According to data from LinkedIn, the key to becoming a high level executive is to diversify your experience. By taking on as many job functions as possible, you will be exposing yourself to a wide range of business practices that can inform on your future decisions. If, for example, you were a marketer that delved into finance for a brief period of time, you would not only have a bevy of new skills to apply to your current position, you’d also cultivate relationships and connections with peers and authority figures that can help forward your career. The more friends you know, the better chances you have of making it to the top of the mountain. However, while diversification of fields can help propel someone to CEO-status, switching industries can have a negative effect on your chances. Whether it’s because of the loss connections or the notion that you are “starting over,” if you want to be a CEO, you need to stick to your industry. There is one other factor needed to become a CEO, but you’re not going to like it: luck. Just like professional athletes, popular musicians, and famous comedians, future-CEOs need to be in the right place, at the right time, with the right equipment to do the job. Unfortunately, you can’t plan for luck. What you can plan for is having the right equipment for the job when the right place and right time come along. Because otherwise, you’re going to blow your shot at the big desk.
