In this podcast, Elena Botelho, partner at leadership advisory firm ghSMART and coleader of its CEO Genome Project, discusses the behaviors of successful CEOs. Research reveals that charisma, confidence, and pedigree have little impact. Instead, successful CEOs prioritize quick decision making, engaging for impact, adapting proactively, and delivering reliably. The significance of reliability and the ability to adapt to change are highlighted. A story of a CEO who transformed a struggling company through innovation and quick decision making is also shared.

Popular stereotypes of successful CEOs as charismatic white men with Ivy League degrees who never falter under pressure are often misleading.“[T]he CEOs I get to know up close and personal really look nothing like this image of perfection. And so we decided to dig into this with the data,” says Elena Botelho, who co-leads the CEO Genome Project and advises top leaders. Botelho tells IdeaCast host Sarah Green Carmichael that actual success in the C-suite has more to do with being decisive, staying adaptable, and delivering reliable results.Key topics include: leadership development, leadership transitions, decisiveness, adaptability, and results.HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. New episodes every week.Listen to the original HBR IdeaCast episode: 4 Behaviors of Top-Performing CEOs (May 2017)Find more episodes of HBR IdeaCast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hbr-ideacast/id152022135?mt=2Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more: https://hbr.org/