Those that navigate the chaos and seek leadership positions work hard at exploring the myths related to reaching the corner office.
Contrary to public belief, earning an MBA from an elite university is not the fastest way to reach the corner office.
In one study of 2,600 CEOs, three different strategies where used: 1)move into a smaller role, 2)”take a big leap,” and 3)inherit a mess.
Ninety-seven percent of CEOs undertook at least one of these catapult experiences and close to 50% had at least two.
As Elena Lytkina Botelho and her colleagues noted in a Harvard Business Review article wrote “The catapults are so powerful that even people in our study who never aspired to become CEO ultimately landed the position by pursuing one or more of these strategies.”
First, more than 60% of CEOs took a smaller role at some point in their career. They may have started something new within their company (by launching a new product or division, for example), moved to a smaller company to take on a greater set of responsibilities, or started their own business.
Second, more than one-third of sprinters catapulted to the top by making “the big leap,” often in the first decade of their careers. These executives threw caution to the wind and said yes to opportunities even when the role was well beyond anything they’ve done previously and they didn’t feel fully prepared for the challenges ahead.
Finally, it may feel counter-intuitive, and a bit daunting, but one way to prove your CEO mettle is by inheriting a big mess. It could be an under-performing business unit, a failed product, or a bankruptcy — any major problem for the business that needs to be fixed fast.
Accelerating your career through these catapults doesn’t require an elite MBA or a select mix of inborn traits, but it does require a willingness to make lateral, unconventional, and even risky career moves. It’s not for the faint of heart. But if you aspire to top leadership, you might as well get used to it.
Elena L. Botelho and Kim R. Powell published their research in a 2018 book The CEO Next Door: The 4 Behaviors that Transform Ordinary People into World-Class Leaders. Based on an in-depth analysis of over 2,600 leaders drawn from a database of more than 17,000 CEOs and C-suite executives, as well 13,000 hours of interviews, and two decades of experience advising CEOs and executive boards.
The authors overturn the myths about what it takes to get to the top and succeed.