A guest columnist from the Association for Consulting Expertise takes on a reader’s question about why successful businesses founders do and don’t become successful chief executives.
Get Instant Access to This Article
Subscribe to Mainebiz and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
- Critical Maine business news updated daily.
- Immediate access to all subscriber-only content on our website.
- Bi-weekly print or digital editions of our award-winning publication.
- Special bonus issues like the Mainebiz Book of Lists.
- Exclusive ticket prize draws for our in-person events.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
Q: How do I know if I have what it takes to run a successful company?
ACE Answers: All founders have CEO potential. However, it takes a different skill set to start a company than it does to run a company. Founders must be deliberate about their growth.
For early-stage founders, finding white space to think and determine where to scale (both individually and organizationally) can be nearly impossible. But leadership and executive growth are necessary parts of a founder’s job.
When founders stay mired in the day-to-day, they have difficulty figuring out the next best decision for the company or where to grow. Founders with a fierce desire to scale their individual capacity can partner with a certified executive leadership coach to enhance awareness and discover their own paths to success.
Executive leadership coaching is used today by executives all over the world to help enhance their impact. If both coach and client are committed, coaching has a significant return on investment, offering a whole host of benefits to both the founder and their organization.
Executive coaches, for example, help founders:
- Gain clarity about their mission, vision and values
- Incorporate vision and values into company culture
- Recognize individual and organizational blind spots
- Improve hiring decisions, retention, and teamwork
- Communicate more clearly with stakeholders and customers
The first years of company growth are critical to a company’s success, leaving founders under intense pressure to invest their time and resources wisely. Founders who grow their executive capacity and leadership skills, while concurrently building operational and commercial systems, cultivate successful, values-aligned cultures. As a result, the next time a founder wonders if they have what it takes to run a profitable company, they can be sure the answer is yes.
For more on this topic, read Cassie’s post on the ACE Blog at consultexpertise.com/blog/12582288.
Cassie Crosby is a certified Executive Leadership Coach and founder of Iterata Solutions, which helps leaders design and implement a purpose-driven vision of leadership that amplifies their authentic voice and aligns with their unique gifts and values. Cassie can be reached at cassie@iteratasolutions.com.
