I am fortunate that I get to work closely and learn from successful CEOs on a daily basis. Experiencing the habits and qualities that they tune into has helped me evolve my leadership and grow this business.
Today, I am going to share a few qualities and insights that I have learned from my clients about that make them successful.
CEO Quality: She Leans into Her Numbers
A CEO with a corporate background in finance has a keen analytical mind and discipline when it comes to pausing to consult the numbers before making key decisions.
Not every CEO has this discipline – many are used to trusting their guts and making decisions on instinct. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this approach, but watching this particular CEO in action is a case study in how a great analytical mind trusts their instincts, but checks the data to make an even better decision.
She leans into the numbers in order to know what moves to make next in the business. Data is a key influence on her decision making process.
For example, in a meeting where we were discussing plans to add three new roles to the eight person team in her fast growing online education company, we talked with our HR partner about hiring full time from a contract agency instead of posting in normal channels like LinkedIN and she was will to pay the 20% to hire 1 of the 3 roles. It would result in shorter turnaround times and higher quality executive candidates to move current projects forward.
CEO Quality: He Knows His Audience
A CEO who’s on a mission to close the wealth gap for African Americans one family at a time has developed a portfolio of programs and products that serve the same audience: Black Executives.
Over the past 3 years we have helped him launch and grow 2 programs to support this mission.
He is perpetually asking himself, What else does my audience need? What’s missing? I remember in one meeting where we were brainstorming ideas for to launch the Real Estate Investment Network new that would be rolled out exclusively online — something he had never done before — he said, “I don’t need to sell this to hundreds of people – that’s not my audience. This is about small groups, quality networking and community impact – THAT is what they want.”
His success comes from knowing his audience. His audience is….
He understand what his audience needs to close the wealth gap and creates solutions for them.
Because of this intimate knowledge he has created a course to empower executives to become corporate board ready and a Real Estate Investment Network that allows members to develop the real estate investment skills to build a business.
CEO Quality: He Delegate Everything Except What He Does
The head of a mortgage brokerage with fifteen years experience building highly successful real estate teams is one of the most masterful delegators I’ve ever seen. With fifteen brokers and specialists under his leadership, I’ve watched him repeatedly hand key decisions to team members who specialize in an area that he doesn’t. This honestly about his own talents and humility about openly relying on direct reports is not only refreshing – it’s highly efficient… and shrewd, even.
A key element that worked well with this project was having a dedicated technology team member who was responsible for all deliverables. Many of our CEOs are like you, BUSY and they are looking for support to get to the desired result. This CEO is a master delegator. He delegates EVERYTHING.
He would jump in to answer a questions and a majority of the time is wasn’t the right answer. After being corrected, by his team, he would say, “See! This is why I’m not the one to answer this.”
Each of these CEOs has their own style and approach to leadership. But there are a few qualities I’ve noticed that they all share in common.
One is ruthless delegation.
This starts by accepting that you don’t know how to do ALL things.
Also realizing that you don’t want to waste time learning how to get all the things done when someone else could do it for you, leaving you to focus on bigger aspects of the business.
Once you start delegating you will notice that you get 10x more work done in your day.
Another thing I believe works well for each of these CEOs is their ability to build relationships.
They are intentional with connecting and each of these CEO is surrounded by a unique network. For example, a client who owns a mortgage brokerage sent me branded steak knives as an unexpected gift. Another client is always making valuable connection between their clients and partners. It takes time and effort to build relationships like this and this skill has contributed to to their success.
Personally, my clients are the amazing and I love working and learning with them.
I admire how humble they remain with their success. Every conversation starts with a check-in on each others life and family, before diving into business. One of our clients recently became a grandmother for the 1st time. It was great to hear how she is bonding with her new grandson. I remember when I was pregnant with my 2nd daughter and client shared with me how she navigated motherhood while growing her business.
I am thankful to have these CEOs as clients and I get so share these insights with you. How about you? What qualities have you noticed in the leaders in your life?