Why CEO Professional Development Should Be Your 2020 Top Priority
What separates top CEOs from those that are considered “average” is often the level of professional development they invest in. Being the CEO is equally a strategic position as much as it is a leadership one. Though, as the CEO, you are at the top of your organization’s hierarchy, continuing to find ways to grow and evolve is important to stay ahead of your competition and to inspire your teams to perform at their best.
In a historical sense, CEOs were once viewed as specialists who had specific expertise that could lead their organizations in one clearly-defined direction. However, with the rise of the internet and with quickly changing consumer preferences, CEOs today have to be broad generalists that are able to pinpoint ways that they can tap into consumer sentiment to carve out competitive advantage. For example, mega-retailers like Amazon have invested in expanding into other “non-retail” industries such as healthcare. With consumers becoming more informed and looking for low cost, highly convenient medical care options, Amazon is breaking into this space to capture a sizable portion of the market. In other words, they are able to take their winning e-commerce benefit (fast delivery and low prices) and apply a similar model to a new industry to secure an amazing growth opportunity. This is just one example that hammers home the importance of being able to tap into consumer trends to take your company in new directions. I’ve found the most successful CEOs that do this time and time again are those that have invested in themselves and have grown their skills to enable them to find lucrative business opportunities that may seem out of the norm to most CEOs.
So, the question becomes… “Are today’s CEOs really getting the professional development support they need to broaden their leadership and strategic approaches?”
And a recent study of 400 CEOs seems to say a profound, “No.”
More specifically, 47% of CEOs surveyed said that growing their executive team has been a challenge to secure the skillsets and expertise they need to truly propel their organization forward. And, with over 50% of CEOs acknowledging that they do not have the insights and training they need to improve their decision-making process, professional development in 2020 is a must.
Likewise, in a more in-depth CEO research survey, CEO peer group experts found that executive leaders that leverage CEO peer groups and CEO coaching often have higher rates of success and can generate larger annual growth for their companies.
If you are not receiving the leadership or organizational support you need to achieve your business and professional goals, then we invite you to learn more about The Brain Trust. Our innovative and proven CEO peer group monthly meetings give you unprecedented access to a network of successful CEOs so you can receive the right guidance you need to drive business growth and enhance your leadership skills.
