The saying goes, there’s no elevator to success. But when you consider the “typical” career path of a CEO, you might think it’s pretty linear: First, earn an MBA, then, through a combination of sweat equity and savvy networking, rise up through one or more companies’ ranks, securing managerial, senior managerial, and then finally executive-level positions.
But in today’s environment of unpredictable change, the CEO’s role is evolving quickly. The job no longer comes with a standard template to follow, and many of the most impactful CEOs have forged unorthodox paths to success—paths that are now recognized more as strengths than weaknesses.