For the developer setting out to become a CEO, it can be easy to overlook the skills that already make you a great candidate for the position. Today's executive force is packed with MBAs and business-only backgrounds making it easy for developers to believe that they don't have the chops to do the job.
Yet, there's quite a lot about your developer's background that proves you already have the resources needed to head a company. Like developers, the CEO's greatest task is to problem solve. CEOs have to study, inspire, talk through and pinpoint their path from problem to solution— just as you already do as a developer.
It's just up for you to learn how to interpret and translate those skill in a way that works. Here's how to start:
Embrace Your Eye For Technology
Most developers shy away from their technical background when trying to reach for that CEO brass ring. Leadership guidelines typically suggest that technical backgrounds are for founders and developers. Not CEOs. Yet, they overlook that the training of some of the world's most powerful CEOs is rich and rife with technology. From Cornelius Vanderbilt and John D. Rockefeller to Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, there's proof that your technological background should be embraced.
Just like these CEOs, today's developer has an opportunity to make waves in their industry. A strong understanding of the technical aspect of their company can grant them quite an advantage as they steer a company's ship towards the future. Consider a board game where the rules and circumstances of the game are at a steady and constant change rate. Instead of a regular chess game, new columns, pieces, and rows are added. Who would you rather have on your side and giving you direction? A leader who can understand and interpret the changes for you, or a leader who simply tells you to figure them out? You'll likely go with the leader who can intelligibly grasp the board's changes. Become a great CEO by being the leader who can grasp technical challenges and use them to empower a group to make the right choices.
Sharpen Your Storytelling Skills
Consider the stories of the great CEOs previously mentioned. It's likely that you already know quite a bit about their background and influence. Mostly this is because all brands know that a good story is key to the branding and building of a business. To grow your consumer base you have to also extend your workforce. To get the most talented employees of the lot, you'll have to convince them that your business is the best out there. It doesn't stop there though. Think about the ways in which a good story can influence the decisions of bank managers, advertisers and angel investors. While there's little swaying a bank manager on a bank loan if your credit is horrific, a good story always has a chance of helping. Remember, consumers are more inclined to invest in people over businesses. As such, developers making the switch from coder to good storyteller have to master the art of tale telling.
For developers ready to become the next big CEO, a good story will have a huge hand in convincing others that you're the one that's right for the job. A strong narrative of your journey to success will do a lot in your efforts to show your company why they should invest in your work. Of course, you'll want to show and brag about your numbers and results, but show them how your journey helped you achieve your success.
Show That You Know How To Do Business
It's one of the biggest misconceptions about developers across every industry: developers don't "do" business. While business development might not be an area that most developers have much hands on experience in, remember your high level of technical expertise brings quite a bit of weight to the table. Imagine being pitched by a sales team that knows a product on the surface level, but doesn't have a true technical understanding of how it functions. A good salesperson might be able to sell anything, but they'll never be able to fake fluency in a language as a technical as developing. Here's where your skills can become extremely relevant to any CEO position.
For developers looking to use their technical mind to their advantage, learning to translate information will be key. Remember, your skills make you a good candidate for a CEO because not everyone will have a technological background. But your background's real value lies in its ability to make the technical details understandable. This means developers have to come to grips with the fact that they will have to use services like Excel. Think of Excel as the ultimate universal language for businesses. While it might not be the most popular tool used by developers, it is not uncommon for businesses to use it as a tool for sharing data. Your employees, coworkers and business associates will want to see revenue projections and progress in all of its stages. More particularly, in a way that will be easy for them to understand. This means developers will have to incorporate common software like Excel into their every day by making them habit.