If you think you are ready to be th boss, you might be in for a surprise.

The talented men and women who become the heads of organizations have much in common, says Dr. Thomas Saporito, senior vice president of RHR International, the company that pioneered the field of corporate psychology. They are dedicated, hard-working, intelligent and motivated. Those adjectives describe the heads of the smallest start-up companies as well as the chief executive officers of the largest multi-national conglomerates.

Bosses are likely to be tough-minded and unafraid to go against the grain when they believe they are right. However, Saporito points out, no boss comes to the job fully prepared for the numerous challenges it will entail.

"No one accepting the chief executive officer position for the first time is really ready for it," he says. "It is unlike anything they have ever experienced. As hard as they worked to get there, as ready as they think they may be, they have inevitably underestimated the scope of challenges.

"Their natural reaction when they begin to recognize that fact is to intensify the actions that had always made them successful," Saporito continues. "The predictable result is surprise and discouragement when things do not work. They must recognize that it usually requires a change in the nature of their actions to be successful at the CEO level."

This executive had all the right qualities, Saporito says. He was thorough, tough-minded and diligent. He knew the company inside and out, having taken on increasingly responsible positions since joining the organization shortly after completing graduate school 15 years earlier. He was a fast-tracker--the proverbial "golden boy."

His boss, the CEO, had announced plans to retire, and there wasn't much doubt among the corporate staff who would be tapped as successor if the board decided to choose from within. When the company announced his selection to succeed the retiring CEO, analysts voiced their approval and the business press praised the selection.

Being a successful business owner will likely require you to make changes.

However, this "golden boy" lasted less than two years in the top spot. His abrupt departure had a negative impact on the company, and the board decided to look outside for its next CEO. Everyone voiced the same question: What went wrong?

There is a big difference between being an employee, an executive or even a senior executive and being the person in charge--the person ultimately responsible for the success or failure of a business venture, Saporito explains. And there is virtually no way to prepare fully for taking on that responsibility.

Issues are more complex and difficult to grasp. Solutions require greater subtely, increased sophistication and greater involvement from others. The requirements for success are completely different than the requirements for success as an employee or underling, he says.

"New CEOs universally under-estimate the scope of the challenges. They try to respond with the actions that have worked for them in the past, but that generally does not work," Saporito says. "They must consider, instead, how to change the nature of their actions."

You must take a long-term view and may not see results for months or years.

Change, of course, presents a whole new array of challenges to new CEOs, no matter how big or small the business they head might be. Change is ponderous and difficult to implement, and tangible results are often slow to materialize, Saporito notes. Major successes can be few and far between. As a result, heading up a business requires that you take a long-term view of things.

However, taking the long-term view often means that the results of your decisions will not have tangible implications for months or even years to come. As a result, as a new business owner you might wonder if you are having any impact at all. "New CEOs must learn that impact comes by trusting others and making effective use of an organization's talent and assets," Saporito says. "That requires a major effort."

Change at that level is more incremental than transformational, and new CEOs and business owners can be discouraged when their attempts at change do not quickly produce the desired results. Often they find they must compromise their original positions or make even more radical changes in order to achieve success.

For the head of any business organization, sustaining change can be just as challenging as initiating it. Don't be lulled into complacency by short-term success, Saporito warns. That does not necessarily signal the same will occur over the long term. Too many business owners and CEOs underestimate the inherent inertia that exists within an organization.

Changes made but not sustained can have a negative effect on a company, he says. Therefore, it is crucial that the top person in the organization take responsibility--or designate someone else to be explicitly responsible--for sustaining any changes that are enacted.

If your business venture is one that involves employees, you might expect to be able to rely on them as a conduit of useful information. That can be a mistake. Business owners and even senior executives often do not hear bad news because employees are reluctant to tell them, Saporito advises. "The more senior your position, the greater your need for feedback, and the less likely it is that you will receive candid feedback on any issue," he says. "This is known as the leadership paradox. The CEO must be ever mindful of this when making decisions."

If you head up a business that includes other people, one of your major responsibilities is the accurate assessment and deployment of your organization's talent.

"By accurately assessing talent and appropriately deploying it, new CEOs can obtain greater control over the variables leading to organizational success," Saporito says. "Failure to make the right personnel changes in a timely manner can perpetuate organizational damage."

New bosses may also fail to recognize and address the subtleties of the natural competition that often exists between functional areas, especially those outside their own experience and expertise. Failure to understand such territorialism can cause them to address conflict too slowly, too precipitously or not at all.

Business owners must be patient with themselves if they are to achieve success.

"New CEOs must be especially sensitive to subtle power struggles and infighting, which may hinder progress," Saporito says. "They must stay tuned to their network of reliable contacts throughout the organization to obtain feedback allowing them to monitor these trends."

Saporito concludes that virtually every new CEO or business owner soon comes to the conclusion that he or she has not been adequately prepared for the position. As new CEOs begin to understand how little they may know about some of the expected activities, they may experience personal confusion, anxiety and self-doubt.

"It is important for new CEOs to honestly accept the difficulty and daunting complexity of the position," he says. "This calls for self-examination and deliberation. Frantic activity will only increase anxiety and degrade outcomes. CEOs must be realistic about their skills and limitations and surround themselves with people whose skill sets are complementary."