Too many organisations have the wrong idea about what makes the “perfect” corporate executive. Misconceived stereotypes about what makes a perfect executive can cause great harm, and therefore, debunking the stereotypes that help create the idea of the perfect business and corporate executive is truly an important endeavor. Breaking down the stereotypes could help firms see through the “Perfect Executive Mystique.
The Three Main Myths Characterizing The Perfect Corporate Executive:
- Charisma Is a Key Ingredient: Most people are likely to list qualities like ambition, being results-oriented, drive and, above all, charisma when asked to describe the perfect CEO or executive corporate officer. While charisma may be a very desirable quality in a leader, it is also correlated with narcissism. Although they may appear to be more strategically ambitious, highly charismatic leaders are often less effective when it comes to leading a team.
- The Perfect Corporate Executive Officer Never Fails: Despite our best efforts, failure is a part of life and cannot be avoided. The fundamental test of a good corporate executive and corporate office is not whether they fail, but rather how they handle failure. Many executives view and respond to failure inadvertently, making it difficult for them to learn from it. As a result, they frequently repeat their same and earlier errors.
- Perfect Corporate Officers and Executives Are, In Some Ways, “Superhuman”: The best executive officers typically distinguish themselves in four ways, every one of them boiling down to building trust: great judgement, integrity, credibility, and support. None of these qualities is miraculous, but all are traits that are displayed in great leaders.
Stereotypical characterizations of the “Perfect Executive” are easy to come by.
For many, perfect corporate executives are meant to be extroverted, self-promoting, risk-takers and optimistic by nature. The list can go on and on. But are these commonly held preconceptions actually true?
We do not think so!
Today, The Perfect Corporate Officer and Executive Conduct His Business According To The Eight Following Governing Principles:
Empathy Is Not An Asset
Empathy has been increasingly touted by management coaches since at least 2007, when Robert Sutton published an article in the Harvard Business Review outlining his “No Asshole Rule.” But it really started to become a hot workplace topic around 2020, when the pandemic blurred the lines between people’s professional and personal lives in a radically new way. Leaders all over the business world adopted empathy as a key principle for running their organizations. For most workplaces, managing with empathy has gone from an exception or a welcome perk to a minimum requirement. It’s also become a standard for driving business results.
As empathy has grown into a more common and widely desired leadership trait, alongside strategic thinking or financial acumen, experts have agreed that it can be learned. According to the empathy proponents, once that skill is developed, it becomes hard not to empathize with people.
And yet, we insist on the fact that business is not a Social Club and emotions are not a good driver to make sound business decisions.
Play Life Like a Game
The most successful people play life like a game. The biggest turnarounds in our lives often begin with a new realization. Every aspect of one’s life operate on rules and strategies and committing to mastering them is the only way to improve one’s odds of success.
Many people tend to see a game in terms of activity, like baseball, hockey, or football. They see competition, rules, challenges, and goals. But they don’t see the connection with life itself. The truth is the elements you find in any game are the same as those in real life. The only difference is the level of complexity.
What few understand is that you can play a game out of any situation in life. It is everything about figuring out the rules and strategies, mastering these rules and strategies that allow you to navigate life more effectively and, developing the skills and habits necessary to achieve your goals and overcome obstacles.
Do Not Fear Losing
You cannot always win. You will lose. It will hurt the first fifty times. When you will get used to losing, you will play each game, the game of life with less emotions. There will be less fear and you will be willing to take more risks.
Be proactive
If you’re trying to get ahead or nurture greater happiness and satisfaction in life and work, there’s a trait you may not have realized is quite so important: the ability to be proactive. Challenges are everywhere: The job market is tough, work is a struggle, stress is rampant, loneliness is epidemic, and people are polarized. But amidst all the challenges, being proactive may help. Always think through your best possible strategy. Avoid being reactive to what everyone else is doing. You will never win unless you take charge of setting the strategy.
When people are proactive, they take initiative to influence their environments and embrace personal agency. They are curious, confident and seek positive control. They make changes, act and avoid passive acceptance of their circumstances.
Optimize Every Turn
You only get a set number of turns in life. If you let a few of them slide, you will never reach your goals.
Double Down
Always push to the edge of what is possible. Always double down and put everything back in the game to grow and grow.
Pick Your Battles
In life, you might find yourself surrounded by multiples adversaries and adverse circumstances all taking swipes at you. If you swipe back at all of them, you are going to lose. If you swipe back at too many you will run out of resources. “Front Minimization” will always be your best possible strategy.
Unplug at Times
If you never unplug, you are running the risk of destroying your relationship and family life. You must unplug at times because never unplugging will eventually take up too many of your brain cycles.
Michel Ouellette JMD, ll.l., ll.m.
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J. Michael Dennis, ll.l., ll.m.
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