You may have started your business on your own, doing everything by yourself but now you’re ready to expand and take on the mantle of the CEO you are.
There’s no perfect mix of behaviors and skills that work for every CEO. The industry sector and the individual business context determines which are most important in any particular situation. For example, a CEO in the tech field will probably need to stand out at responding flexibly to changing markets. However, this may be less important in coaching or consulting.
Some key attributes will matter more to you than others. However, there’s commonality in the mindset you need to develop, no matter what your business.
In this assessment you’ll be rating both your mindset and key skills to get an idea of the extent to which you are already thinking like a CEO and what steps you need to take to improve.
The following is a list of statements about the mindset of business owners and entrepreneurs. For each item rate how much you agree with the statement as follows:
1 = This isn’t me at all
2 = That’s rarely me
3 = That’s me some of the time
4 = That’s me most of the time
5 = Absolutely! That’s me 100%
Mindset Scores:
80-100 - You are thinking like a CEO a lot of the time. Remember to keep focused on your goals and stay out of the day-to-day operations of your business.
51-79 - You have some of the instincts of a CEO but you could develop more. Remember that you need to be focused on the strategic direction of your business and working through others to get things done on a daily basis. Perhaps you could develop your confidence more so that you’re comfortable taking the lead and setting the strategies that guide you.
50 or less - This is an underdeveloped area for you. Think about doing some training to develop your CEO mindset.
Having the right mindset is crucial when thinking like a CEO. However, thinking isn’t enough; you have to act. Three skill areas that CEOs need to master are decision-making, delegation and innovation.
Rate the following statements in the way you did before (1 to 5)
For each item rate how much you agree with the statement as follows:
Decision Making Score
21-25 - You’re making sensible decisions that are working out well for you. Don’t stop doing what you’re doing.
11-20 - You’re making decisions in your business, but they’re perhaps not always thought out. Don’t be pressurized into making a decision if you can spend a little time to gather facts. If you don’t have time, then train yourself to listen to your intuition and don’t be afraid to act on it. Always make sure you evaluate the decision after it’s been made to check you’ve made the right moves. Practice more and evaluate your progress regularly.
10 or less – Decision-making is an underdeveloped skill for you. Think about doing some training to improve your decision-making skills.
CEOs don’t necessarily make great decisions all the time, but they stand out for being more decisive. They make decisions earlier, faster, and with greater conviction. They do so consistently even when they don’t have all the facts and sometimes in unfamiliar circumstances. They may use instinct or gut feeling to make a decision when they have to act quickly but know that intuition alone won’t always lead to good decisions.
The following is a list of statements about the delegation skills of business owners and entrepreneurs.
Delegation Skills Score:
21-25 - Your delegation is working and giving you more time to act like a CEO. Don’t stop.
11-20 - You get things done in your business but you’re probably still undertaking tasks that need to be delegated. Pinpoint which can be done by someone else and find the right person, either in your team or a freelancer to outsource to. Practice more and evaluate your progress regularly.
10 or less – Delegation is an underdeveloped skill for you. Think about doing some training to improve your delegation skills.
Learning how to delegate is one of the most important skills you need to master as CEO. Accepting you can’t do everything yourself can be challenging but it’s essential if you want to have a successful, growing business.Delegation will enable you to free up time to focus on your CEO role without drowning under the weight of day-to-day tasks. There are probably many activities, which eat into your available time, which simply shouldn’t be done by you at all.
The following is a list of statements about the innovation skills of business owners and entrepreneurs.
Innovation Skills Scores:
21-25 – You’re using your creative mind to innovate and improve your business. Keep it up.
11-20 – You’re open to innovation in your business but perhaps lack confidence in your ability to be creative. Remember that you’re creating with every thought and word you speak, and the more you value and acknowledge your own creativity, the more creative you allow yourself to be. Have more faith in your subconscious mind to come up with solutions to your problems.
10 or less – Innovation is an underdeveloped area for you. Think about doing some training to improve your creativity and innovation skills.
Innovation is the lifeblood of all businesses that want to move forward. It enables you to make improvements to existing products, services, and ways of working, as well as introducing the new. In this way you can respond to customer demand and market changes and keep your busines on a growth path. As CEO, it’s your job to be open to innovation and encourage it in others through stimulating creative thinking.
Innovative Business Solutions http://www.providing-innovation.com