From an early age, we learn to think that the position of CEO is beyond our reach, that it’s almost mythological. We are told that if we do not have a certain background, a certain appearance or certain personality traits, we will never reach this much sought-after position. We convince ourselves that this is not for us, that we are normal people, whilst Chief Executive Officers are extraordinary human beings.
This type of story has existed since the beginning of time, and especially now, in the era of communication, we are constantly exposed to stories of strong characters such as those of Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk: charismatic and extrovert types, who have skills far superior to those of ordinary mortals and who, thanks to their tenacity and intrepid natures, have managed to change the world around us.
However, if we take a moment to look beyond these media figures, we will notice that there are many CEOs and managers who do not display such traits. These people are much more similar to the common man, they look much more like us. So why don't we hear about this type of person more often? No doubt the media prefers to talk about extravagant personalities like the ones mentioned above, and to focus mainly on the CEOs of companies in the Fortune 500 set.
If we broaden our horizons and take a wider spectrum of companies into consideration , then we notice that the characteristics of a leader begin to converge with those of the common man. For this purpose, a study into the leaders of over 2600 large companies was carried out. The analysis of the data collected shows us that the characteristics that make someone a good CEO are not so rare, and that managers with the highest levels of performance are much more similar to our idea of a normal person rather than a super human.
So, at this point, we can begin to go about identifying these characteristics, identifying the personality types who have the potential to become great leaders, and make the process by which we select our executives more equal and fair.
