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How to become a CEO

Becoming a CEO is an in-demand career path. It requires deep expertise in Leadership and a strong network to carry you along. Here are some resources to help you on your journey.

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Why should you become a 
CEO?

Demand for experts in Leadership is growing rapidly. Companies are looking for people with deep expertise in the field of Leadership to help them build their products and services.

No wonder that interest in a career in Leadership is growing rapidly. Explore the resources below to learn more about how to become a CEO.

Table of Contents

Best books to build Leadership understanding.

A well-written and thorough book can be an amazing path to build deeper understanding and also act as a handbook as you discover the internet's vast resources.

These are our and our experts top picks to get started building career-relevant skills.

The 360 Degree Leader: Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization

In The 360 Degree Leader, you will learn how to: overcome the challenges facing the vast majority of professionals; understand the pressures and pain points that come from being caught in the middle; and gain the confidence and competence to step into their roles as significant influencers.

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The coaching habit (summary) : say less, ask more & change the way you lead forever

The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier is a management book that teaches how to ask effective questions and provide impactful feedback to help team members solve their own problems and reach their goals.

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Unbreakable: Building and Leading Resilient Teams

They highlight four team resources that are essential to any resilient team, including: team confidence, teamwork roadmaps, capacity to improvise, and psychological safety. These four resources are brought to life through compelling stories of teams that performed well in the face of adversity—and a few that didn't.

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The Mentor Leader: Secrets to Building People and Teams That Win Consistently

Now, a storied career and a Super Bowl victory later, Tony Dungy is sharing his unique leadership philosophy with you. In The Mentor Leader, Tony reveals what propelled him to the top of his profession and shows how you can apply the same approach to virtually any area of your life.

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Leaders Eat Last

Leaders Eat Last' by Simon Sinek is a thought-provoking book on how great leaders create a circle of safety in the workplace, inspiring trust, cooperation, and peak performance. He explains how a leader putting the needs of the team first can create a culture of success.

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Wooden on Leadership: How to Create a Winning Organization

John Wooden’s goal in 41 years of coaching never changed; namely, to get maximum effort and peak performance from each of his players in the manner that best served the team. Wooden on Leadership explains step-by-step how he pursued and accomplished this goal. Focusing on Wooden’s 12 Lessons in Leadership and his acclaimed Pyramid of Success, it outlines the mental, emotional, and physical qua…

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Courses to deepen your Leadership skills.

These days, courses are no longer a sequence of videos. They are usually accompanied by projects and a learning community, keeping you accountable and on the path.

Our experts recommend these courses, from free selections to paid programs.

Executive Certificate in Management and Leadership

The Executive Certificate in Management and Leadership is an ideal option for business professionals and technical executives seeking to enhance their general management and leadership skills to become effective leaders in a dynamic business world. Courses in this track focus on core business compe…
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Leadership & Management Certificate Program

The Leadership and Management Certificate online program offers leadership courses designed to help executives across the organization reach new levels of success. Learn cutting-edge management concepts from world-class Wharton faculty. For companies looking to achieve and increase competitive adva…
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Leading Strategic Change: How to Really Deliver the Shift Your Organization Needs

Many strategic change efforts fail, and almost all are harder to execute than they need to be. Why? And what can leaders do to increase the chances that their change effort is successful? This new 4.5-day course explains the four critical steps required to deliver strategic change and sustained per…
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LEADERSHIP ESSENTIALS

Today’s organizational leaders are one part manager, one part HR professional. This certificate program will teach you how to elevate into a true leader instead of simply a manager. Find out what your leadership style is and how to develop the interpersonal skills needed to take charge. Knowing t…
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Learning through online courses can be challenging. Get 1:1 guidance from an experienced mentor who can help you stay accountable and answer your questions along the way.
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Leadership and Ethics: Moral Leadership in Personal Practice

Effective leaders are constantly trying to understand how change can occur to impact the public good. In Leadership and Ethics, created by Christopher Robichaud, senior lecturer in ethics and public policy at Harvard Kennedy School, in concert with a team of the School’s learning designers, individ…
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Leading Successful Programs: Using Evidence to Assess Effectiveness

In dynamic sessions, you will explore a framework for thinking about a range of evidence types and delve deeply into specific evidence generating strategies – experimental and quasi-experimental designs, implementation evaluation, predictive analytics – taking time to understand the strengths and l…
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Top Leadership Certifications

Mastering the fundamentals of Leadership will help you earn valuable certifications. Our expert mentors can guide you through the certification process and help strengthen your knowledge.

Harvard Certificates of Leadership Excellence

Hosted by professional.dce.harvard.edu

Harvard Professional & Executive Development Certificates of Leadership Excellence (CLE) are specifically designed for leaders with the desire to advance their business management and leadership skills. In creating each certificate, we have carefully curated a set of leadership programs that builds…

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Leadership Certification Coaching

Hosted by mentorcruise.com

Consider reaching out to a coach specialized in Leadership certifications. They can help you prepare for your exam, and provide you with the necessary resources to succeed. MentorCruise is the best place to find a coach for your Leadership certification. Here are a few top picks:
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Penn Leadership & Management Certificate Program

Hosted by online.wharton.upenn.edu

The Leadership and Management Certificate online program offers leadership courses designed to help executives across the organization reach new levels of success. Learn cutting-edge management concepts from world-class Wharton faculty. For companies looking to achieve and increase competitive adva…

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MIT Executive Certificate in Management and Leadership

Hosted by executive.mit.edu

Leadership isn’t what it used to be. Increasingly, leaders are accountable for the economic and social welfare of the entire enterprise while simultaneously running a business unit. They are charged with leading teams through significant transitions. They must overcome capability gaps to effectivel…

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Cornell Leadership Essentials

Hosted by ecornell.cornell.edu

Today’s organizational leaders are one part manager, one part HR professional. This certificate program will teach you how to elevate into a true leader instead of simply a manager. Find out what your leadership style is and how to develop the interpersonal skills needed to take charge. Knowing t…

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UBalt Certificate in Organizational Leadership

Hosted by ubalt.edu

The Graduate Certificate in Organizational Leadership is designed to enhance the leadership acumen of business professionals like you. Whether you have an extensive background in business or are still learning the basics, this certificate will help you increase your understanding of the concepts an…

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Leadership Workshop

Hosted by mentorcruise.com

Consider joining a workshop specialized in Leadership. Workshops are a great way to learn new skills, and get hands-on experience. MentorCruise is the best place to find a workshop for your Leadership certification. Here are a few top picks:
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Oxford Executive Diploma in Organisational Leadership

Hosted by sbs.ox.ac.uk

It’s clear that the ‘Age of Uncertainty’ is upon us, bringing with it market turbulence, stunted growth and political change. In unprecedented times, leaders bear the burden of balancing the scales, from the needs of the employer versus those of employees, to prioritising agility and innovation alo…

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Get the guidance you need to become a CEO

There is no better source of accountability and motivation than having a personal mentor. What used to be impossible to find is now just two clicks away! All mentors are vetted & hands-on!

Only 1 Spot Left

Ben Sheppard 🇪🇸

CEO at Silta Finance
5.0 (14)

Welcome! I'm a seasoned Board Director and C-Suite Officer with twenty two years of experience across Asia and Europe, specializing in tech, infrastructure, and sustainability. I've founded four companies and navigated multi-million dollar equity and token investment rounds, bringing a wealth of real-world knowledge and strategic insight. My journey has …
Business & Management Leadership Sales Fundraising Marketing Governance Management
$240 / month

Vittorio Filice 🇬🇧

Founder | CEO | Tech Entrepreneur at Drip Consulting Enterprise
5.0 (1)

With over 10 years of experience guiding freelancers, tech entrepreneurs, and software development agencies, I'm passionate about empowering individuals to achieve their business goals. I currently own a software development company, I'm a tech entrepreneur, public speaker and mentor. 🚀 I CAN HELP YOU: • Brainstorm & Validate your business …
Business & Management Software Development Entrepreneurship Tech Product Roadmap Consulting Artificial Intelligence
$320 / month

Vladimir Baranov 🇺🇸

Founder / YC and Techstars Mentor / CTO / COO / CEO, Executive Coach & Engineering Leadership, Business Innovation, Entrepreneurship, VC and Fundraising
5.0 (31)

🏅Certified Executive Coach (ICF & BECI) Hi! I am Vladimir. I have spent over 20 years in start-up and technology industries across fin-tech, wealth-tech and space-tech. I had founder and executive roles that exposed me to many meaningful experiences. I have gone through a lot of personal growth that helped …
Business & Management Startup Innovation Bootstrapping Founder Entrepreneurship Leadership
$390 / month
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Yashih Wu 🇺🇸

Founder & CEO at WunderLyon Labs
5.0 (3)

Best for entrepreneurs, strategists, biz dev, GMs, career switchers, people of color, mission-oriented folks and women across all industries. I help my mentees identify strategic growth opportunities both professionally and personally, magnify their impact, and navigate challenging or ambiguous career decisions in the context of their whole person. Book a …
Business & Management Business Strategy Business Development Career Coaching Sustainability Consulting Startups
$480 / month
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Tom Lloyd 🇬🇧

B2B Marketing Mentor & CEO at Cold.inc
5.0 (3)

Yo. B2B Marketing is hard! 🫠 But it can at least be simple. Having spent 10+ years in executive leadership positions at high-growth B2B SaaS startups across the US and UK, I appreciate the *ahem* less-than-ideal, real-world situations businesses find themselves in as they attempt to build the rocket ship …
Product & Marketing Leadership Marketing Strategy Startup Go To Market B2B Marketing
$150 / month
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Oleg Karakash 🇺🇦

CEO / CPO / Startup founder / Venture Partner at Stamina AI / ExoChat / Gradient / Teleport
5.0 (3)

I help startups to achieve their goals and avoid the most common mistakes. Main info about me: — Have raised $10M for startups — Made 1 successful exit (one startup has been sold to Snapchat for $8 000 000) — Launched 10+ products from scratch — Fluent in 5 languages …
Business & Management Entrepreneurship Start Up Fundraising Go To Market Team Strategy
$150 / month

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Tips from the Leadership blog

Learn more about Leadership with our expert advice.

The C in CEO stands for Confidence

Being a CEO or Founder is hard. The pressure, the expectations, and the responsibility are all overwhelming. If I had listened to my fears and doubts, and stayed there, I wouldn't be here today sharing with you my path. Here are three things that helped me develop my confidence along the way:

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