最佳成長期CEO的五大特征

????創始人是初創公司的最佳CEO人選，因為他們有激情，更專注，有膽識。但在成長階段，公司領導人的職責則從啟動變成了執行，從開拓變成了規?；瘮U張。

????優秀的成長期CEO需要具備一些獨特的技能，對促成初期成功的特性進行補充。以下為筆者曾經共事過的最優秀的成長期CEO所共有的五大特質：

????1. 不懈地追求合適的團隊。在初期，成功招聘意味著尋找那些具有文化認同感的超級天才們。而在成長階段，最優秀的領導人很清楚，何時應該引進擁有專業知識，并有能力推動公司規?；瘮U張的技術型人才。你無法承擔文化徹底錯位的風險，但隨著你尋求的技能變得越來越稀缺，你針對每一個職位引進的人才，不可能全都成為公司文化的忠誠守護者。而且持續提高團隊的能力與素質可能傷害一些人的感情，尤其是當個別早期員工跟不上團隊提升速度的時候。但無論如何，在公司規?；瘮U張的過程中，為自己網羅最優秀的人才至關重要。

????2. 專注“附加賭注”的能力。高效的成長期領導人會讓自己的團隊高度關注成功的主要推動因素。這種單一的專注對于度過初創階段很有必要，但在成長階段則可能使側翼門戶大開。聰明的競爭對手會抓住本屬于你的機會，削弱你的整體運營。最出色的成長期CEO們在使公司保持專注的同時，也會確定并重點發展適當的“附加賭注”。所謂“附加賭注”是指最初的非常規項目。項目涉及的人數有限，造成的顛覆效應也有限，在短期內似乎并不合理，但最終隨著時間的推移，它會成為公司基本業務的重要補充?！案郊淤€注”需要有正確的監督，要限制數量，而且一旦無效必須立即放棄。只要這些項目能夠成功，便會給公司帶來重要影響，保護公司的運營。

????3. 崇尚學習。作為一名成長期的公司CEO，你需要能夠勝任公司的多個方面，甚至要做到出類拔萃，其中包括銷售、營銷、產品與財務。沒有人天生就樣樣精通。最優秀的CEO會將學習作為每天工作生活的一部分。他們會請教專家，同時還會鼓勵團隊也不斷學習，將學習融入到公司文化當中。這種對學習的投入能幫助公司在大規模擴張過程中保持靈活，不斷提高。

????4. 建立一種能自力更生的機制。在初創階段，你會遇到數量有限的大問題（例如：技術是否有效，是否有合適的產品市場等）。而在成長階段，你更有可能遇到更多較為普通的問題（如消費者不滿意，關鍵員工打算離職，銷售傭金結構等）。這樣的問題會越來越多，讓人疲于應付。最優秀的CEO會建立一種機制，來持續解決這種問題。怎么做？授權給團隊，給他們提供文化上的總體方向，幫助他們進行有效的決策，信任他們無需通過微觀管理也能把工作做好。

????Founders are the best start-up CEOs, thanks to their passion, focus and audacity. In the growth stage, however, the job of a company leader changes from inception to execution, from development to scale.

????Great growth-stage CEOs require unique skills to complement the attributes that contributed to their success as early stage leaders. Below are five common traits among the best growth stage CEOs with whom I've worked.

????1. Relentless Pursuit of the Right Team. Successful recruiting in the early stage is more about finding super talented folks with tight cultural alignment. In the growth stage, the best leaders recognize when to bring in skill players with functional expertise and capacity to scale. You can never take a risk on a complete cultural misfit, but as the skill sets you seek become rarer, not every position player you bring in will be a strong steward of your company culture. Continually upping the capacity and quality of your team may hurt feelings, especially if some of the early employees are unable to keep up, but surrounding yourself with the very best as you're scaling is critical.

????2. Focus with Aptitude for "Side Bets." Effective growth-stage leaders keep their teams hyper-focused on the key drivers of success. This type of singular concentration, necessary to get through the start-up phase, can leave flanks open in the growth stage. Clever competitors will seek to grab opportunities that otherwise would have been yours, weakening your overall franchise. While keeping their companies extremely focused, the best growth stage CEOs also are able to identify and prioritize the right "side bets" – projects that start as skunk works, involve a limited number of people and disruption, never seem justified in the short run, but can grow to become important compliments to the base business over time. Side bets need the right oversight, should be limited in number and need to be killed quickly if they're not working. Those that do work can have great impact and protect your franchise.

????3. Commitment to Learning. As a growth-stage company CEO, you'll need to become competent, even great, in multiple aspects and dimensions of your business -- including sales, marketing, product and finance. No one starts as a master of all. The best CEOs make learning an active part of their day, seeking out experts, encouraging the same of their team and build this into their culture. This commitment helps companies stay agile and improve as they scale.

????4. Building a Self-Reliant Organization. While a start-up, you encounter a limited number of very large problems (e.g., does the technology work, is there product market fit, etc.). When you graduate to the growth stage, you're more likely to encounter a longer list of medium-sized problems (unhappy customers, key employees thinking about leaving, sales compensation structures, etc.). The list quickly gets too long for any one person to manage. The best CEOs build an organization prepared to tackle these medium-sized issues consistently. How? By empowering their teams, giving them the cultural rudders to help direct good decision-making and trusting them to get the job done without micro-managing.