Being a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a startup is one of the best achievements you will have in your career, although it can also be the most challenging role. You are not just the typical employee, but you are someone who will be looked upon by your colleagues and staff members.

As a CEO, you have to have the characteristics of a great leader. Good is just mediocrity. You have to be in your best every time. You are going to make decisions, whether it’s easy or tough. One of your responsibilities is to build a product that your customers would love. You will have to build a team and find investors. Because you are not just the “boss”, you are a leader and you will have to guide your people to overall prioritization of work.

6 Ways to Be a Great CEO

Here are some ways on how to become a remarkable CEO of your startup company:

Be Competitive

Being a CEO is a combination of being an entrepreneur and a game player. You should know how to be competitive. The adrenaline of a game player should be in your veins to keep up with the competition with other companies in the same industry.

You also need to figure out a way to do things easier, faster, cheaper (as much as possible), and of course—better than your competitors. If your start-up belongs to the tech industry, chances are, you will have a lot of opponents from left to right. They may not have the same product or services that you give but they are there to get the customers’ attention. You have to be aggressive and formulate a strategy that keep your business up and running.

Try to be unique with the ideas you are formulating

Try to do something unique that makes your company stand out from the rest. A lot of companies out there seems to provide almost the same products and services to people. It’s like the trend nowadays is to imitate the theme of somebody else’s work. You need to do something out of the ordinary if you want to gain customers or want the audience to notice you.

If your company is in-line with internet marketing or content marketing, you need to look for ways that will make your product stand out. There are times wherein people are bombarded with too many selections that just give them just the same option. Having a unique factor for your product will make it more noticeable for your target market and audience.

Be a charismatic communicator

This is one of the important factors to become a great CEO. You should know how to communicate not just to clients or customers, but you should also need to be able to communicate with your teammates.

Doing one-on-ones or group meetings with your pool of professionals will establish a good working relationship. Having a conversation with them is also a chance for them to ask questions, bring up any concerns, offer suggestions, discuss how they’d like to grow, and say what’s on their minds. Being outspoken and giving your employees the time to communicate with you will help build a good working atmosphere in your start-up.

Your actions will speak louder than your words

Though you’re the “boss” since you’re the CEO—your title doesn’t earn you the respect unless it justifies your actions. Being too bossy to your team will not help you grow as a good leader. If you do not know how to manage your team properly, eventually, the company will crumble down to pieces. Learn how to live with values. You should also be caring about what other people feel.

You’ll earn respect from your colleagues and staff if you know how to respect them too. It’s like the golden rule. Once you throw crap on everyone, they will throw crap at you too.

You have to be a person with a lot of connections

As a CEO, you need to have a lot of connections. The people you know can help you in developing your company. They may be potential investors too, who can help you in funding the company’s finances. You will be representing for you and/or your co-founder and other employees. A CEO who has a reliable list of connection can help raise money.

You should be a person-finder

As a startup CEO, you need to hire professionals who you think can do the responsibilities for the job opening. Find the talent who will fit into the job. You do not just hire people because you need to build your team. Searching for the best person to do the work will help your company grow at its finest by using their expertise.

The list mentioned above contains the ideal traits for being prodigious in the business. You may possess some, all, or none of the traits cited about the ways on how to be a great CEO but you must always believe in yourself. Remember that you’ll be the one who will handle the decision-making and critical tasks that may make or break the company.