optimistic, competent, intelligent
etc.; these qualities are what separates a
exceptional manager from a adequate
manager (Gilbert, Leadership is,). Any
company or organization that has any hope
of being successful in todays market place
must have strong leadership (Gilbert,
Leadership With,). A CEO is the leader for
the corporation. The corporation will
ultimately be successful depending on the
effectiveness of the organizations leaders
from the top of the chain and on down.
They should be well organized, good
delegators, and willing to take criticism
(Gilbert, Leadership With,).
I feel leadership is based on
inspiration not domination. You want to
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inspire and influence those around you that
work for you not just bark orders. Anyone
can bark orders if they want to get people to
get things done, thats not what this is about.
Leaders will make you feel better about
getting the job done because they take care
of their people. An example of a good
leader is Steve Jobs. Steve said, My job is
to make the whole executive team good
enough to be successors, so thats what I try
to do (Constantino, 2011). He was and still
is a proven example of an exceptional
leader. Steve Jobs inspired people.
As part of the decision making
process, the CEO has the ultimate say and
must be competent to make proper decisions
for his company as a whole. It is not just
about him/or her, its about his team
members, his employees. For instance,
hiring sharp people for his management
team is something that needs to be fulfilled.
CEOs have to find quality vice presidents,
those vice presidents have to find quality
managers and those managers have to find
good workers (Simpson, 2011). I want the
whole chain of command to show fire and
passion within their job so all the employees
feel secure at the corporation. I want the
CEO to make sure this happens by making
level headed decisions that will take care of
his employees and the company.
Decisions can range from any daily
decisions to profits, to salaries, investments,
bonuses, insurance, new ideas, strategy,
internal/external factors, bullying, conflict,
etc. The CEO must be able to evaluate the
situation on hand and strive to make the best
decision for the corporation. Things are
going to go wrong, it is inevitable. Bullying
for example, has the potential to have a
negative impact on a corporation. To
prevent this, according to our power point
on Hazing, managers and employees must
work together to establish and enforce Zero-
tolerance policies, implement preventative
strategies, and invest in bullying/awareness
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training. I want the CEO to make decisions
like this one this to keep the employees safe
and secure on the job. Making a
commitment to prevent bullying, he/or she
must make a decision that requires some
type of reinforcement and consequence to
keep it under control. The idea is just that,
there will be many decisions that need to be
met on a daily basis and we need a CEO that
is mentally capable in doing so. I also feel
some decisions are a team effort. In
virtually every area of life, teams make
better decisions than individuals
(Constantino, 2011).
Next, CEOs must have vision.
Arguably nothing is more important to a
company than a CEO who understands both
the market today and where it will be
tomorrow (Simpson, 2011). Companies
have to think long term success and what
customers will want in the future. The CEO
is the keeper of the companys overall vision
(Baptiste, 2010). I am not talking about
vision for the next few months, but a much
longer road ahead. The CEO has to
motivate employees to stay on track to
achieve that vision. I feel is takes a special
person and a phenomenal one at that to keep
people on the right road to success. For
example, Bill Gates understood the potential
of the PC before many others, just as Steve
Jobs understood the potential of mobile
computing, and those visions helped build
their respective companies (Simpson, 2010).
This is a key trait of a CEO and a key
component of long term success. The best
leaders have the vision to understand that
fact and the tenacity to lead an organization
to that future state despite organizational
inertia and resistance (Constantino, 2011).
Lastly, having the ability to
communicate properly is vital. The CEO
and all mangers need to give feedback in a
timely manner. He/or he must tell
employees their feedback whether it is
positive or negative. They need to be told
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how well they are doing and/or what they
need to improve on. A CEO needs to be
able to take the bull by the horns and make
the first effort to eradicate barriers at work
(Gilbert, Seven ways,). It is their job as a
boss to confront issues and lay them out on
the table. Communication is not all about
issues either. Communicating has positive
effects. Communication is both verbal and
non-verbal; so he or she must understand
body language. As a CEO, they must
understand how to communicate in both
areas. As a boss, you want to have an open
door policy. Trust implies a degree of
predictability, free speech, and a manager
who is willing to listen (Gilbert, Seven
ways,). A CEO has to be a good listener!
Listen to their new ideas, concerns, or
problems.
Communicating globally can be
challenging due to other cultures language
and/or body language. It is good to be able
to read people. You do not want to
criticize anyone or hurt anyone. In Lindsey
Hamms discussion post she stated, so many
times people are forced into groups instead
of being allowed to be individuals. I agree
with Lindsey, so before you stereotype
someone get to know the individual first.
This can happen internally at the corporation
or when globally communicating so you
need a CEO who can handle communicating
with their employees and globally.
According to the video under our
communication module Communicating
Effectively, when reaching out to employees
or customers around the world, the issues
you face become more complicated, more
sensitive, and more challenging. A CEO
must have strategies to take on global
communicating.
I want a CEO who wants to have a
relationship with their employees. Not to
just communicate when problems arise, but
to make sure their employees are happy.
He/or she needs to be proactive in their
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attempt to improve relationships. Regularly
acknowledge employee contributions to
improve the communication flow and the
way they feel about you (Gilbert, Seven
ways,). Complement your employees.
Also, a phenomenal boss will acknowledge
their mistakes, apologize, and then correct
them; this is great communication.
Communication helps empower employees
and it makes them feel comfortable to
openly share ideas. I feel a CEO must
possess these qualities mentioned in order to
fulfill the position and have a successful
company and career.
Lets face it many of us are not
suited to be a CEO. Obviously someone
who is very controlling or has bullying
tendencies would not work out. I do not
want someone like that because they tend to
go on power trips and induce fear into the
staff. Also, someone who is a people
pleaser would not make a good manager.
They tend to be kind of quiet and go along
with the flow which cannot work if you are
a CEO of a big corporation because you can
never please everyone its impossible.
There are several qualities that would make
someone not suited for the position but I will
just focus on these two. A boss cannot be
walking around with a chip on their
shoulder nor can they be overly pleasing to
the employees either.
We all have had a fair share of
wonderful managers in our time and then the
ones we hope to never see again; you know,
the ones with that awful chip on their
shoulder looking for their victim of the day.
Inflicting pain over time anesthetizes us to
anguish we cause other people (Gilbert,
Respect, not). Moreover, it creates a culture
of fear in which workers are more worried
about punishment than about doing their
jobs (Gilbert, respect, not). I feel it also
creates a sense of nervousness for
employees. For example, I myself
experience this at my job. I have a manager
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who is always in a bad mood and he walks
around trying to find someone doing
something that he can just lash out at them
for. On a daily basis, I feel like I am being
watched, which makes me feel nervous, and
in return makes it difficult to complete tasks
on the job. Smack down management will
get generate silence, search behaviors, and
sabotage (Gilbert, Respect, not). If the
manager is on a power trip, the morale for
the workforce quickly nose dives, making it
extremely difficult and frustrating to work
effectively. It reduces the productivity of
the workers; I have seen it for a number of
years at my job. This is why a person
seeking a CEO position or any management
position cannot have this quality and be
successful. It is like oil and water.
Foremost, a people pleaser is also
not suitable for this position either. Pleasers
operate from the premise that the other
person is always right (Gilbert, The Perils).
They go along with the flow and try to
please everyone. I feel it is a lack of self
respect. You cannot let people walk all over
you, because that is exactly what happens in
these situations. They will know you will
say yes all the time and go along with the
program. An individual who needs to please
is constantly trying to see how others are
feeling so that he/or she will know how to
be with them (Gilbert, The Perils). People
pleasers want to be liked.
The problem with this is that they
have a dependant mind. All their decisions
are formulated based on just keeping others
around them happy (Westhaver, 2011).
They cant make decisions. So how can a
people pleaser be a CEO? They cant. They
are lacking creativity and purpose. Their
focus is mostly in keeping the people around
them happy (Westhaver, 2011). They
cannot solve problems because their goals
rely on approval from others. These types
of people with this personality are just not
suitable. We have incompetent leadership
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all around, and a society that believes in
using quick fixes to make people happy,
rather than genuinely solving problems
(Westhaver, 2011).

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A supportive/encouraging/respectful
manager is a critical tool in companies in
order to motivate their employees. A great
manager inspires others to want to do their
best work on a consistent basis (Gilbert,
Motivate to). Everyone wants to feel valued
and appreciated by their boss. A number of
clients have lost their enthusiasm at work
because they feel unappreciated by their
managers (Horne, 2011). Employees want
to know whats in it for them. So in order
for a CEO to be successful, he/or she should
first find out the employees needs, motives,
and reasons are. The following motivational
techniques a CEO should execute would be
1) do research with your employees, ask
them what motivates them, 2) provide
appropriate reinforcement, 3) provide
flexibility, and 4) provide support and
encouragement.
For a CEO or boss they themselves
must understand their role in motivation and
what motivates his/or her employees.
Motivation is something that comes from
within the individual to prompt him to an
action (Saleem, 2007). Motivation is getting
people to do what you want them to do
because THEY WANT to do it (Saleem,
2007). A person cannot motivate anyone,
but you can create an environment that
encourages and promotes the employees
self-motivation. Motivation is the function
of individual will (Saleem, 2007).
What motivates you might not
motivate others so this is why it is a good
idea for a CEO to just ask them, talk with
them, and really listen to their needs. It is
not always about money or bonuses. For
example, one of your employees might ask
you frequently, How am I doing? or, Did
you like the way I handled that project?
This type of employee shows they want and
need recognition. Then there are others who
feel if their hard work is recognized, then it
should be considered that they are paid that
way therefore creating an incentive for those
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who might see that as an obtainable goal for
them in the future (Gilbert, Motivate to,).
The key here to is talk to your staff members
and really listen to them so you know what
they want, so you as a CEO can motivate
them by getting them involved and fulfilling
their needs.
Secondly, providing positive
reinforcement is an amazing technique to
keep people going. Reinforcement is
anything from a bonus, raise, offering new
opportunities, offering new responsibilities
etc. When someone is recognized for their
achievements, it makes them feel good
inside and gives them the desire to want to
work (Saleem, 2007). Like the employee
who wants to be recognized, pat him/or her
on the back and tell them what a fantastic
job they did! To the person who wants a
bonus, give it to them because they deserve
it! Point out the minor details as to why
they did so good, that proves you pay
attention to your staff and their individual
work.
Giving flexibility to your staff
provides a window for them to show off
their skills and their responsibility. Let them
choose things for themselves. For example,
if you are thinking of rotating the
employees work, give them the parameters
and then allow them to rotate themselves
(Saleem, 2007). People need the
opportunity to make choices themselves or
they become frustrated. A CEO must be
flexible and willing to work with people. As
a boss, you must be careful with this
motivation technique. Employees are
individuals with individual needs (Saleem,
2007). You must treat your staff fairly but
all the same. Let them have control over
how they do their work and let them be
involved in decisions that might affect them
(Saleem, 2007). Giving them choice and a
chance to make decisions is essential to
motivation.
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A boss must be encouraging and
provide support to their subordinates.
Encourage them to participate in the goal
setting process. For example, in setting a
production goal, ask your staff to come up
with a realistic monthly goal and a plan to
reach that number (Saleem, 2007). Routine
work can result in boredom, so letting them
contribute to success of the corporation and
their own success is beneficial. There is a
great deal of research to support the
contention that people who are expected to
achieve will do so more frequently than
others (Saleem, 2007). For example, go
ahead, try it, I can always depend on you.
This is exactly the remarks an exceptional
CEO would say to an employee to motivate
them to excel. Or I have confidence in you.
This makes them feel like, hey my boss
believes in me!
Showing support to your staff makes
them feel that you care. So a CEO must
care! Provide on the job training,
information, tools, and the right equipment
to do the job (Saleem, 2007). Giving them
the opportunity to help themselves helps
motivate. Provide immediate feedback that
will help staff improve their performance in
the future. Feedback is most effective when
it follows performance (Saleem, 2007).
Feedback should be relevant to the task and
should indicate to employees how they
might improve their performance (Saleem,
2007). Identify and help eliminate barriers
to individual achievement. It is the CEOs
responsibility to provide support, help,
training, or whatever it might be to support
your employees in achieving their needs and
goals on the job. Frequent encouragement is
very effective in improving the staff
performance; however, it should be reduced
as the employees become more confident
and proficient (Saleem, 2007). Nothing
turns employees off faster than a
manager/supervisor who himself does not
practice what he preaches (Saleem, 2007).
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This is why a CEO must be a role model for
their staff and must do these techniques to
practice what they preach.

References:
1) Baptiste, Jason. 2010. 14 Ways To Be A
Great Startup CEO.
http://onstartups.com/tabid/3339/bid/34321/
14-Ways-To-Be-A-Great-Startup-CEO.aspx
2) Simpson, Stephen D. 2011. Top Qualities
Of An Effective CEO.
http://www.investopedia.com/financial-
edge/0911/top-qualities-of-an-effective-
ceo.aspx#axzz2AGeiYFLD
3) Gilbert, Jackie. January 7 (n.d.).
Leadership with A Servants Heart.
4) Gilbert, Jackie. March 11(n.d.).
Leadership is Not about Getting Things
Done.
5) Constantino, Tor. 2011. Five Leadership
Lessons from Steve Jobs.
http://michaelhyatt.com/five-leadership-
lessons-from-steve-jobs.html
6) Gilbert, Jackie. March 10 (n.d.). Seven
ways to build rapport with your employees.
7) Gilbert, Jackie. June 18 (n.d.). Respect,
not reprimands.
8) Gilbert, Jackie. January 31 (n.d.). The
Perils of Accepting False Blame.
9) Westhaver, Donovan D. 2011. People
Pleasing vs Genuine Communicators.
http://dondwest.hubpages.com/hub/People-
Pleasing
10) Gilbert, Jackie. July 13 (n.d.). Motivate
to move forward.
11) Horne, Amanda. 2011. Appreciation at
Work. (Reading from our module three)
http://positivepsychologynews.com/news/a
manda-horne/2011020316300
12) Saleem, Hasan. 2007. Motivating Your
Staff.
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http://www.dirjournal.com/guides/motivatin
g-your-staff/