The Person of the CEO: Understanding the Executive Experience

What is the role of the CEO in a corporation? Some experts believe that it is to create a vision of the future; others believe it is to shape the organization's culture; and still others hold that the executive must be a "maker of meanings." In their two-year study of CEOs in the Clev...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Academy of Management Executive Vol. 3; no. 3; pp. 205 - 215
Main Authors Harry S. Jonas, III, Fry, Ronald E., Srivastva, Suresh
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Academy of Management 01.08.1989
Subjects
Art exhibitions
Bullets
Business management
Business structures
Chief executive officers
Educational administration
Management education
Manager behavior
Moral judgment
Skepticism
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Summary:What is the role of the CEO in a corporation? Some experts believe that it is to create a vision of the future; others believe it is to shape the organization's culture; and still others hold that the executive must be a "maker of meanings." In their two-year study of CEOs in the Cleveland area, Jonas, Fry, and Srivastva found that chief executives create meaning in three different ways: through their lessons about early life experience, their beliefs about leadership, and their relationship to the organization. And the common underlying theme -- and one that is basic to the CEO's efforts to create meaning -- is that of exceptionality. CEOs strive to present their life stories in unique ways, formulate a view of leadership grounded in their unique experience, and portray their relationship to the organization in ways that differentiate themselves from their peers. Thus, executive work is mostly talk -- and it is through language that executives convey the uniqueness of their role in the organization.
ISSN:0896-3789
2167-2709
DOI:10.5465/AME.1989.4274739