CEO

You can use a 360 degree feedback process or simply ask in an e-mail. It is a lot easier to hear feedback on your performance if you have explicitly asked for it.

Make sure people within the organization know your goals and know what you can be counted on to do. Hold yourselves accountable. If you do not meet your goals, withhold your bonus, take no raise and treat yourself exactly as you would treat an employee who missed their targets. It sends a powerful message to the company that you are serious about performance.

When things do not go the way you want, take responsibility whether or not it is your fault. The mindset of responsibility will put you in a much more powerful place than the mindset of blame. Regularly review circumstances asking, What could I do differently (or stop doing) to make a positive difference? Identify the action and then take it. You will be surprised how much more power you have over externalities, operating from responsibility rather than blame.

☛ Acknowledge.

☛ Get that it is all your responsibility.

☛ Gather honest advisors to hold you accountable for your behavior.

☛ Identify your limits.

☛ Create measurable performance criteria for your executive team, including yourself.

☛ Ask your direct reports, your board of directors and anyone else you work with for feedback a couple of times a year.

☛ Videotape yourself receiving bad news.

Pretend that your job is to make this person a success. Ask them how their job fits into the work the company does. If they do not know, take on the responsibility of helping them understand how their job links to the vision. Clarify any confusion they may have about where the company is going and ask them what you can do to help them succeed at doing their best. Then do it.

Sometimes a board of directors will give honest feedback but they are removed from your day to day behavior. Actively solicit feedback from third parties, friends, peers, associates. Share your issues and how you are handling them and ask for an honest assessment. Everyone in a company is accountable to someone for their behavior, except the CEO. Make yourself accountable as best you can.

Without your employees, your dreams and plans would not amount to much. Take every available opportunity to acknowledge the contribution of those around you and give them credit, especially in public. Feedback is rare in most companies and positive feedback is rarest of all.

Learn about their job. Ask what works for them and what does not. Above all, listen to their comments without judgment. Your goal is to connect with their experience of the world, not impose your own. Learn about their life. Find out what motivates them. Why did they come work for you instead of somewhere else? Simply by spending a few minutes under.standing their life, you can greatly increase your appreciation of how they are different and similar

Mondays can be a struggle for most professionals. However, when you love your job, Mondays can be positive. 66 percent of employers seek candidates who are self-motivated and 72 percent want to hire candidates with a positive attitude.

This is your opportunity to share why you are passionate about your career. Talk about what motivates you most in your career and how you will use that passion as inspiration during the work week.

Having no day to day accountability for his/her actions can also turn a CEO sour. When things go wrong, she can blame everyone around his/her without facing his/her own shortcomings. My employees just do not get it, proclaims the CEO, never thinking for a moment that she is the one who hired them. Did they hire incompetents? Or have they failed to communicate goals consistently and clearly? Market conditions have changed. They declare. A nice excuse but is not it the CEO's job to anticipate the market and position the company for success under a variety of scenarios? Without someone to keep his/her honest, he/she can gradually absolve himself/herself of all responsibility.

Employers ask this question because they want to know if a candidate understands what their company is trying to accomplish. Employers already know you are going to research the company. Therefore, by asking this question, you are able to explain what you truly think about the company.

Focus your answer on what you have learned about the mission and values of the organization. You should also incorporate your personal values into your answer and how they will help you bring success to the organization.

Share a story about the time when you first become interested in your career. It could be a story about your first internship or an experience that attracted you to this type of work. When you tell your story, be sure to highlight experiences that relate to the job for which you are interviewing.

According to a survey, 21 percent of employers want to hire candidates with strong creative thinking. Chances are interviewers will ask candidates how they can push the envelope in their positions once hired.

Talk about a project where you were forced to think outside of the box and utilize your resourcefulness. This helps interviewers understand your willingness to take risks and try new things.

This can be a tricky question, especially if you left your job on a negative note. However, employers ask this question to learn about your personality.

This is a good opportunity to talk about your work ethic and how your personality fit into your previous position. If you had a negative experience at your last job, share what you learned from the position and how you turned it into a positive experience.

Employers love hearing about accomplishment stories. Not only do they illustrate how you are qualified for the position but they also show what makes you unique as a candidate.

Share an accomplishment story from past experience that is applicable to the position for which you are applying.

Tell the employer about your vision as an employee for their company. The interviewer already knows you are qualified for the position, now you need to explain how you will help their company reach the next level. Talk about a combination of your skills and strengths that will bring you success as an employee. You should also reference previous accomplishment stories that would support your vision for this job.

A CEO is hired to run the company and lead it into the future. Practically speaking, the game plan for the CEO will determine and direct the game plan for all other employees. Investigate the company before you attend the interview. Try to discern any gaps or problems and offer them as possibilities to the interviewer. Suggest time frames for improvement assuming normal parameters, which you will specify as well.

The best approach is to speak about your wish to have a long and mutually satisfying working experience with the company. Point out how your qualifications and experience can create new vistas for the company. Also, observe that a company with a vast business would always want well qualified and strong staff, in a bid to increase their market presence. And it all hinges on the CEO. That is not the place for economizing.

Exuding confidence and presenting a positive/realistic picture of your success stories are your best responses. You may state that you are satisfied with your career and the way it has been progressed according to your plans. Avoid arrogance, give credit you superiors and other role-models you have learnt from.