Attributes of Successful Change Leaders

CEOs in the modern world should have a global mindset willing to embrace and execute change. There should be consistency in the best practices and ability to adapt to the latest technology .They should be critical about the volume against value with a focus on strategic perspective .CEO in this era needs to anticipate, challenge, interpret, decide, align and learn. The emphasis has to be on the balance between today's performances with the future opportunity through right strategy at times of uncertainty. The life blood of any business is the new ideas and business proposition for future. They should have an ambidextrous mind with finesse.

An empirical research concludes the key traits of highly successful CEOs.

Decisiveness and copious Curiosity with Novelty:
The ability to efficiently execute the plan of action is an important aspect in gaining competitive advantage .Being decisive is considered to be of highest priority in leadership role. The stock prices of a publicly listed company is a function of quality of business decision. It has a profound impact on the survival and plays a pivotal role in the growth trajectory of the company.

CEOs of modern era constantly encapsulate the big picture. Their relentless questioning leads to new opportunities. Passionate curiosity motivates them to know more about the businesses they operate. Andrew Cosslett, the former C.E.O. of the InterContinental Hotels Group. Says "In every business I've worked in, there's been a lot of cost and value locked up in things that are deemed to be 'the way we do things around here.' Curiosity is ingrained in their genes and constantly ask questions like What, Why, when where and How.

Confidence with Intrepedation:
An individual's ability to handle adversity is important trait of a successful CEO.They never cower under pressure. Their work ethics drives them forward. They have extreme locus of control with positive attitude, determination and sense of purpose with temerity. Lakshmi Narayan Mittal took risk of relocating to Indonesia and this was the start of his successful entrepreneurial journey of becoming global steel magnate Ability to take surprising career moves to learn new skills makes them even more successful. They are the risk takers who come out of their comfort zone to bring about change and serve to attain the vision, mission and larger purpose of the company. One of the key attribute of fearlessness is the ability to spot opportunity and pursue them with passion .They have the ability to read people and know the essence of fidelity. While assigning the team roles and responsibilities they are aware about the strengths and weakness of their team members. They are constructively tough minded who are optimistic about the future when they pursue new opportunities.

Smart Team Management Skills:
Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault Nissan is an exemplary case of a CEO who set up the best team in order to execute a turnaround across two continents cross culturally. The first step was identifying the issues leading to losses like payment of $ 1 billion as interest exacerbated the financial stability , then setting up a cross functional team ,handpicking nearly 20 senior executives who could act as a catalyst for change .This helped to expedite the change management strategy .Reliability is an important aspect. They have the peripheral vision and care about people's action and reaction. It is this ability to spot the players in team with high potential and align them towards common purpose that differentiates from others. They know how to mobilize people who are not direct reports. There is an intuitive ability to read other's emotions effectively and are pragmatically inclusive.

A Simple flexible Mind-Set:
They have the clear idea about what they want and how to achieve the goals. They never loose sight of the bigger picture .CEO considers the different areas of the organization and figures out how to fit the overall vision and mission of the company with the plans.. Take the example of Prof Bill George. He joined Medtronic with no experience in medical devices. But through his flexible mindset and tenacity to serve humanity he saw market potential with true purpose. During his tenure as a CEO the company scaled up its revenue by multiple folds reaching $ 45 Billion .Most often people are asked to be succinct and it takes lot of training and effort to be good at executing the best plans for the company. One should be more discern and go beyond PowerPoint presentations to convey their ideas and endeavor .There is a greater premium put on the asking key smart questions, venturing into untapped potential, synthesizing and connecting dots in new ways .They are accountable towards stakeholders and also constantly contribute to the bottom line through well crafted strategy where the company is a winner. With forward looking personality and clear thought process at the time of uncertainty inexorable CEO brings about a profound change.

Adaptability with excellent communication skills:
Being adaptable is an indispensible quality in this precarious competitive world where innovation is the byproduct of the competition. General Electric was created by Edison to organize and produce his electric inventions. Today it's a diversified conglomerate manufacturing, hybrid locomotives, gas engines, chemical sensors and ultra-sound devices, HD CT scanners. Similarly International Business Machines Corp. IBM, were in the business of selling commercial scales, punch card tabulators, commercial scales enormous mainframe computers and calculators. Their diversification strategy has taken them to produce software and also to providing consulting and IT services. Modern CEOs are also excellent communicators who constantly remind their team about the mission and vision of the company with ability to adapt to changing environment. The customer centric approach is imperative and offers an important perspective when establishing the organization objectives giving customers a reason to come back. Focus is on value proposition which yields dividend on a long run.