3 Key Traits All Future CEOs Need To Succeed

• COVID-19 expedited work, management, and business ownership changes, with future CEOs needing tech-savviness, adaptability, and strategic acumen.
• CEOs will be forced to be accessible and personable enough to incentivize low turnover rates while simultaneously remaining shrewd enough to impress shareholders.
• As we build technology that builds technology, the number of CEOs who create groundbreaking technological developments will decrease, meaning the quiet, shy, and uncommunicative CEOs will also fade from popularity.

Although the labor market and employment itself were getting a huge makeover before the pandemic, COVID-19 accelerated massive shifts in the way we work, manage, and own businesses.

Many of these changes are fairly obvious and publicly discussed, like the mass exodus from offices at the height of the pandemic and a widespread acceptance of the efficacy of remote and hybrid workstyles among employers.

An additional change is the shift from aggressive, authoritarian management to more welcoming, collaborative leadership.

Change at the top

Along with these shifts in broader leadership styles, the way CEOs operate is changing. Although the larger changes won’t begin until we’ve seen further technological improvements, some of the skills these future CEOs will need are already apparent.

Yes, many of the skills that current successful CEOs value won’t be wholly negated, but future CEOs will need entirely different skill sets to effectively lead their businesses.

In the future, CEOs will need to be tech-savvy rather than primarily financially motivated, they’ll need to be adaptable rather than authoritarian, and although being highly strategic has always been important for CEOs, they will need to cultivate far more complicated and technically demanding strategies moving forward.

Smart enough to know if they’re getting taken for a ride

In the past, CEOs were often insular, difficult to contact and entirely driven by the potential for profit. While none of these things are inherently immoral alone, the constant focus on “more” and the desire solely for profit often created environments that were very difficult to work in, especially long-term for anyone who didn’t find themselves inside the “inner circle.”

Unsurprisingly, CEOs isolated themselves from shareholders and employees alike for a reason: when you surround yourself with people you trust, it’s more difficult to get taken for a ride.

In the future, however, this isolation will not be acceptable. Employees spent 2022 leaving their jobs in droves and in doing so, largely found better pay, helping fight the idea that company loyalty is the most profitable path for employees.

The more this idea is challenged, the more CEOs in the future will be responsible for providing real incentives to their employees. This cannot be done in isolation.

Eventually, CEOs must be savvy and personable enough to cultivate a work culture that is simultaneously inviting enough for low turnover rates, yet shrewd enough for profitability.

Adaptability

Modern CEOs are beginning to understand the importance of adaptability, but it’s a relatively new concept. When technology advanced at a slower pace, there wasn’t much need for quick, frequent adaptability.

In the future, however, adaptability may be the single most important aspect of any CEO’s operational duties.

Today, technology is advancing and spreading at a pace previously unseen. For example, the beginning of the pandemic forced countless management teams (and in some cases, countless employees) to contend with individuals who had virtually no idea how to use video conferencing applications.

In general, the public will always be slightly behind the times and will require some level of teaching. To cope with this, CEOs will need to understand these advancements as they occur, but they will also be responsible for interacting with individuals who may not be as technically savvy.

In the past, the “quiet genius” archetype, particularly in tech circles, was all too common. CEOs with virtually no people skills thrived solely off the merit of their technological achievements, and shareholders and employees saw no issue so long as the market share increased.

Moving forward, the human element of advancing our technology will decrease. As we build technology that builds technology, the number of CEOs who create groundbreaking technological developments will decrease, meaning the quiet, shy, and uncommunicative CEOs will also fade from popularity.

Highly strategic

To cope with rapidly advancing tech, a labor market that requires collaboration and transparency, and a decrease in human involvement in said advancements, CEOs will need to be highly strategic and highly capable.

Single-trick CEOs who have attained power and status solely by merit of their accomplishments will likely become fewer and further between. Rather than larger-than-life personalities or isolated geniuses who speak to no one, we will see an influx of incredibly human, incredibly personable CEOs who understand rapid technological advancements while also understanding how important it is to build relationships with employees.

Corporate leadership will need a focused direction and mission for success. As outside influences change rapidly, internal values and strategic choices cannot waiver if the organization hopes to be successful. Staying on-mission will get harder and more important at once.We’re already seeing employees resign over poor leadership, and as we move forward into the future of work, a CEO who is both strategic and personable enough to genuinely connect with their employees will become the only option for success.