1. They put in the work.

Sharpening one's golf or tennis game three times a week is not the same as “loving the business of the business,” as one great CEO recently told me. Great CEOs have grounded assessments of their organization’s operational status, financial performance and cultural nuances.

They prioritize reading strategic updates, analyzing environmental trends, meeting with teams, and conducting their own research to make thoughtful and defendable decisions. They value being well prepared over rested. For the big conversations and decisions, perfunctory efforts are absent. 

2. People are their primary concern.

A great CEO recently told me, “I hate it when we get it wrong for even one member.” This leader’s primary focal point is on aligning efforts to maximize impact for the members, staff and community. The challenge is that being aligned is really just a temporary phenomenon and that aligning peoples’ concerns and efforts is actually the job.  

Once the board reaches alignment on a strategic conversation, it’s time to attend to the executive and management teams. Inevitably it’ll be time for another board alignment conversation because the landscape will shift. The primary orientation is the expression of a genuine curiosity about your constituents’ concerns. It is hard to demonstrate this competency if the financials are the only motivator, people can feel it. 

3. They make decisions, but not all of them.

Nothing is more frustrating to an executive team than a CEO who does not make a decision. Tony Blair said, “Once you decide, you divide.” Exploring options that appease everyone is a fruitless pursuit. 

On the other hand, frequently ignoring executives’ recommendations disempowers and discounts their expertise and ultimately their impact. I’ve seen a CEO make so many decisions that before the executives share all the relevant information and have a chance to offer a recommendation, the under-informed direction is asserted. 

There is value in empowering others to own a decision that is not 100% reflective of what the CEO would decide. They’ll execute it with greater ownership.

4. They embrace conflict and seek out accountability.

Great CEOs sniff out conflict and use it as an opportunity to create something generative. First, they own their piece of the situation, “I wasn’t as clear as I should have been” or “I need to spend more time in those discussions.”

They also hold others accountable in a manner that encourages team alignment: “The request is that you two come to a resolution that furthers our shared objectives.” This is also demonstrated throughout the year with the board, especially during the CEO performance evaluation. 

Few actions build more trust with a board than a CEO who highlights their mistakes, misses and growth opportunities. Put differently, boards notice when a CEO lacks self-awareness or only shines the light on their greatness.

5. They are mission focused.

“What we do is too important to not be genuinely and authentically mission focused; that’s rocket fuel,” a great CEO recently told me. 

That commitment is infectious because their moral compass is embodied, not paraded. Others are then more likely to see their own contributions as meaningful work and not just a job. This generates a following and the political capital to push for investments that arc toward long-term impact rather than quarterly results. 

6. They are the strategy.

Potentially the most important characteristic listed: They have a clear vision for the organization, are intimately aware of the obstacles, and have unequivocally secured and regularly reaffirmed board (and executive team) buy-in. 

They can coherently articulate the nuances of the business model and economic engine in comparison to peers and competitors. If the organization needs to be more agile, then it means CEOs cannot be afraid to pivot, admit mistakes, and encourage others to do so because “being right” isn’t really the strategy. A late and great CEO once said, “With new information comes new decisions.”

7. Leadership continuity is a top priority.

Less prevalent than CEOs having a strategic vision is having a thoughtful, digestible, and frequently consumed memorialization of the specifics of the strategy. 

Unfortunately, and more commonly, what is written down is not widely distributed or understood. Worse yet, what is documented isn’t actually the strategy. 

Great CEOs understand a winning strategy should be independent from their tenure. They encourage and support strategic board succession planning and are strong facilitators of progress and development within the executive and leadership ranks. They understand the irony of organizational continuity depends on changing what, who and how we execute. 

8. They grow, learn and get better.

As the U.S. Navy SEALs put it, "The only easy day was yesterday." Great CEOs believe tomorrow’s challenges and opportunities will require more stamina, sharper mental acuity and enhanced skills. 

The admirable drive to get better is also the culprit behind sleepless nights and mentally occupied vacations. They are frustrated when time constraints force a “good enough” decision. 

This drive also pushes them to “run through the tape” of the race, rather than begin to slow down as the finish line approaches. Another great CEO recently told me that his mentor wanted his epitaph to say, “Finally satisfied.”

In a way, each of the characteristics above necessitate and reinforce the others. It would be challenging for a great CEO to embody the strategy without also putting in the work – just like it would be odd for a great CEO to encourage internal succession planning without also having a clear idea of how they themselves have to be well-prepared for what the future holds. Great CEOs hold themselves accountable to this reality.