Too many CEOs fail at their jobs. From 2000 to 2013, 25% of the Fortune 500 chief executives who left their firms were actually forced out. And that’s not a small number.
The chief executive’s role is far from easy. The problem tends to lie in the fundamental disconnect between what boards conventionally prescribe as the ideal makings of a true-blue CEO and what actually in a CEO shapes high performance. Often the disconnect accrues from ubiquitous yet unrealistic expectations partly shaped by official bios of Fortune 500 leaders – “… a charismatic six-foot-tall white man with a degree from a top university, who is a strategic visionary with a seemingly direct-to-the-top career path and the ability to make perfect decisions under pressure”. In reality, however, very few conform to this image. To investigate what makes CEOs succeed and why a large number of competent persons come up short, the CEO Genome Project was initiated, partnering economists of University of Chicago, Copenhagen Business School, and analysts at SAS Inc. A ten-ear study, involving 2000 CEOs, helped pin down attributes that distinguish super-CEOs from their lesser counterparts!
To begin with, the findings largely challenged widely accepted assumptions. While capable smart extroverts are often the preferred choice for the top job, introverts tend to surpass board and shareholder expectations slightly more. Besides, educational degrees do not correlate to performance, and track records of 45% executives reveal at least one major career debacle that might have proved costly to their organizations. Interestingly, traits that make a candidate look good to boards may really have little connection in shaping his success in the role. According to a 2014 survey from Korn Ferry, 87% of executives deliberately develop model behaviours in due course, which eventually raise the odds they’ll emerge as high-performing chief executives. The most critical discovery was that successful chief executives tend to demonstrate four specific behaviours, and when boards focus on those behaviours in their selection processes, they improve their chances of hiring right. They appear deceptively simple, yet practicing them with consistency is a tall order.
- Deciding with speed and conviction: While corporate lore about CEOs that seem to knowexactly how to steer their companies to great heights abounds, in reality CEOs do not necessarily make great decisions all the time. Instead, they stand out for being more decisive, making quick and timely decisions with conviction. This is often in unfamiliar domain with incomplete information and ambiguity staring in the face. Some highly intellectual executives, in their pursuit for the perfect solution, tend to struggle with indecision, causing their teams to get frustrated and stalling the very enterprise. Former Greyhound CEO Stephen Gorman mentioned, “A bad decision is better than a lack of direction. Most decisions can be undone, but you have to learn to move with the right amount of speed.” To that end, it is also crucial to know when not to decide and how long to hold back.
- Engaging for Impact: Once the CEO’s course of action is decided, it is important to get buy-insfrom relevant stakeholders, balancing their priorities with his deliverables. CEOs who astutely engage stakeholders with result orientation are found to be more successful in their roles. Without investing energy on being liked or steering clear from taking unpopular decisions, these CEOs align strategy and execution with disciplined communication. Without shying away from handling conflicting viewpoints or encountering contentious issues, they engage people giving everyone a voice, but not necessarily a vote.
- Adapting proactively: The aftermath of Brexit or the last US presidential elections prove yetagain how businesses and leaders must adjust to a rapidly changing environment. CEOs, especially in dynamic industries like technology, must learn to deftly break the mould and embrace changes. It is equally important to acknowledge that setbacks cannot be avoided when changing to a new order – but the measure of success is determined by prompt stock-taking of failed activities and course-correcting. Nearly 90% strong CEOs exhibit this ‘growth mindset’. While their attention and efforts are divided among short-, medium-, long-term perspectives, proactive and adaptable CEOs focus significantly on the long-term, cuing on broad information flows, sensing what’s the next big thing, and determining strategic moves to take advantage of the same.
- Delivering reliably: While employees look up to leaders they can genuinely trust, boards lovesteady hands. Therefore the ability to be reliable leaders who deliver results is the most powerful of the essential CEO behaviours. The simple practice of setting realistic expectations up front and following through on commitments can never go out of fashion. ‘Reliable’ CEOs do not jump into execution mode in the first few weeks after taking charge. Instead they complete their own due diligence to build their understanding of what’s realistic and achievable, suitably aligning expectations and implementation with They also establish sound business management systems that include “cadence of meetings, dashboards of metrics, clear accountability, and multiple channels for monitoring performance”. Last but not the least, they set the bar high, put strong teams in place, and single-mindedly focus on result-driven performance.
It goes without saying, there cannot be a perfect blend of the four behaviours that works for every CEO position in every organization or industry. Leadership success is neither a function of unalterable traits, nor is there a “one size fits all” approach to success. Yet, these simple four behaviors are powerful enough to improve both a board’s likelihood of choosing the right CEO and helping leaders aspiring for the CEO’s office.
October 2017
Based on Harvard Business Review South Asia May – June 2017, ‘What Sets Successful CEOs Apart’ by Elena Lytkina Botelho, partner at leadership advisory firm ghSmart and founder of CEO Genome Project, Kim Rosenkoetter Powell, principal ghSmart and co-leader of CEO Genome Project, Stephen Kincaid, principal at ghSmart and past president of the Society of Consulting Psychology, and Dina Wang, principal at ghSmart and former fellow of Forum for Growth and Innovation at Harvard Business School.