P & L RESPONSIBILITY

Unless you are a business major, many individuals enter the business world without having an understanding of this financial term. P&L is an acronym for Profit & Loss. To put it simply, when a position has P&L responsibility, such a position drives revenue (money earned through selling a product or service) and manages expenses (money spent to make a product or produce a service).

A "Profit" is when revenues are greater than expenses; a "Loss" is when revenues are less than expenses. Of course, the goal of a company is to make a Profit.

A CEO, being at the highest level of a company, is responsible for the overall P&L of an organization. Often times, large companies produce multiple products or services and each of those products/services may have a different person responsible for the P&L for that product/service; in such an organization multiple people will have P&L responsibility over their respective product/service but only the CEO has P&L responsibility for the entire company. Having the experience of being responsible for the P&L of a physical product or a service line is often critical to becoming qualified to assume the role of CEO. The earlier in your career that you can obtain this experience, the easier it will be to find your way through the maze to CEO. Becoming responsible for P&L does not come easily; most people work a number of years before they are granted this opportunity. However, for anyone considering the possibility of becoming a CEO someday, keep this responsibility in mind as an important component of your career.

Having P&L responsibility in your career is a significant accelerator if you are seeking the CEO position.

HAVING MENTORS

There is so much value to be said of good mentors that it is difficult to know where to begin. A good mentor will be able to guide you down the right paths of the CEO maze or, at a minimum, keep you from going down a dead-end path. Most individuals have several mentors during their career.

The issue in question is not whether or not to seek a mentor but more about how to seek the “right” mentor. Keep in mind that a good mentor should know the ins-and-outs of the business you are in; be resourceful in making other contacts for you; be willing to teach you what is difficult to learn on your own; and be honest in providing you advice and feedback. A mentor should also be trustworthy in maintaining any confidences you have shared with them and someone with whom you feel you can connect. Identifying and finding a good mentor can help you through the maze of possibilities in your career.

As a new college graduate in your initial assignment with an organization, it will take some time to evaluate the “players” who might be the right mentor for you. In some organizations, you may be assigned a mentor. However, matches of mentors with the person being mentored are not always perfect. The good news is, as is true with many things in life, mentor assignments do not have to be in place forever. However, if you believe you are not connecting with the mentor assigned to you, you will need to use great tact in changing from one mentor to another. Most organizations only provide mentor assignments to individuals who already have some proven track record with the company; you do not want to alienate someone who may rise in the organization and whom you may someday need as a Supporter/Promoter (see role of Supporter/Promoter).

If you are not automatically assigned a mentor, the best course of action is to study the “playing field” to identify one and ask that person if they will be a mentor to you. You will ultimately want to find an individual who is an “up and comer”– this is important because they may be in a position someday to advance your career.

Mentors can change as you grow and develop. Even so, remember not to lose contact with a good mentor.

SAYING "YES" TO CHALLENGES

Senior leaders are looking for people who are both willing and able to solve complex problems-often under tight timelines. Those who are more apt to say yes to a challenge and then do what it takes to succeed (within company policy, legal and regulatory parameters) are more often promoted quickly as they are viewed as “can-do” kinds of employees.

The best reaction to being asked to take on a difficult assignment is to respond in a positive manner even if you may not know how to solve the problem initially; a good comment in this situation is to state, “Let me look into that and see what we might be able to do.” Your goal is to ensure that management knows you will study possible solutions and either get back to them with a recommendation or, if it is within your purview, you will move forward to implement a solution. Once you say yes, you will need to rely on successfully practicing some of the 17 traits to solve a problem and implement a solution. In the end, you want to be the person senior management looks to when they need a problem solved. Being that person is an accelerator to the path of a CEO.

Become known as the “go-to” person early in your career. Being a person who is not afraid of taking on a difficult assignment is an accelerator as opposed to being someone who always finds reasons why something can’t be done when asked to take on a challenging assignment; such behavior can become a staller or even a derailer.

SURROUND YOURSELF WITH A SUPPORT SYSTEM

Being an individual committed to a successful career is not easy. There will always be unexpected meetings, deadlines, unforeseen problems, colleagues or leaders who are difficult to deal with, and some aspects of your position that you may not always enjoy. Many of these issues will become an interruption to your personal life, both in terms of time and your emotional wellbeing. Having a support system is an important tool for navigating these challenges.

It is not unusual to become over-whelmed with stress and frustration. One of the most common realizations of moving up in an organization is feeling that you have less people in whom to confide. Many CEOs indicate that being a CEO is a “lonely job” in that they have no one left in the organization with whom they can share their thoughts, much less their frustrations. A support system made up of special individuals outside of the organization can be the difference between being able to manage your problems and giving up on your dream of becoming a CEO.

Having a good relationship with a mentor is part of a support system, but sometimes you need individuals beyond a mentor--you need family members, other women in business who understand what you are going through and friends who are good listeners and have a positive aspect on life. These are individuals who will help raise you up when you are feeling overwhelmed, become a sounding board when you are faced with difficult decision or simply be there to hear you vent.

Having a support system becomes particularly important if you choose to have children. Many women indicate that they could not have kept up the fast pace required of someone wanting to continue to take on greater and greater career responsibilities if, after having children, they did not have a support system in place for their children. It is impossible to keep up with the demands of a growing career while at the same time also taking a major role in raising children; both are huge responsibilities, with each requiring a significant commitment of time. This doesn’t mean you can’t do both--you just can’t do both with stellar results at the same time, as one or both will likely suffer. There are only so many hours in one day and most women will need to identify a support system if they want to have children while continuing to be on a fast-paced career track. Many female CEOs do have children and had them during very demanding times in their career. However, most had a child support system in place to help them in raising their children typically that being a spouse/partner, a family member, or an outside child-care provider.

It is important to remember that the most successful CEOs did not get to the top without a support system; taking the time to develop a network of people who care about you and will support you when you need it will be invaluable to you at any stage of your career and your life.

PRACTICING THE 17 TRAITS

Becoming aware of and developing the 17 traits associated with successful CEOs is a huge accelerator. However, quite frankly, it would probably be difficult to find many CEOs who are able to demonstrate all of these traits at a highly effective level. With that being said, an awareness of each of them is critical. If a CEO recognizes a trait that is not a great strength of theirs personally, they will often surround themselves with someone who excels in this trait.

Our goal in communicating these traits to you is for awareness, although there is not a downside to having any of these traits. Contrarily, the absence of a number of the traits could be a staller. That is why being open to feedback from managers, mentors and supporters is often invaluable. You will benefit from working with people who are good at identifying strengths and weaknesses and who are willing to tell you what they see in you.

Having an awareness of the traits found in successful CEOs is important; becoming proficient in the traits will be an accelerator for you. Beware that the absence of a number of the 17 traits can be a significant staller. Having a blind spot that everyone else can see but you is one of the greatest risks that can prevent you from finding your way through the maze of CEO. One of the greatest risks of not finding your way through the maze of becoming a CEO is the potential to have a blind spot that everyone else can see.

TAKING ON AN UNEXPECTED NEW ROLE

Sometimes you may be asked to take an unexpected new role that you might believe to be “unimportant” to your career growth and question if it is challenging enough for you. Some individuals do not appreciate that a successful CEO needs to be versed in many aspects of the business. Taking a staff role or multiple staff roles during a career is often a critical component to understanding all of the ins-and-outs of a business.

Although line positions are “where it happens”, without staff positions, it likely can’t happen. CEOs who have only held line roles may not appreciate what is necessary to keep a business running efficiently. Finance, human resources, legal, government & public relations, information technology, engineering and supply chain are some of the staff functions that are all critical to a successful business although do not necessarily directly touch the product or the customer.

If you have a good Supporter/Promoter and Mentor, trust that they are not leading you astray when recommending you take a staff role to round out your career experiences. The path to a CEO contains a multitude of unexpected turns.

TAKE A "SEAT AT THE TABLE"...LITERALLY

When companies hold meetings in conference rooms, too many times women do not want to appear presumptuous about believing they are important enough to take a seat “at the table”; this is a huge mistake made by many women. Always remember, sitting at the table and not on the sidelines is an indication of self-confidence; it demonstrates to those around the table that you want to be a participant in the discussion and possible decisions taking place.

However, on the other side of this equation it is also important to avoid an awkward and potentially embarrassing situation by sitting in the “wrong” seat at the table. Having knowledge of sitting in the right and wrong seats allows you to make a good choice of where to sit and not be left out of the “inner-circle”. To understand this, the following paragraphs are a primer in how participants in a meeting are often seated.

By way of background, many meetings are held in a conference room where typically there is a main table and, if there are more people invited to a meeting than there are chairs at the table, additional chairs will be placed away from the table and frequently around the perimeter of the room against the wall. If the conference room table is rectangular, often the highest ranking person at the meeting is seated either at one of the heads of the table or in the center of one side of the table; some leaders like to sit in a position to face the door of the room to view who enters or exits while others like their back to a door as they find it distracting to see people entering and exiting. It is not unusual that the direct reports of the most senior person in the meeting who are also in attendance at the meeting will sit in close proximity to the leader. If the table is round or square, it is common that the highest-ranking person will have established their “favorite” seat; specifically where that seat is depends upon the person. There is no one pattern of seating that is universal from company to company; different leaders at different companies seem to establish their own protocol for this. Furthermore, if there is one primary person making a presentation at the meeting, this person will frequently sit across from the highest-ranking person or, if the person is making a presentation while standing, the person making the presentation will stand at the front of the room, particularly if there is a slide presentation being made. If you are new to a company, it will serve you well to understand if there are established “rules-of-thumb” regarding seating and presentation arrangement before you attend your first several meetings and/or make your first presentation; in some companies, you may find no pre-existing “etiquette” exists.

Once you understand the seating protocol, if any, of where some of the participants will be seated, it is now your turn to take a seat. When you are a participant in the meeting, unless you have been assigned a seat, it is important to take a seat at the conference room table and not a seat against the wall; you want to be front and center regarding any discussions that take place and, by sitting at the table you will more likely be viewed as a “player” in the meeting. Additionally, it is much easier to make any points you want to make if you can look others in the eye and not have someone’s back facing you. To get a seat at the table, you need to get to the meeting before all of the seats are taken.

Finally, if the meeting you are attending is in a classroom or theater type setting and chairs are situated to all face the front of the room, do not take a seat in the back. Always sit near the middle to the front of the room (although not the front row); again, it demonstrates your level of interest in the subject being presented and more easily facilitates your participation if the opportunity arises.

Remember, take a seat at the table whenever you can to demonstrate your self-confidence and your desire to be involved in the meeting.

BEING OPEN TO FEEDBACK

Having insight about your impact and being open to feedback about your impact is an accelerator to your career. If you are fortunate, you will receive feedback throughout your career. If it doesn’t happen naturally, you will want to seek feedback from your manager and possibly your internal and external clients as well. This can happen in a casual or more formal way. If you are serving external clients, you will want to discuss this idea with your manager to confirm that it is appropriate to seek their feedback.

When someone provides you with feedback on a behavior that needs to change, listen carefully and ask clarifying questions. The goal for you, on the receiving end, is to have the other person “paint a picture” of the problem behavior and, ideally, the preferred behavior. This level of granular clarity will help you understand exactly where you are missing the mark and what would be better. You might have a natural tendency to move through the conversation quickly as the discussion might make you uncomfortable. Fight this urge and stick with it long enough to gain as much insight as possible from the person who is taking their time to help you. Your willingness to encourage someone to describe in great detail your opportunity for improvement (AKA your weakness) is an accelerator, particularly when done in a relaxed and conversational manner.

The greatest obstacle to gaining a complete understanding of your opportunities for improvement is two-fold. The first problem is that most of us simply don’t want to hear the negative feedback about ourselves as it doesn’t feel good and, secondly, we often have a natural defense mechanism whereby we want to justify and defend our current behavior. What is much more effective is to shift from defensive to appreciative; receiving advice that will help us be more successful is a gift. Meaningful feedback will not only help you learn about what could be a blind spot, but will also send the message that you are serious about your growth and that you are coachable.

Being unwilling to seek and to hear feedback is often the kiss of death for people with potential to move ahead as too often egos get in the way. You don’t want to go down a dead end in the maze of becoming a CEO. You can go a long way by exceeding in meeting your goals, but there may be an edge or a pattern of behavior that is problematic enough — even if subtle — that will keep you from going the distance. Remember, every Olympic athlete has a coach who is helping them leverage their strengths and minimize their relative weaknesses. Being open to feedback and being responsive to it will make you a better leader and help you avoid getting lost in the maze.

DERAILERS

What is a derailer? It is action that not only keeps an individual from attaining the CEO role, but often results in not remaining employed by a company. Depending upon the severity of the action, the individual who committed the action may be permitted to remain in an organization, but will likely be placed in a role that will not lead to ever assuming a CEO position. Sometimes the occurrence of these actions may result in the individual being asked to leave the organization.

Some of the actions that become derailers include but are not limited to committing illegal actions (stealing and lying are a few examples), misconduct (sexual harassment, insubordination, bullying and unethical conduct are a few examples), violating company policies, inadequate performance in meeting the goals of a position and being under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. Some individuals who are terminated from an organization for any of these reasons may find it difficult to obtain other opportunities in any organization that could lead to a CEO position.

A derailer can follow an individual for many years. Most organizations do not want an individual on their executive team who has been terminated for any of the above stated reasons. A rule of thumb is that if you don’t want others to know of an action you are contemplating, don’t do it.

DON'T BE AFRAID TO "BE A WOMAN"

Sexism has held women back for years and there are still male leaders in business who see women as “less capable” than their male counterparts. Some women actually believe they need to be “less feminine” in order to prove that they are capable of being a leader. The fact of the matter is that some people will always hold biases; to be successful, you will need to be able to deal with this issue. Being petite, wearing pink, or wearing high heels does not prevent you from being a successful leader.

It goes without saying that an outright physical encounter or discrimination should immediately be reported to your supervisor or to a representative in the human resource department. However, it is also important for you to be able to know the difference between men who cross that line and those who want to intimidate you because they believe that since you are a woman, they can make you feel less powerful than you are.

When faced with intimidation in the workplace, you have a number of options. You can casually have a conversation with the individual to let them know you are aware of what they are trying to do but not let it bother you by keeping a confident and positive attitude. You can confront it head-on with a firm message to the person that you will not tolerate their comments and behavior towards you. Or you can blow it off and completely ignore it and not let it impact your determination to continue to be a high performer.

In the end, the workplace in which you will need to be successful will not always be fair and easy, and you will likely confront sexism from some individual during your career. Your goal is preserve despite it and not let it overwhelm you; you must have the confidence to manage your way through it. However, if the organization in which you are working regularly condones sexism and intimidation (yes, they do exist) and it is not just an issue with one difficult co-worker, maybe it is not an organization where you can rise to the top and you will need to find a place where sexism is not the norm.

Being able to manage sexism is a powerful tool for women in the workplace. We may wish it wasn’t a reality of life, but it is and we cannot pretend it is going away anytime soon. As more women take top positions within organizations, this type of behavior may become a thing of the past as it becomes clear that leadership is a trait that comes from within and not from being a man or a woman.