Are you feeling the calling or the desire to become a C-Suite
executive?
And you're wondering exactly how do I make that a reality or a
possibility in my career path?
Well, if that's something that you're wondering, keep in mind that the
C-suite executives, it's the highest ranking executives in a company,
in a business.
And what they do is that they are responsible for the strategic
direction of the business and where things are going.
So what I wanna share with you today are some steps, some real proven
strategies on how you can make this goal a possibility for you in your
future.
And I'm gonna share it with the standpoint of having trained my
clients to do the same.
So if you're somebody who is a high potential manager right now, or
maybe you're in the director position and you're saying, well, it's
still quite a ways away, it feels like I still have a couple more
ranks to go and it's not in my immediate future or my near term
future, then the time is right now.
Whether or not you're a manager or director.
And there's a few more steps to go.
Keep in mind that if you wanna become a C-suite executive, the time
starts right now for you to already be positioning yourself that way.
You don't wait until you're a VP in the running before you begin
positioning yourself that way, because it takes time to develop that
skillset, the vernacular and the mindset as well, right?
So keep in mind that this video is for you, even if you're seeing
that, oh, this seems to be a more year, more than three years out or
more than five years out, time is now.
Just start preparing right now.
So what I'm gonna be sharing with you are five principles, which are
action steps as well on how you can tailor yourself to prepare
yourself to becoming a C-suite.
And when I share these principles, there's five of them.
I'm gonna share them with the letters of the alphabet.
So A, B, C, D, E.
So these are the ABCs of how to become a C-suite executive.
Let's start with A.
Letter A is the ability to think and plan for the future.
This is summarized in one word and the word is foresight.
Now keep in mind foresight is very different from insight.
You have insight so that you can give foresight, but it doesn't look
the other way around.
Now, foresight is when you are taking the action of understanding in
the future what will be needed.
In the future, which direction will we be going, what is, what could
possibly happen in the future?
And right now what we can do, what can we do to give ourselves the
advantage or leverage what we have now to make the future the way that
we would like it to be?
So those are examples of foresight.
And the whole thing about foresight is the ability to think and plan
for the future.
And this is why it's important because as a C-suite executive, you are
the highest ranking executive and they're turning towards you as a
leadership team to be able to plan for the strategic direction of the
whole business.
So when it comes to developing foresight, one of the most important
things is to be able to think and speak.
So those two, thinking and communicating as strategically and
principles based.
Now this is very important.
As an individual contributor and earlier on in our career paths, even
manager level and below that job level, we're so used to being the
implementer.
We're the person who does the thing.
We are hired in the business to be able to do our work well.
And so we carry out our technical expertise, the expertise that you
were trained for, either in college or through certification programs
and so on.
So you have this knowledge base and at the start of it, at the start
of your career path, it doesn't matter what industry you're in, you're
implementing that technical knowledge.
So they are relying on you to carry and hold out responsibilities to
do your tasks, to be able to meet deadlines and so on with your
implementation.
Now that's when you are kind of process driven, right?
You're focused on the process.
You gotta be able to do the work, be efficient in it, meet deadlines
and and already report your progress on here's all the things that
I've done, right?
But at the executive level, at the highest level it's not gonna be out
about processes.
So it's not gonna be about the task that you do because that's the
implementation level at the executive level, it's gonna be about what
is the strategy and therefore the principles, and this is different
cuz when you're operating on the technical level, that's very
tactical.
Think about it earlier on in your career when you first started after
college, you're gonna notice that it, everything was quite tactical.
You had to learn how to tactically implement.
But the thing about tactics is that you're right, we need the tactics,
we need to know what we're doing.
But the tactics, the tactical level only has so much influence.
It only goes so far.
We need to have strategies to understand where and when to apply the
tactics, but more importantly, we need to understand the principles so
that we can know which strategies are gonna work.
So if you are to be thinking and acting strategically and principles
based in the future, that's what gives you foresight, right?
So that is letter A, start to develop that now.
And this is a skill set.
The beautiful thing about this is that in school and the college
education and in your training as well, you've already developed the
knowledge base, you have the tactical and the technical knowledge now
it's time to develop the other half of it.
And so a lot of messages out there and social media and out there they
talk about these being the soft skills, but if you looked at it, it's
not so soft after all these skills aren't that soft, right?
These are both the interpersonal skills and the intrapersonal skills.
So it's time that you start to develop these skills, which is not so
soft skills after all because at the executive levels those matter
most and the technical tactically driven knowledge and expertise are
mattering are gonna matter less and less, right?
So that's letter A.
Letter B is biased towards thoughtful action.
Let's face it, when you're in the C-suite, your actions are not just
gonna affect your own career path.
Your actions are not just gonna give you opportunities for you and
fulfillment of your mission.
Your actions are going to affect everyone in the organization at all
the levels of management beneath you.
It's gonna create opportunities for people, it's going to elevate
morale, it's going to increase drivers and motivation as well.
So your actions, when they're thoughtful, that's when you can increase
morale and increase communication among teams and between teams as
well.
Because let's face it, when you're C-suite, you are in one of the most
vulnerable positions in the entire business.
And the reason why is because everyone's looking towards you.
All the departments, all the functional groups beneath you and all the
teams across you as well, they're gonna be turning towards you and
looking towards you because they're gonna be observing what you're
doing.
They're going to be observing what you're saying.
They're gonna be observing how you're living, how you're showing up,
and the decisions you're making as well because your decisions are
gonna affect them.
And they know that because you're at the senior most layer and level
of leadership in the business.
So they're gonna be looking towards you observing as well.
And so that's why being C-suite is one of the most vulnerable
positions.
So that's why it's even more important for you to have a bias towards
thoughtful action since they're going to be observing, since they're
going to sense it from you, whatever you decide, the strategic
direction, the activities to get us there, what the corporate
objectives are and so on in the medium term and in long term, what the
vision is going to be.
All of these things that you decide or that you have an influence in
deciding is gonna affect them, is gonna affect their day to day, is
gonna affect their opportunities that they have in their own career
paths.
So bias towards thoughtful action means what are you going to be
doing?
How are you gonna be acting?
And what's your thought behind it?
Right?
So be in the practice of thoughtful action because at this level, the
highest level in the business, you're not gonna be told what to do
anymore.
And we've come from career paths in the past where we are used to
being told what to do.
We're used to being told, here's the project that you're gonna be
managing.
We're used to being told, here's the deadline.
We're used to being told, here are the skill set that we expect you to
have.
We're used to being told here are your direct reports and here's how
you have to lead them.
We're used to being told what to do, but at the senior most level of
the business, there's no longer anyone gonna be looking over your
shoulder.
You're no longer going to be an order taker.
In fact, you're going to have to be guiding others, coaching them
towards success and they're gonna be observing you whether or not you
realize it, whether or not you are directly coaching them towards
success.
Just simply observing what you say, hearing what you say and observing
your decisions is going to be enough to be able to inspire them or
disempower them, right?
So bias towards thoughtful action is number two.
Letter C is to communicate for cohesion.
Cohesion is key because cohesion, that's what creates an environment
for high performance, high productivity and high profitability.
And these things are important in the business.
So when it comes to creating these conditions, the environment for
that it's not just about making sure people are happy at work, it's
really creating the conditions in which they can perform, conditions
in which they can thrive, and conditions in which they are
intrinsically motivated.
And that is important and you create that simply by the effectiveness
of your communication.
So one of the ways that cohesion can be carried out is to understand
what are the processes we need to have in place to be able to manage
change?
Cuz let's face it, inside the marketplace, whatever the marketplace is
for the business, the industry marketplace, there's change that is
constant.
There are new competitors coming in, there are changes in the
marketplace, changes in the economy as well.
So how are you gonna manage change?
How you can you communicate in a way that we can better manage that
change?
And it could be communication with respects to how we are going to
onboard stakeholders and build relationships with them.
It could be communication with respects to which vendors are we going
to be partnered with or communication in terms of who do we need to
hire and how do we need to structure our organization or restructure
it.
Or it could be communication in terms of where do we need to optimize
our processes, right?
So that's one example of cohesion.
Another example of cohesion is communicating with respects to how are
we going to achieve accountability and reporting as well at progress.
But also one of the most important things about communicating for
cohesion is be to be able to communicate the mission.
And the mission is a market centric mission because your business is
going to be part of a marketplace.
There's a location in the where the business is, the industry, the
marketplace that you serve, which are the clients and the customers in
that marketplace.
So what is the mission that is related to that?
And being able to communicate that mission effectively is very
important for C-Suite because your management layers all beneath you
need to understand what are we working towards?
What are the objectives?
What are our targets?
What are our, what are our, what are the commitments going to be?
And when they have that clarity, this is when they can get on board,
be intrinsically motivated because just one person, simply one person
that did not understand the mission can result in as much as 80%
reduction in productivity, right?
So that's the importance.
Communication is at the crux of creating that type of cohesion at the
C-suite.
Now, the key is to start now, because you, you're gonna see this if
you're a manager right now or a beginning director making that
transition and so on, you're gonna notice that your responsibilities
as you go up in leadership, they're going to be more and more reliant
on your ability to effectively communicate.
It's gonna be more and more opportunities for you to have high stakes
conversations and conversations where then you have more vulnerability
and more exposure as well.
So start now be proactive, because if you wait until you have the
prospects of entering the boardroom, then it's already too late.
You're gonna be scrambling to be able to develop those skill sets,
right?
So here's what I have for you.
If you are listening to this, you're resonating with it, you're
nodding as well, and you're recognizing the gaps in your own
communication, then I invite you to work with me.
I have experienced coaching and mentoring individuals who have that
goal of stepping into higher levels of leadership.
And every single week I have opportunities to mentor and guide you on
situations to help you improve your communication skills, hone your
ability to deliver a message as well, and connect with your audience,
build meaningful relationships.
So if you are somebody who's serious about that, then I invite you to
click the link below.
In this video, in the description, there is a link for you to apply
for executive coaching and communications mentoring from me.
And if that is something you're serious about, click the link below
and I look forward to seeing you on the inside.
Letter D is decision making.
In a business, there are hundreds of decisions that go on every single
week when it comes to decision, it's important that your decisions are
taking into consideration the data at hand and being able to take into
consideration the risk involved.
So when making decisions as an executive, it's important to be able to
exude three things.
Number one, to exude confidence when making that decision.
When you exude confidence, that's when people trust that you have the
best interest of mine.
That's when they are able to understand that you know how to make that
decision.
And you know what you're talking about.
When you exude that confidence, they can be at rest and calm knowing
that you are a confident leader and that you are confident in your own
abilities.
So the people see you the way you see yourself.
So if you exude confidence and you feel confident and you understand
your powers and where your strengths are, then they will have that
confidence in you as well.
So that's number one when you decide to exude confidence.
The second thing is in decision making to exude objectivity.
Now, when you exude objectivity, this is when you are most authentic.
When you are objective about it, that's when they know that you're not
driven by emotions, you're not driven by impulsive instincts, you are
driven by data, you're driven by understanding what the vision is.
You're driven by objectivity.
So that means that you are not in judgment, that you are be able to
see all the different scenarios.
You are able to see all the different things that could come happen
and you understand what all the different outcomes could be.
And that what's, that's what makes you objective.
And the third thing to exude when making decisions is to exude
stability.
When you exude that level of a level of stability, if what gives your
audience, which is the people beneath you, your staff members, your
team members as well, when you exude stability as an executive leader,
that's when they have a certainty about you.
They know that that's what you, how you give them a level of
predictability of what's gonna come next.
And they can feel calm and rested in your presence and especially in
your leadership.
Because individuals who are stable, that's when you have a command on
your own emotions.
That's when you have self-governance within you and that's when you're
clear on and being aware of how you are showing up in front of other
people.
And so that is stability.
When you exude these three things, confidence, objectivity, and
stability in your decision making, that's when you can elevate your
leadership onto the C-suite executive level.
And once again, start now.
You may be the kind of person where you realize that in my career
right now as a manager, there aren't very many decisions I'm involved
in.
Or you might be thinking there aren't very, very many meetings that
have decisions on executive direction and I'm not part of those
meetings.
Right.
But make no mistake about it.
No matter your job level right now in management or in directorship,
there are decisions you are making.
So you gotta already begin, be beginning to exude these qualities,
begin to drive decision making in that manner and start now.
And letter E is emotional governance.
That's the last one.
Emotional governance.
So what is emotional governance?
Emotional governance is the path towards mastering yourself.
When you master yourself, this means you have control over your
emotions.
Your emotions do not control you.
And let's face it, there's a lot of volatility in business as,
especially in the economy, there's a lot of volatility with these
fluctuations that go up and down.
Sometimes projects don't go the right way.
Sometimes profitability goes up and down as well.
And with all of that volatility, sometimes the emotions can be equally
as volatile.
And make no mistake about it, when you show up and you are
self-governed, you are manager of your own emotions.
So you have that level of reflective self-awareness, you come across
confident as well.
You come across objective too.
And back in my previous point, you have that stability too.
So when it comes to emotional governance, it's important that every
decision you make, every conversation that you have, that you have
your control over your emotions, it doesn't mean that you don't feel
them.
The anxieties, the fears, the concerns, right?
The anger, maybe sometimes frustrations.
It doesn't mean you don't feel the emotions, it just means you have
governance over them.
And it also means that you are somebody who's constantly growing with
respects to the way that you are aware of what you've been feeling and
where those feelings that emotions come from.
And also to be able to take your personal development journey to the
highest level as well.
Cuz when it comes to journeying from where you are, right, right now,
from manager to director to VP and C-suite, that journey itself, yes,
it is a career journey.
Yes, it is career growth, and yes, it's going to be your journey
towards vocational confidence.
But the essence underlying all of this journey is this is also your
personal development journey as well.
And you can't do one without the other.
You can't just focus it on developing skill sets without understanding
the personal journey behind it.
So remember I mentioned at the start of this conversation was that it
is an interpersonal skill, but it's also an intra personal skill.
If you forgot what I said, then go back to the start of this
conversation and rewind it and watch, listen to it again, right?
So there's interpersonal skills, which is the communication, which is
building relationships between people, but more importantly, side by
side.
There's also intra personal and intra means within.
So these are the the skills within you, and that is emotional
governance.
So those are the five principles, which are your action steps to
becoming a C-suite executive.
So if this resonated with you and you learned something out of it,
gimme a thumbs up, but also comment below because I wanna hear from
you.
And if you haven't done so already, I invite you to become a
subscriber to my YouTube channel.
Every week I talk about these types of topics and so much more.
And if you've had found value out of this and you're wondering, well,
how do I become that person?
How do I uplevel my performance?
Then in the next video, I have more content for you and this, these
are five steps, five keys, how you can become an A player for your
organization.
That video is coming right up next.