How long does it take to become a CEO?

Success looks different for everybody. Not everyone wants to be the CEO, but those that do are often impatient to race to the top as fast as they can. A 10-year study of 17,000 C-suite executives called the CEO Genome Project demonstrated it takes an average of 24 years to become the boss, but for those who can’t wait that long, there is a way to fast-track yourself. The method may surprise you, and it’s perhaps contrary to what most people believe.

You may be forgiven for assuming an MBA, then a steep climb up the slippery conventional career ladder would be the fastest route to CEO status, but the CEO Genome Project demonstrated this is not the case. Those who fast-tracked themselves to CEO did it through taking some risks and often following a more ‘squiggly’ career path (for more on squiggly careers I highly recommend Helen Tupper and Sarah Ellis’s Squiggly Careers podcast).

CEO’s that have “squiggly” careers, get there faster. Photo Trac Vu Unsplash

Squiggly careers are those that don’t follow the conventional route to success. They branch out in different directions, try new things, take on new challenges, stepping outside their comfort zones, sometimes in a sideways or even backwards direction, in order to embrace opportunities to grow and develop a broader range of skills. In fact, the CEO Genome Project found 60% of CEOs had taken on what might be perceived as a lesser role in order to fulfil a particular challenge. This may have been launching a new product, starting a business or taking on a role in a smaller firm but with more responsibility.

The thing they all had in common was a willingness to stretch themselves, say yes to trying a new role or solving a gnarly problem, and in doing so be able to demonstrate their ability to turn things around. This shows real resilience in action: learning to ‘ride the rapids’ by tackling a new challenge head on, learning new skills along the way, solving problems in an agile way, and springing forward with a renewed sense of confidence that inspires others. It seems to me from reading the study that resilience may be the ‘career catapult’ needed to reach the top. Surprisingly, only 24% of the CEOs involved in the study had taken the more traditional MBA route.

Saying yes to a challenge, learning on the job and asking for help are key. Photo Ismail Osman Unsplash

One thing over a third of the CEOs studied had in common was the confidence to say yes to a challenge that forced them well outside their comfort zones. Some took on greater levels of responsibility at an early age, embracing senior roles and not baulking at the chance to step up. They would say ‘yes’ to new opportunities without worrying about whether they were fully ready. They knew they would learn on the job.

It seems then that there are three key elements that provide the keys to the CEO kingdom: confidence, ego and attitude.

Confidence:

a sense of self belief that although they didn’t start with all the answers and experience in place, they believed in their own ability to solve a problem or succeed at a new challenge.

Attitude:

a ‘growth mindset’ meaning they will try something different, learn how to do something new as they go along, and be willing to ask others in their network for help wherever needed.

Ego:

demonstrating humility in their willingness to learn from mistakes and spring forward into a better place by learning from those mistakes.

This study shows us that the traditional MBA, climb the ladder route that we are encouraged to follow from our school days is not really the best or fastest path to success. It is through being willing to take risks, make mistakes and learn as we go along that we really develop the resilience that provides the catapult to CEO success.