Many of you reading this are Presidents of closely held businesses. You could have assumed this role in a variety of ways. Some of you may have started the business from scratch, building your business, through years of hard work and low pay. Others of you purchased an ongoing business and became an instant president while some of you successioned to the position as the next generation of a family business. Whatever route you took to the presidency, I will venture to guess that for most of you this is the first time you have this title or position.
I have been working with presidents of closely held businesses for many years. Prior to that, I was the president of my own manufacturing company. One day, I was giving a seminar on value creation when one of the participants made a very profound statement. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that what he said applied to myself, to most of my clients, and very likely to most of you reading this. Our companies employ professionals such as engineers, accountants, personnel managers, and inventory control specialists who are highly trained to perform their jobs. That fact enables us to rest assured that these tasks are being done correctly. But, what about us presidents? Who trained us? As that person in my seminar said, “No one ever taught me how to be president”.
There are classes and programs available in management theories and techniques. We can get degrees in business from just about any university. Yet, there are no degrees in the presidency. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard from a company president, I was a pretty darn good engineer or accountant or salesman but here I am as president without any formal training or experience.
What makes a president a star?
Considering all of the really outstanding and successful presidents, this nearly universal lack of formal education or training for becoming a president does not affect everyone the same. This fact, along with the comment from that person in my seminar, really made me think. Even if there were courses and training for presidents, would it really make a difference? Can someone actually learn how to be an effective president from attending a class? What really enables the star presidents? Why do some struggle so hard trying to be successful while others move effortlessly through their day? How have some been able to overcome their lack of training? And if there was training available could presidents learn to become stars?
I began to think of the star presidents I have worked with. Is there something that they all share? If it isn’t training, then what is it? Do they share some basic traits and attitudes that provide them with the “right stuff” that could be more important than training? One thing seemed certain, they are not out of the same mold or the same background. I have seen MBA’s that made terrible presidents and high school dropouts that were very successful. All-star presidents do not look, act, dress, or talk alike.
As I thought about them, there seemed to be four really strong traits that they all shared. Individually, some of those traits seemed basic and obvious but the combination of the traits is what appears to make them so powerful. The first trait is probably the most obvious one as well. All of the star presidents I thought of are strong leaders. It isn’t that they all share the same leadership styles, it is simply that each in their own style, are the type of leader that their employees believe in and feel comfortable following.
The second trait I found was that each of the star presidents had strong ambition and drive. So strong in fact, that many possess this trait to an extreme. It is their ability to control and direct that drive that really sets them up to be stars. They are able to maintain their focus in spite of the temptations to drive forward too quickly or in too many directions.
One of the key roles of a president in a closely held business is to set the vision for the company. The third trait is that star presidents have the ability to see the big picture and to move above the day to day operations. They can take a “30,000 foot view” of their business, its industry, and its environment. They have the ability to see beyond today’s problems to tomorrow’s potential.
The fourth trait could be the one that really separates the stars from the rest of the pack. Star presidents are able to take their visions and turn them into reality. They are able not only to see things from the “30,000 foot level” but they are also able to make the idea into reality.
There are many thinkers and dreamers but not that many who can implement the dream.
Most presidents possess one or more of these traits. It is the stars that possess them all. But is that all it takes to be a star president? We have all seen or know presidents who have had no training but who possess these traits to be successful and perhaps even a star president? Ask yourself if someone with these traits could become an even stronger president with training? And if so what training would you suggest? Let me know if you agree with the traits and your thoughts on training.
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