Text A　The Ways Chief Executive Officers Lead

By Charles M.Farkas and Suzy Wetlaufer

There is no shortage of schools for businesspeople of every specialty:accountants，engineers，financiers，technologists，information specialists，marketers，and，of course，general managers，who have their choice of hundreds，if not thousands，of M.B.A.programs.But where is the school for the person in charge of getting the best results from all these members of the organization？There is no school for CEOs—except the school of experience.Chief executives must learn on the job how to lead a company，and they must learn while every stakeholder is watching.

The CEO's job is like no other in the organization.It is infinite.Senior executives are，by definition，ultimately responsible for every decision and action of every member of the company，including those decisions and actions of which they are not aware.CEOs—even new ones—are allowed few mistakes.Not surprisingly，research shows that between 35% and 50% of all CEOs are replaced within five years.That is a costly proposition for any organization，for no company can lose its leader without losing some sense，even temporarily，of its identity and direction.

Two years ago，our interest in the role of the CEO prompted us to begin an extensive study of how senior executives lead.Over 12 months，we interviewed 160 chief executives around the world，most of whom were running major corporations in industries as diverse as gold mining，computers，and soft drinks.Our goal was to examine the set of attitudes，activities，and behaviors that determined how those executives managed their organizations.To be honest，going into the project we hypothesized that there might turn out to be 160 different approaches to leadership.There were not.Only 5 distinct approaches emerged from our data.

No matter where a company is located or what it makes，its CEO must develop a guiding，overarching philosophy about how he or she can best add value.This philosophy determines the CEO's approach to leadership.By approach，we mean which areas of corporate policy—for example，strategic planning，R＆D，or recruiting—receive the most attention，what kind of people and behaviors the CEO values in the organization，which decisions the CEO makes personally or delegates，and how he or she spends each day.A leadership approach is a coherent，explicit style of management，not a reflection of personal style.This is a critical distinction.We found that in effective companies，CEOs do not simply adopt the leadership approach that suits their personalities but instead adopt the approach that will best meet the needs of the organization and the business situation at hand.Is the industry growing explosively or is it mature？How many competitors exist and how strong are they？Does technology matter and，if so，where is it going？What are the organization's capital and human assets？What constitutes sustainable competitive advantage，and how close is the organization to achieving it？The answers to questions such as these determine which of the following four leadership approaches an effective CEO will adopt.

1.The strategy approach

CEOs who use this approach believe that their most important job is to create，test，and design the implementation of long-term strategy，extending in some cases into the distant future.Their position overseeing all areas of the corporation，they explain，gives them the unique ability to determine their organizations'allocation of resources and optimal direction.On a day-to-day basis，they spend their time in activities intended to ascertain their organizations'point of departure（the current business situation）and point of arrival（the most advantageous market position in the future）.These CEOs devote approximately 80% of their time to matters external to the organization's operations—customers，competitors，technological advances，and market trends—as opposed to internal matters such as hiring or control systems.It follows，then，that they tend to value employees to whom they can delegate the day-to-day operation of their organizations as well as those who possess finely tuned analytical and planning skills.

2.The human-assets approach

In marked contrast to CEOs in the above group，human-assets CEOs strongly believe that strategy formulation belongs close to the markets，in the business units.According to these CEOs，their primary job is to impart to their organizations certain values，behaviors，and attitudes by closely managing the growth and development of individuals.These executives travel constantly，spending the majority of their time in personnel-related activities such as recruiting，performance reviews，and career mapping.Their goal is to create a universe of satellite CEOs:people at every level of the organization who act and make decisions as the CEO would.Not surprisingly，these executives value long-term employees who consistently exhibit“company way”behaviors，as opposed to so-called mavericks，who do not always adhere to organizational norms.

3.The expertise approach

Executives who lead by using this approach believe that the CEO's most important responsibility is selecting and disseminating within the corporation an area of expertise that will be a source of competitive advantage.Their schedules show that they devote the majority of their time to activities related to the cultivation and continual improvement of the expertise，such as studying new technological research，analyzing competitors'products，and meeting with engineers and customers.They often focus on designing programs，systems，and procedures，such as promotion policies and training plans that reward people who acquire the expertise and share it across the borders of business units and functions.These CEOs tend to hire people who are trained in the expertise，but they also seek candidates who possess flexible minds，lack biases，and demonstrate a willingness to be immersed—indoctrinated is not too strong a word—in the expertise.

4.The box approach

CEOs in this category believe that they can add the most value in their organizations by creating，communicating，and monitoring an explicit set of controls—financial，cultural，or both—that ensure uniform，predictable behaviors and experiences for customers and employees.CEOs who use this approach believe that their companies'success depends on the ability to provide customers with a consistent and risk-free experience.As a result，these executives spend their days attending to exceptions to their organizations'controls，such as quarterly results that are below expectations or a project that misses its deadline.In addition，they devote more time than the other types of CEOs to developing detailed，prescriptive policies，procedures，and rewards to reinforce desired behaviors.Finally，these executives tend to value seniority within the organization，often promoting people with many years of service to the corporate team and rarely hiring top-level executives from outside the company.（1099 words）