Dev Randhawa discusses likeability as a factor for CEO success.
Traditional wisdom says that ‘current financial performance’ often decides a CEO’s fate. But according to Forbes, in a poll of 286 organizations that have fired their CEOs, the most popular reason cited for taking this decision (at 31%) was ‘poor change management.’ This raises questions about what it takes to make a business a success. Does CEO ‘likeability’ play a role and if so, how large?
Likeable leaders
A poll of 1,935 registered US voters from Morning Consult, a media and analytics firm, shows that some of the most successful technology CEOs in the world are also some of the most likeable. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg topped the rankings with a 48% favorability rating, with Apple CEO Tim Cook following with a 38% favorability rating. Does this automatically mean that a CEO needs to be likable in order to steer their firm towards success?
Not necessarily, a Huffington Post article points out that Tim Cook’s iconic predecessor Steve Jobs was notoriously hard to work with. Yes, he was an incredibly innovative man who founded one of the most successful technology companies in history, but Jobs was also famously mean, once even berating the team behind the MobileMe project (which was an utter failure) for half an hour, before firing its leader in front of everyone. So why was Jobs such a successful leader and how does likeability come into it?
Creating a vision
Likeability is important
Jobs was able to turn Apple into an amazingly successful brand, many experts believe, because he had an overwhelming belief in the power of what he wanted to achieve. Explaining to ABC News why Jobs was a ‘visionary leader,’ his former Apple colleague John Sculley, who eventually pushed Jobs out of the company he helped to create to become its CEO, says:
“[Jobs] felt that the computer was going to change the world, and it was going to become what he called ‘the bicycle for the mind.’ It would enable individuals to have this incredible capability that they never dreamed of before. He was a person of huge vision.” In other words, it is vital that a CEO possess the vision needed to inspire people to follow their leadership.
Communication tools
But likability may play a role in how CEOs rally employees behind their vision. Sculley added that despite his difficult temperament, Jobs had a knack for recruiting the best people and often reached out to those he wanted on his team. A CEO is only as good as the people they work with and this is how their likability factors into the equation. By possessing key likeability traits, they can communicate their overarching vision for the firm to other team members effectively.
Let’s look at the ability to listen, a core CEO likeability skillset, as an example. An article on Canadian Business describes listening as “the smart CEO’s most undervalued skill,” as it allows leaders to ask effective follow-up questions to their employees. This gives the CEO the ability to present themselves as an approachable leader who works with their colleagues to make the company successful. In other words likability traits can make CEOs better managers, allowing them to get the best out of their workers to boost productivity and help the firm chart a successful path.
About Dev Randhawa
Dev Randhawa is a CEO and an expert in natural resource exploration. He is also an active blogger, whose thoughts can be read here.
