ROLES AND DUTIES OF C E O

One of the very important roles in a company is that of the CEO. A management staff ranges from group
leader, to section manager, director, vice president, senior vice president, executive vice president and
chief executive officer. Each of these positions has a different scope of responsibility, but they all have
several things that they do in common with the CEO.

The CEO has three fundamental roles. First, a CEO is a leader. As a leader, the CEO establishes and
directs the vision and mission of the team. In this capacity, the CEO is the source of visionary strength of
the company and keeps it on a consistent track to achieving the vision. Second, a CEO is a project
manager. In this role, the CEO is responsible for directing the operational activities of the company by
scheduling the utilization of the company’s resources, including people and capital equipment. In this
way, the CEO gets things done through the efforts of the people in the company. The CEO is responsible
for establishing and executing the company’s operating plan that is necessary to achieve the company’s
objectives. Third, a CEO is a coach, and as such picks the people for the management team and
improves the performance of people through ongoing counseling. As a coach, the CEO works with
people to help them become greater contributors by helping them improve their efficiency and
effectiveness.

In these roles, a CEO performs several duties that are very important to the successful functioning of
any management team.

• The CEO puts the strategy in place to achieve the company’s vision and mission. In this capacity, the
CEO works with team members to develop a strategy and plan. Then a process is put in place that will
be used to execute the strategy.

• The CEO gets the company organized to implement the process and guides all the project activities
using the process. All the schedules are established, laying out the tasks that have to be performed to
deliver the company’s product & services and assigning the needed resources to the people on the team.

• The CEO establishes priorities for projects & tasks and makes decisions required when they have to
change.

• The CEO makes sure that the right people are placed in the right job assignments and that people get
further training to do their jobs.

• The CEO facilitates problem solving, as needed, by directing the process of problem solving with team
members lending expertise to the process.

• The CEO has an important duty to delegate responsibility and accountability. In doing this, the CEO
gives people a clear role and a set of responsibilities, empowers them to act, and holds them accountable
for results. This is the art of management. In getting the best out of people, a CEO gives people the
responsibility they deserve, and then coaches them in their work in order to make them the best they
can be and finally holds them accountable for producing the results that are expected.

• The CEO takes care of people’s needs. The CEO is an enabler for and ensures that people get what
they need in order to do their jobs. This includes equipment, training, assistance, coordination, and time.
• The CEO has the very important role of communicator. The CEO not only communicates important
information needed for people to do their jobs, but also information that is necessary for people to
understand the context of their jobs. People generally want to know what the company vision and
strategy is. They want to know about markets, customers and competitors. They want to know about
key company initiatives and how it affects them. The CEO’s job is to make sure that people know what
is going on and how they are affected.

• The CEO represents the company and its policies. To the people in the company, their CEO is the
company. CEOs are familiar with company policy, communicate policy to employees, and represent the
policies of the company.

• The CEO builds relationships. The CEO’s job is to establish positive and effective working
relationships both inside and outside the company. One of the value-added aspects of a CEO's role is
that the CEO knows people and can call upon their assistance to help the company achieve its goals.

• The CEO establishes and supports working relationship principles by creating an environment where
people can count on each other. It is important to know what one can expect from another. The CEO’s
job is to coach people to help them understand how the team operates and to give them the
understanding of each other’s role on the team.

• The CEO establishes goals and objectives for people as a key part of being a coach. As part of the
performance management process, the CEO establishes performance goals and objectives for people.
This is a very formal part of the CEO’s job. Establishing the objectives for people and then letting them
know how they are performing in meeting the objectives is management’s bread and butter. To get their
best performance, people have to understand how they are performing and be given the coaching
necessary to improve. Ultimately, CEOs have to formally appraise the performance of their people. This
formal review becomes the determining factor for additional coaching, compensation and promotions.

• The CEO makes sure that people are recognized for their contributions and extraordinary efforts on
the job. The recognition should be timely. Recognition can take the form of anything from a sincere
thank you to a substantial monetary award. The important thing is that people feel that they are
appreciated for their extra effort.

• The CEO is a mentor. In this capacity, the CEO advises people on their career goals and helps them get
the job assignments needed to move their careers forward. Although people are responsible for their
own careers, the CEO can be valued advisor in career planning.

• Finally, a CEO manages upward. That is, the CEO keeps board members and shareholders informed
of the company’s progress.

This is not an exhaustive list of CEO duties, but represents some of the most important ones. These are
the kinds of things that one should regularly expect from their CEO as they play out their three roles of
leader, project manager and coach.