When moving from being a manager of a teen program to being the CEO of one or more of the same programs, there really is not that much of a difference in responsibilities. Rather, you become the manager of the managers of the teen programs being operated within your organization. You are to ensure that the bylaws set forth by the company are being followed consistently between locations, while at the same time realizing that each separate program needs a bit of latitude to be able to accommodate the needs of the community it serves.
Learning never stops, not even at the level of CEO. In this position, it is important to attend conferences of how to help grow and nurture a high school program (Office of Adolescent Health, 2016). A second way to continue learning is to constantly review literature regarding new methods of teaching and counseling, and make the decisions regarding implementing any new changes based on what you learn. A third way to continue learning is to go out into the field and continually find out how each program is doing, and to find out if all there needs are being met.
The buck stops with the CEO when it comes to accountability in any program, business or corporation (McNamara, C, n.d.). Therefore, as a CEO, you need to ensure that every program has the tools and knowledge necessary to be able to follow the code of ethics in its entirety. If the entire company remains educated, it is really not a very hard program to follow. Second, it is your job to ensure all employees are satisfied with their jobs. Good morale usually corresponds to a good program for the kids. This includes having a safe environment for the workers and students, having an adequate staff, and making sure the staff is trained and paid adequately (WNET, n.d.). Third, a CEO needs to make sure that their product or service is satisfactory for the consumer. This can be done through administering surveys to the parents, students, and teachers frequently, as well as going on the field (Geiger, E and Britsch, B, n.d.).
If you are just walking on as a CEO, and have no prior experience with this particular company, you will face the challenges of ensuring that individual programs throughout your company are meeting the cultural necessities of the surrounding community. For instance, if the program is in a large Latino neighborhood, the staff should be bilingual (ESLteacheredu.org, 2016). You will face situations in which the managers or staff of one program or many are not following at protocol, this is usually a symptom of an ineffective CEO beforehand. Finally, there are always adjustments with a companies budget that a CEO walks into, and one needs to ready to face making cuts or reallocating resources to make sure that each program is being ran consistently.
References:
ESLteacheredu.org. (2016). How to Become an English as a Second Language Teacher.
retrieved from http://www.eslteacheredu.org.
Geiger, E. and Britsch, B. (n.d.). Out of School Time Program Evaluation. Northwest
Regional Educational Library. retrieved from PDF search, OST-Tools.pdf
McNamara, C. (n.d.). Overview of Role of Chief Executive. Free Management Library
retrieved from http://managementhelp.org/chiefexecutives/.
Office of Adolescent Health. (2016). Annual Conferences and Meetings. Department of
Health and Human Services. retrieved from http://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/oah-
initiatives/teen_pregnancy/resources/annual-conferences.html.
WNET. (n.d.). Concept to Classroom - After School Programs. thirteen. retrieved from
http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/afterschool/implementation.html.
