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July 25, 2005
CEOs are humans as well
Are CEOs human? They are celebrities, for sure, at least in some parts of the world.
Ask any senior manager, or even CEO, whom he or she is aspiring to, and for sure, the answer will be Jack Welsh, former CEO of GE. But hey, times have changed, even at GE, and Jeffrey R. Immelt, his successor, shows a much softer side - does he really? May be he is just developing his own agenda or footprint.
Anyway - Robert Sutton, professor of management science and engineering at Stanford University now says that CEOs are faking it badly.
They only appear to be confident - but even great CEOs often have no clear idea where they are going, or make mistakes.
But then - everybody makes mistakes, right? Only, that the notion is important HOW you take mistakes, anyway - as a devastating feature in your life, or a learning opportunity? The impact of a wrong decision by a CEO is mostly bigger, however, than that of someone, like, for example me.
Whatever it is - CEOs might be not as invincible as it might seem in the professor's opinion. Still, they are not alone in shaping a company's future, and lucky for all of us, they are controlled (or should I say, should be controlled) by their Board of Directors, or even shareholders who can sell shares in the company or employees who can leave to greener pastures.
They shape a company's course by may be having the last say in a major decision, but there are many voices that are involved in a company.
In the end, we are all human. Only that some are more in the public light than others.
Posted by Andreas at July 25, 2005 12:50 PM