CEO and cofounder at Rootstack. I lead digital accelerations for companies across all industries.
Many executives dream of becoming senior leaders of the companies in which they work but, more than a dream, it is a great responsibility: many of the most important business decisions fall on the senior leader. This figure observes the macro panorama of the company, analyzing different perspectives, risks and benefits, which help him make the best business decisions.
When we talk about a senior leader, we are referring to positions such as CEO, president or vice president of a company, a CEO or CTO, a CFO or department head—in short, any top position.
Essential Characteristics A Senior Leader Must Have
What tech companies always expect from senior executives is that they have leadership and management qualities.
And we must be clear that, although many can lead, not all can do it effectively. In this, we agree with the Northwest Executive Education portal, an institution that shared several of the traits that senior leaders must have to be successful in their work:
Communication is a crucial factor
This is one of the essential characteristics that a senior leader must have since they must be able to communicate clearly and in a timely manner with all sectors of the company, be empathetic and cultivate relationships, be proactive when looking for solutions to a problem and always have the best disposition before the challenges. It depends on the senior leader that all the workers of the company understand the objective of the work and the goals that they want to achieve so that in this way, all the efforts go in the same direction.
Confidence and decision-making capacity
A senior leader must be able to confidently make key analyses and judgments, based on prior knowledge and experience, that lead to timely decision-making. For this reason, it is important that the senior leader is fully immersed in the industry for which he works, since the more knowledge of the business at hand, the more accurate the decisions and proposed actions will be.
Learning agility
Senior leaders typically accumulate years and years of experience, making them roles that are highly respected by teams. But for an experienced senior executive, it is also very useful to supplement their knowledge of the past with new knowledge of the present.
“Trusting too much in what worked in the past or assuming you have what it takes to succeed in the future can spell trouble,” they pointed out in an article from the Center for Creative Leadership, adding that it is necessary for executives to know how to detect when it is necessary to change direction.
Key Responsibilities That Every Senior Tech Leader Needs To Consider
Define a vision that unifies team members
The senior leader is responsible for creating and promoting a vision of work that unites all workers and allows them to work based on a common goal. This is essential in the strategic planning of any organization, they indicated in an article on the Business Leadership Today portal. This gives employees a purpose beyond their daily activities and allows them to better visualize the goals to be achieved.
Inspire the team and recognize their work
To achieve the high performance expected from teams, workers need to feel inspired by their leader, not only by preaching but by practicing and seeing their actions.
The fact that a leader recognizes the work of his team members can make a difference, since with words of recognition or reaffirmation, employees keep in mind that they are valuable to the company and to the achievement of the objectives set. It is a way of strengthening the sense of belonging of employees with respect to the company.
Manage risks
No company is exempt from risks, be it in terms of competition, changes in the market, legal or cybersecurity problems, for example. The key is in the way the senior leader handles these complex situations. Leaders must be proactive in identifying and mitigating risks, implementing appropriate risk management measures and establishing contingency plans to ensure business continuity.
Management of culture and talent
A leader knows what is best for his team, what is missing and what will boost his productivity and efficiency. So this executive must have a very good sense to detect those profiles that will come to the team to add quality, all the while promoting a positive work environment based on the company’s values.
Focus on results
The senior leader is responsible for ensuring that all employees carry out the expected work to meet the goals and objectives that were defined from the beginning of a project. So they must create a culture in the office in which all workers understand that results do matter and ensure that they are motivated enough to adopt that mindset.
A Senior Leader Is More Than A Manager In A Company
Although we usually see top executives on a very high pedestal, a senior leader is really much more than the unreachable manager of a company. In a McKinsey article, they insisted that the leaders of this generation must go beyond their “professional” identity and become more human to connect more closely with their team.
“The intention is to go beyond transactional and task-based relationships by taking the time to get to know and connect on a human level, sharing values, beliefs, hopes and fears and allowing everyone to reveal the greatness that lies within,” they commented.
Let’s take a look at some leadership practices that can help with this.
Expand awareness, analyzing the internal and external context in order to transform the perspective of the entire business landscape.
Develop an emotional regulation that allows communicating assertively with the teams, allowing the executive to adapt to new situations and choose the most appropriate responses.
Practice wellness as a skill—both physical and mental. This provides serenity to better manage the business and the work team.
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