Webster defines a CEO as

"the executive with the chief decision-making authority in an organization or business"

The trouble is that that is not always the case.  Sometimes the "Chairman" of the board plays an active role and makes the key decisions.  Sometimes the majority owner of the company makes the decisions.  Sometimes the CEO is merely the lead partner and the partnership makes the decisions as a group.  Sometimes CEO is an honorary title and someone else is really running the show.

If it's not clear what the real role of the CEO is, you know it's exponentially more difficult to figure out the real role of the President or Senior Executive Vice President.

This is why it's so important to clarify the role behind the title.  Whether you are hiring someone into a new role, or moving into a new role, or working with someone in a role, get clear on:

• Why the position exists
• Objectives/goals/outcomes
• Impact on the rest of the organization
• Specific responsibilities
• Organizational relationships and interdependencies*

* from the Recruiting Brief tool in Onboarding (Bradt and Vonnegut, Wiley, 2009)