Becoming a CEO requires unique skills and abilities that differentiate CEOs from other executives. The document analyzes assessments of over 3,700 executives, including 134 CEOs, to identify nine attributes that CEOs possess more than other leaders, such as a willingness to take calculated risks and ability to efficiently understand people. It provides these findings to help optimize CEO succession planning and development.
Becoming a CEO requires unique skills and abilities that differentiate CEOs from other executives. The document analyzes assessments of over 3,700 executives, including 134 CEOs, to identify nine attributes that CEOs possess more than other leaders, such as a willingness to take calculated risks and ability to efficiently understand people. It provides these findings to help optimize CEO succession planning and development.
Becoming a CEO requires unique skills and abilities that differentiate CEOs from other executives. The document analyzes assessments of over 3,700 executives, including 134 CEOs, to identify nine attributes that CEOs possess more than other leaders, such as a willingness to take calculated risks and ability to efficiently understand people. It provides these findings to help optimize CEO succession planning and development.
Becoming a CEO requires unique skills and abilities that differentiate CEOs from other executives. The document analyzes assessments of over 3,700 executives, including 134 CEOs, to identify nine attributes that CEOs possess more than other leaders, such as a willingness to take calculated risks and ability to efficiently understand people. It provides these findings to help optimize CEO succession planning and development.
Becoming a CEO is the greatest leap that an executive can
make in his or her career. What makes it such an extraordinary
transition, of course, is the complexity of the role and the skill that is required to manage that complexity successfully. So, what exactly do CEOs have that other leaders dont? To answer that questionand, by doing so, help aspiring CEOs optimize their trajectories and assist current CEOs and boards in making better CEO succession planning decisionswe analyzed our database of nearly 4,000 executive assessments, including over 130 CEOs. These tests measure a number of competencies, such as relationship skills, communication skills and decision-making approaches. We believe our findings will reaffirm with quantitative evidence what is perceived to be true and, more important, will provide fresh perspectives around what it takes to make it to the top. In Touch with the Board addresses critical corporate governance issues, including board composition, assessment, and CEO and director succession. In Touch with the Board Demographics Total Respondents: 3,700+ CEOs: 134 Company Sizes: $1 billion to $70 billion Industries: Consumer, Education, Financial Services, Industrial and Technology Geographies: North America (75%) Europe (25%) Making It to the Top: Nine Attributes That Differentiate CEOs 2 Leadership, Succession and Search. In Touch with the Board 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% Forward Thinking F o r w a r d
T h i n k i n g C a l c u l a t e d
R i s k
T a k i n g B i a s e d
T o w a r d
( T h o u g h t f u l )
A c t i o n O p t i m i s t i c C o n s t r u c t i v e l y
T o u g h
M i n d e d E f
c i e n t
R e a d e r
o f
P e o p l e M e a s u r e d
E m o t i o n P r a g m a t i c a l l y
I n c l u s i v e W i l l i n g n e s s
t o
T r u s t Intrepid Team Building 27% 22% 16% 14% 17% 15% 14% 10% 13% A B C 1 2 3 Key Findings I. Of 60 common attributes used to assess leaders, CEOs differ from other executives in nine of them. (Figure 1) The other 51 attributes remain important for leadership effectiveness, however, they do not differentiate CEOs from other executives. II. CEOs differ most from non-CEOs in terms of their: Willingness to take calculated risksFigure 1, Number 1 Bias toward actionFigure 1, Number 2 Ability to efficiently read peopleFigure 1, Number 3 Figure 1: Percent Differences in Attribute Scores between CEOs and Non-CEO Executives III. The nine attributes differentiating CEOs fall into three categories: Forward Thinkingthe ability to plan for the future Intrepidthe ability to perform effectively in complex and difficult environments Team Buildingthe ability to achieve success through others Figure 2 IV. Analysis within and across the nine attributes reveals a number of interesting CEO profile paradoxes: Within attributes, note the usage of but within seven of the nine differentiators. See Figure 2. Across attributes, CEOs are: Strategic yet tacticalsee Figure 1, Letter A Tough yet emotionally sensitivesee Figure 1, Letter B Decisive yet inclusivesee Figure 1, Letter C These paradoxes suggest that CEOs possess a broad range of capabilities andmore importantknow when to flex one opposing capability over another to achieve the right outcome. Recommended Actions In addition to highlighting the attributes that differentiate CEOs from the rest, we wanted to provide aspiring and current CEOs and board members with recommended actions that can be used to improve succession planning, leadership development and retention of top talent. I. CEO Success Profiles: Incorporate the nine attributes in your CEO success profile and assess (internal and external) CEO succession candidates across the nine attributes. II. Individual Development Plans: For internal CEO succession candidates, design formal individual development plans (IDP) highlighting on-the-job development activities that target specific areas for improvement. Help candidates think through the key lessons each experience will teach prior to task commencement and ask him/her to reflect on key learnings following the completion of an activity. III. Performance Reviews: Periodically review IDP performance to gauge improvement levels. Conclusion For sitting CEOs and those who wish to become a CEOand for boards who need to effectively identify and prepare CEO successorsknowing which skills and abilities matter most is essential for success. We hope that the findings from this study provide a useful guide for identifying and building the capabilities that differentiate CEOs from the rest. Authors Dean Stamoulis leads the firms Global Leadership & Succession Practice, which provides in-depth assessment of leaders based on psycho metric testing and behavioral interviews, to assist clients with leadership development, retention and succession strategies. Dean has been published in BusinessWeek and the American Psychological Associations Journal of Applied Psychology and is the author of Senior Executive Assessment: A Key to Responsible Corporate Governance. Erika Mannion is the firms Leadership and Succession Practice Leader for the UK and a member of the European Board Practice. She leads Executive Assessments and Board Appraisals for clients across a range of industries for CEO succession planning, post-merger integration, private equity due diligence and talent development initiatives. Forward Thinking Forward Thinking Plans ahead and is prepared for the future Category Attribute CEO Differentiator Intrepid Calculated Risk Taking Is comfortable taking calculated but not careless risks Biased Toward (Thoughtful) Action Is biased toward execution but not too impulsive Optimistic Actively and optimistically pursues new opportunities Constructively Tough Minded Is thick skinned and perserverent but not insensitive Team Building Efficient Reader of People Seeks to understand different perspectives but does not overanalyze Measured Emotion Displays intensity/emotion but maintains control Pragmatically Inclusive Involves others in decisions but also is an independent decision maker Willingness to Trust Is comfortable with a variety of people but is not too trusting Leadership, Succession and Search. 3
Americas Atlanta 1180 Peachtree St., NE Suite 2250 Atlanta, GA 30309-3521 United States of America Tel: +1-404-577-3000 Boston One Federal Street, 25th Floor Boston, MA 02110-1007 United States of America Tel: +1-617-523-1111 Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Plaza Manuela Senz 323 Seventh Floor, Suites 14and 15 C1107CBP Buenos Aires Argentina Tel:+54-11-4118-8900 Calgary Suite 750, Ernst & Young Tower 440-2nd Avenue SW Calgary, Alberta T2P 5E9 Canada Tel: +1-403-776-4174 Chicago 155 North Wacker Drive Suite 4100 Chicago, IL 60606-1732 United States of America Tel: +1-312-993-9696 Dallas 8401 N. Central Expressway Suite 650 Dallas, TX 75225-4404 United States of America Tel: +1-214-220-2033 Houston 600 Travis Street, Suite 2200 Houston, TX 77002-2901 United States of America Tel: +1-713-754-5995 Los Angeles 11100 Santa Monica Blvd. Suite 350 Los Angeles, CA 90025-3384 United States of America Tel: +1-310-775-8940 Mexico City Torre Reforma Paseo de la Reforma 115-1502 Lomas de Chapultepec Mxico 11000, D.F. Mxico Tel: +52-55-5249-5130 Minneapolis/St. Paul 225 South Sixth Street, Suite 2550 Minneapolis, MN 55402-3900 United States of America Tel: +1-612-332-6966 New York 200 Park Avenue Suite 2300 New York, NY 10166-0002 United States of America Tel: +1-212-351-2000 Palo Alto 260 Homer Avenue, Suite 202 Palo Alto, CA 94301-2777 United States of America Tel: +1-650-233-2400 San Francisco 101 California Street Suite 2900 San Francisco, CA 94111-5829 United States of America Tel: +1-415-352-3300 So Paulo Edifcio Eldorado Business Tower Av. Naes Unidas, 8501 11 Andar 05425-070 So Paulo - SP Brazil Tel: +55-11-3566-2400 Stamford 301 Tresser Boulevard Suite 1210 Stamford, CT 06901-3250 United States of America Tel: +1-203-905-3341 Toronto Scotia Plaza, Suite 3410 40 King Street West Toronto, ON M5H 3Y2 Canada Tel: +1-416-364-3355 Washington, D.C. 1701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Suite 400 Washington, D.C. 20006-5810 United States of America Tel: +1-202-654-7800 Asia/Pacific Beijing Unit 3422 China World Tower 1 No. 1 Jian Guo Men Wai Avenue Beijing 100004 China Tel: +86-10-6535-1188 Hong Kong Room 1801, Alexandra House 18 Chater Road Central Hong Kong China Tel: +852-2523-9123 Melbourne Level 51, Rialto Towers 525 Collins Street Melbourne VIC 3000 Australia Tel: +61-3-9603-1300 Mumbai Unit 9(A), Grand Hyatt Plaza Santacruz (East) Mumbai 400 055 India Tel: +91-22-6733-2222 New Delhi 203, Eros Corporate Tower Nehru Place New Delhi 110 019 India Tel: +91-11-4603-4600 Seoul 16F West Tower Mirae Asset Centre 1 Building 26 Eulji-ro 5-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul 100-210 Korea Tel: +82-2-6030-3200 Shanghai Room 4504, Jin Mao Tower 88 Century Avenue Pudong, Shanghai 200121 China Tel: +86-21-6163-0888 Singapore 2 Shenton Way #08-01 SGX Centre 1 Singapore 068804 Singapore Tel: +65-6225-1811 Sydney Level 40, Aurora Place 88 Phillip Street Sydney NSW 2000 Australia Tel: +61-2-9258-3100 Tokyo Izumi Garden Tower 14F 1-6-1 Roppongi Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-6014 Japan Tel: +81-3-5114-3700 Europe Amsterdam World Trade Center Tower H, 18th Floor Zuidplein 148 1077 XV Amsterdam The Netherlands Tel: +31-20-305-7630 Barcelona Edificio Prisma Avda. Diagonal, 613, 2A 08028 Barcelona Spain Tel: +34-93-494-9400 Brussels Boulevard St.-Michel 27 B-1040 Brussels Belgium Tel: +32-2-743-12-20 Copenhagen Kongens Nytorv 3 DK-1050 Copenhagen K Denmark Tel: +45-33-69-23-20 Frankfurt OpernTurm Bockenheimer Landstr. 2-4 60306 Frankfurt Germany Tel: +49-69-75-60-90-0 Hamburg Stadthausbrcke 1-3/Fleethof 20355 Hamburg Germany Tel: +49-40-480-661-0 London Almack House 28 King Street London SW1Y 6QW United Kingdom Tel: +44-20-7839-7788 Madrid Calle Miguel Angel, 11 Seventh Floor 28010 Madrid Spain Tel: +34-91-319-7100 Milan Via Mascheroni, 5 20123 Milan Italy Tel: +39-02-430-0151 Munich Maximilianstrae 12-14 80539 Mnchen Germany Tel: +49-89-24-89-81-3 Paris 7, Place Vendme 75001 Paris France Tel: +33-1-49-26-13-00 Stockholm Hamngatan 27 SE-111 47 Stockholm Sweden Tel: +46-8-545-074-40 Warsaw Belvedere Plaza ul. Belwederska 23 00-761 Warsaw Poland Tel: +48-22-851-68-38 Zrich Lwenstrasse 28 CH-8001 Zurich Switzerland Tel: +41-44-447-30-30 Leadership, Succession and Search. In todays global business environment, success is driven by the talent, vision and leadership capabilities of senior executives. Russell Reynolds Associates is a leading global executive search and assessment firm with more than 300 consultants based in 41 offices worldwide. Our consultants work closely with public and private organizations to assess and recruit senior executives and board members to drive long-term growth and success. Our in-depth knowledge of major industries and of our clients specific business challenges, combined with our understanding of who and what make an effective leader, ensures that our clients secure the best leadership teams for the ongoing success of their businesses. www.russellreynolds.com 2013 Russell Reynolds Associates, Inc. Russell Reynolds is a trademark of Russell Reynolds Associates, Inc.
