Overview of Role of Chief Executive

Written by Max | Edited by Rory Hart

Last updated on Aug 18, 2023

Sections of this topic

a-man-smiling-and-writing-out-ideas-business-strategy-plan-business-

Much of the information on this topic is adapted from the books Field Guide to Leadership and Supervision in Business
and Field Guide to Leadership and Supervision for Nonprofit Staff.

The chief executive officer is the most important role in the
management of an organization. This topic in the library does
not go into great detail about each of the particular systems
and practices managed by the chief executive officer because those
systems and practices are explained in depth across many of the
other topics in this library. This library topic provides sufficient
overview for the reader to gain a basic perspective on the typical
roles and responsibilities of the chief executive officer and
how those responsibilities are typically met.

Sections of This Topic Include

Founder’s Syndrome

This syndrome occurs when the organization operates according
to the personality of someone in the organization (usually the
founder) rather than according to the mission of the organization.
The Chief Executive Officer can make a big difference in helping
an organization to detect Founder’s Syndrome and recover from
the Syndrome.
Founder’s
Syndrome — How Organizations Suffer — and Can Recover

Also, consider
Related Library Topics

What is the “Chief Executive Officer”?

A “Definition”

The definition of “chief executive officer” (almost
always) depends on whether a business is a corporation or not,
that is, whether it (usually) has a board of directors or not.
In an organization that has a board of directors, the “chief
executive officer” is (usually) the singular organizational
position that is primarily responsible to carry out the strategic
plans and policies as established by the board of directors. In
In this case, the chief executive reports to the board of directors.
In a form of business that is usually without a board of directors
(sole proprietorship, partnership, etc.), the “chief executive
officer” is (usually) the singular organizational position
(other than partnerships, etc.) that sets the direction and oversees
the operations of an organization.

Major Roles of the Position of Chief Executive Officer

The following link references the major roles carried out by
the typical chief executive officer.
Roles and
Responsibilities of the Chief Executive

Position Can Have Various Titles

This organizational position, whether in corporations or not,
is also sometimes called the President, Executive Director, Chief
Administrator, etc. Information on this topic will use the phrase
“Chief Executive Officer”.

What Do Chief Executive Officers Do?

Typical Responsibilities

The following link references a listing of the broad responsibilities
of the typical position of chief executive officer.
Typical
Responsibilities of Corporate Chief Executive Officer (nonprofit
or for-profit)

Job Descriptions

The following links reference additional overviews of the general
responsibilities of a chief executive, including a listing of those
responsibilities in job descriptions.

“Generic” Job Description

Roles and Responsibilities

Job Descriptions of Nonprofit CEOs

Thanks to Betsey M. Noble, Internet Research Librarian, Global
Employment Solutions, Inc., for the following:
CEO Job Descriptions in Non-Profit Organizations
Sample Nonprofit Executive Director Position Description
The Role in Associations
Nonprofit Job Description Toolkit
Job Description for Nonprofit Executive Director

Job Descriptions of For-Profit CEOs

The CEO Job Description
The
CEO Job Description
What
do CEOs do? A CEO Job Description

Core Areas of Knowledge and Skills Required by Chief Executive
Officers

The chief executive officer is the overall, primary management
and leadership role in the organization. Therefore, it’s critical
that chief executive officers have strong knowledge and skills
in a wide variety of areas. However, there are certain basic areas
of knowledge and skills which provide the foundation from which
chief executive officers can add knowledge and skills customized
to the particular nature of their organization, its industry (service,
manufacturing, wholesale, etc.) and the current environment (political,
social, economic, and technological).

Basics in Management and Leadership

Managing
Yourself
core skills in managing/a>
Core
Competencies for Leading
Boards
of Directors

Planning

Business
Planning (plan a new business organization, product, business
department, etc.)
Strategic
Planning (establish organizational goals and how to reach them)

Organizing

Human
Resources Management
Organizing
Staff
Organizing
Various Types of Groups
Organizing
a New Business (whether for-profit or nonprofit)
Guidelines
to Reorganize a Current Organization

Leading

Leading
Other Individuals
Leading
Groups
Leading
Organizations

Coordinating Activities and Resources (including performance
management)

Ethics
Management Systems
Finances
(For-Profit) or
Finances
(Nonprofit)
Fundraising
(For-Profit) or
Fundraising
(Nonprofit)
Employee
Performance Management
Group
Performance Management
Guidelines, Methods, and Resources for Organizational Change Agents
Organizational
Performance Management
Policies
and Procedures
Product/Service
Management
Program
Management
Marketing
and Promotions and Public and Media Relations
Systems
Thinking

Special Topics

CEO Development

Leadership
Development Planning
Management
Development
Seven Surprises for New CEOs

Evaluating the CEO (Typically Referred to as “Executive
Director” if Nonprofits)

Guidelines
for Evaluating the Chief Executive
Sample
Form to Use During Evaluation of Chief Executive
Sample
of a Board’s Supervisory Skills Development Plan for CEO
The Dreaded E.D. Evaluation!
How
Can I Get My Board to Evaluate Me?
Founder’s
Syndrome (when the top executive is a poor manager)
Time for the CEO or Executive Director’s Annual
Performance Review by the Board
Firing the Executive Director

Transitioning to New CEO (including use of contracts)

Hiring
/ Transitioning to a New Chief Executive
Succession Planning
Contracts for Nonprofit Executives
CEO
Contracts
Meatloaf
or Tartare?

Also, consider
Succession
Planning

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to the Role of Chief Executive

In addition to the articles on this current page, also see the following blogs
that have posts related to the Role of Chief Executive. Scan down the blog’s
page to see various posts. Also, see the section “Recent Blog Posts”
in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a
post in the blog. The blog also links to numerous free related resources.

Library’s
Leadership Blog
Library’s
Supervision Blog

For the Category of Leadership:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may
want to review some related topics, available from the link below.
Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been
selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

Max

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Overview of Role of Chief Executive

Sections of This Topic Include

Gaining a Broad Perspective on the Role of Chief Executive Officer

Core Areas of Knowledge and Skills Required by Chief Executive Officers

Special Topics

Founder’s Syndrome

What is the “Chief Executive Officer”?

A “Definition”

Major Roles of the Position of Chief Executive Officer

Position Can Have Various Titles

What Do Chief Executive Officers Do?

Typical Responsibilities

Job Descriptions

“Generic” Job Description

Job Descriptions of Nonprofit CEOs

Job Descriptions of For-Profit CEOs

Core Areas of Knowledge and Skills Required by Chief Executive Officers

Basics in Management and Leadership

Planning

Organizing

Leading

Coordinating Activities and Resources (including performance management)

Special Topics

CEO Development

Evaluating the CEO (Typically Referred to as “Executive Director” if Nonprofits)

Transitioning to New CEO (including use of contracts)

Other Miscellaneous Topics

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to the Role of Chief Executive

For the Category of Leadership:

Core Areas of Knowledge and Skills Required by Chief Executive
Officers

Core Areas of Knowledge and Skills Required by Chief Executive
Officers

Coordinating Activities and Resources (including performance
management)

Evaluating the CEO (Typically Referred to as “Executive
Director” if Nonprofits)