5 Important Habits Successful CEOs Have
As the CEO of your organization, having to manage your time to get everything done is a much-needed skill. So much so that when researchers examined what the world’s most successful CEOs do and how they structure their workdays, an interesting trend emerged. Research suggests that by leveraging these proven productivity habits could be the secret that leading CEOs of Fortune 100 companies use to maximize their efficiency and skyrocket their productivity.
Habit #1: Make face-to-face interactions a priority. Sending emails is great to document your requests or to get a quick note out to your teams. However, the most successful CEOs made a point to schedule in-person meetings. Not only does this help to build the personal connection between you and your employees, but it also reduces the timely email back and forth and possible miscommunication it may cause.
Habit #2: Make to-do lists. With so many requests coming across your desk, being able to prioritize them is mission-critical. Effective leaders create weekly, if not daily, to-do lists to help organize their priorities. When you have a clear idea of what needs to get done, you are better equipped to delegate tasks out to others. It is important to make sure that the tasks you are spending the most time on are those that will further your mission and help the business reach its strategic goals.
Habit #3: Trust those under you. Researchers found that the top CEOs spend 46% of their time working with their direct reports. This could be in the form of mentoring, delegating, or just meeting to review their progress. Leading CEOs rely heavily on and trust their subordinates. In this way, they are more confident in their teams’ abilities and are more likely to delegate tasks and help the organization achieve higher levels of efficiency and productivity.
Habit #4: Keep meetings less than an hour. Most CEOs schedule 15- or 30-minute meetings. To most this may not sound like enough time, but research shows that shorter meetings force attendees to stay focused on the topic of discussion. And, as the CEO, most of your time is spent in meetings, so finding ways to make them the most effective is important.
Habit #5: Have a good work-life balance. From the study, researchers found that leaders often worked at least 9.7 hours every workday and 3.9 hours on the weekends. Yet, despite the workload, leaders in the study made time for regular exercise and recreational activities. Finding that work-life balance is important in maintaining your stress levels and mental health. When you are stressed, you will not perform at your best and this emotional and mental drain can take a toll on your workplace environment as well.
What other habits do you do that help to increase your productivity? We would be interested to hear what works for you to perform at your best. Share your experiences and tips with us on our Facebook page here.
