Executive Training: What Makes A Great Executive?

Can executive training make you a great executive? Before we explore this question, we must first define the features of a great executive. The role of executive is based on leadership but leadership is not the only important asset of an executive. There is no single factor that makes an executive great but rather it is a combination of skills and assets that make a great executive.

A great executive will chair or originate strategy and will thoroughly examine all the issues the affect his or her business including marketing trends, finances, etc. A great executive will drive the brand by not only understanding what opportunities the business has but also understanding where the business is limited. Executive training will teach you how to identify opportunities and limitations as well as the importance of clarity of thought to strategic thinking.

A great executive will have a feel and understanding for the numbers and will be able to confidently explain them in detail. Executive training will teach you that a great executive should have a disciplined approach to leadership and management that is focused on the businesses financial performance. Executive training will also teach you a great executive will combine this approach with a feel for the market as well as the businesses’ sources of competitive advantage.

Executive training will teach you that a great executive understands that management is a team game as well as the fact that internal stakeholders are equally if not more important than external shareholders. A great executive will surround themselves with knowledgeable and skillful managers as well as listen to them and develop their skills. Executive training will teach you to surround yourself will individuals that have skills that are complementary to your own and that you should learn from not only your peers but also your subordinates.

Great executives are articulate, intelligent and persuasive. A great executive knows where the company needs to go and how to inspire individuals to take the company there. Executive training will teach you that intelligence may be less important than the skill of articulation and persuasiveness. A great executive does not always have the strongest intellect at the board table but is always able to share his ideas and motivates his co-workers. 

Executive training will teach you the importance of immersing yourself in the details but not allowing yourself to become buried in them. A great executive is able to distil issues quickly. Being focused and understanding where to concentrate this focus is fundamental to being a great executive. 

Executive training will teach you how to inspire trust and be honest with not only others but also yourself. A great executive is able to inspire trust and are honest both internally and externally.

A great executive understands that culture must be come from the top and is strong enough to drive that culture rather than be driven by it. Executive training will teach to stamp you own style on an organization.

These are some but not all of the fundamental skills necessary to be a great executive. Executive training will teach you the importance of each of these traits as well as how and when to correctly implement them.