What Does a CEO Actually Do?

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When you’re a CEO, your duties can vary depending on your organization and industry. Jennifer Bridges, PMP, explains what it means to be the chief executive officer.

Here’s a screenshot of the whiteboard for your reference.

the duties of a ceo

In Review – What Does a CEO Actually Do?

What are the duties and responsibilities of a CEO? Jennifer said they can be ambiguous, depending on how the organization is structured.

To begin with, let’s define what CEO means. CEO is an acronym for a chief executive officer, which is the highest-ranking officer in a company or institution.

Typically, the CEO is responsible for the following items:

  • Managerial decisions
  • Operations and performance
  • Company resources, and sometimes tools
  • Communications with the board of directors
  • Implementation of short- and long-term plans
  • Addressing the needs of employees, customers, investors, communities and the law

CEO Duties That Can’t Be Delegated

Many of the responsibilities stated above can be given to others in the organization to handle, with the CEO overseeing them. But there are some duties that fall solely on the shoulders of the CEO.

For example, it is their responsibility to make a mission statement for the organization and then develop a strategy to get everyone there. They’re also the person who sets and models the organization’s culture, values and behavior for employees, customers and the community writ large.

A CEO will also be in charge of building, landing and developing the senior executive team that carries out the directives of the CEO. Another major duty of any CEO is to allocate resources and capital for the organization’s priorities.

What’s the Difference Between CEOs of Startups and Large Companies?

The CEO of a startup is going to have more responsibilities than at a large company, simply because the large company has more resources to share those responsibilities among an executive team, which is assembled for the purpose of delegating certain duties. That doesn’t mean it’s easier to be the CEO of a large company, because with scale comes more issues that are under a CEO’s purview.

Related: Free Issue Tracking Template

Therefore, it’s obvious that a CEO in a sense is a project manager, the project being the success of the organization. While it’s true that a project, unlike an organization, has a definite beginning and end, a CEO still must have a plan for people and processes—and the right tools to track that progress.

Take it Further: A CEO has usually earned their position in the world through hard work and setting SMART goals. Learn how to set goals that will really move the dial, like a CEO!

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Transcription

Today, we’re talking about, “What does a CEO actually do?” Well, depending upon your seat in an organization, it may seem a bit ambiguous.

So in today’s Whiteboard session, we wanna talk about some of the responsibilities, duties of a CEO, and some of the differences between a CEO of a startup company and some of the larger companies

So first of all, the CEO stands for the Chief Executive Officer. They are the highest ranking officer in a company or institution. They’re ultimately responsible for the day-to-day managerial decisions for the company, the operations and performance, the company resources, the communications between the board of directors and the overall company operations, the implementation of the short and long-term plans.

Also, the needs of the employees, the customers, the investors, their local communities, and even the law.

So let’s look at some of the duties that can’t be delegated as a CEO. So setting the vision and the strategy to get there. Not only just setting the company’s culture, values, and behaviors, but also modeling them. They’re also building, leading, and developing their senior executive team, as well as allocating capital to the company’s priorities.

So what are the differences between a startup and some of the larger companies? Well, basically, the CEO of a startup does everything. They can rarely delegate much. In a larger company, they can choose to delegate some of the other responsibilities and duties with the exception of these.

So whether a CEO for a startup or a large company, it’s important to have a plan with the people, processes, and tools to track the progress.

So if you need more resources and tools, then sign up for our software now at ProjectManager.com.