Why soft skills matter in great CEOs

What makes a great CEO? That would be the question on the mind of anyone with this ultimate career aspiration. It makes sense to strive for this top position, especially when someone has a desire to be successful in leading something big, wanting greater responsibilities and have greater pay. But, what measures the success of a great CEO and how does someone get there?

The answer to this can vary depending on the person being asked but most would agree that there is something about great CEOs that undeniably makes them so. Usually it’s indescribable. Most times they are just great leaders who easily have a command over a situation and no one really knows why.

But there are three key qualities which are generally agreed upon…perhaps surprisingly for some it’s the soft skills that count over technical ability.

Vision

The success of a company is often dictated by the shared vision behind it. This vision is often created, shaped and nurtured by the CEO who needs to think about and plan the future of a company with foresight, imagination and wisdom. It is up to the CEO to provide guidance, clearly articulating what everyone is doing in a company, why they are doing it and helping the employees to become passionate about the journey. Anything less than this is managerial and not coming from a leadership position.

People Skills

Sometimes one of the most under-rated yet vital skills for any high level executive position, the ability to communicate effectively with people. Ask anyone who interacts continually with a CEO what they admire most and most probably the answer will be how he or she works with other people. The culture of a company relies heavily on how employees perceive the executives, and the skills usually include being able to listen, persuading or collaborating in a way which is inclusive. A great CEO usually has the emotional intelligence to understand this and will intuitively know how to weave their magic through a network of people that make up an organisation which will influence the direction of the company in the most effective way.

Trust

Naturally this will come if a CEO has articulated a vision which has motivated and inspired a company’s employees but the trust needs to be also extended the other way around. Great CEOs have faith in the team environment, encouraging others to step up, willing to share authority but take the ultimate responsibility for any decisions made. A culture of trust underpins the foundation of any organisation, without it, the team becomes dysfunctional and weakens the potential of any company.