Chief Executive or Managing Director
What the work is
Determines, formulates and reviews the general policy program and the overall direction of an organisation within the framework established by a board of directors or similar governing body.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Determines objectives, strategies, policies and programs for organisations
- Provides overall direction and management to organisations
- Authorises material, human and financial resources to implement organisational policies and programs
- Monitors and evaluates performance of the organisation against organisational objectives and strategies
- Consults with senior staff and reviews recommendations and reports
- Approves and presents reports, budgets and forecasts to major stakeholders, such as governing bodies and boards of directors
- Represents the organisation at official events, in negotiations, at conventions, seminars, public hearings and forums
- Selects or approves the selection of senior staff
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in the executive office of a fictional medium-sized company that makes irrigation equipment for farms. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A decision you backed, after weeks of doubt, turns out to be the right one for the company
- You walk the factory floor and a worker tells you something your reports never did
- The board, the staff and the customers all end the quarter pulling in the same direction
Hard days
- Every choice on your desk has already been through the easy options, so each one costs someone something
- A decision that is right for the business is hard for good people who work in it
- Being the one who answers when things go wrong, even if the cause was far down the line
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 121131, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.