Limited Job Security at the Top
According to a Reuters article posted on shrm.org, CEO turnover in public companies in the year 2005 was again at an all-time high and if the trend continues one in seven CEOs will be out of a job next year. While the mix of reasons for the turnover includes the expected mergers & acquisitions as well as retirements the bottom-line is that more than ever CEOs are failing to deliver results and are being held more accountable.
The figures cited in the article make one wonder are the expectations higher or are the skill sets weakening? Recent articles from the Center for Creative Leadership raise the issue of increasing ineffectiveness of executives due to their failure to change their leadership skill sets. Those same skills that have helped executives rise in their career are now causing their demise.
We have been conditioned over time to accept that absolutely no one is irreplaceable. However, the reality is that failures of a company's most senior level management can cause incredible and long-lasting damage to the entire organization. The symptoms of the pending executive failure include higher turnover, lower productivity, lower morale and reduction in quality. The transition to a new senior executive can include more upheaval as past problems are cleaned up and the new executive puts his/her mark on the organization and its culture.
Companies, boards of directors and executives need to remember that Leadership Development is not just for lower level leaders. Executives who do not continue to develop and sharpen their skill sets may very well find themselves in next year's executive turn-over statistics. Human Resource professionals need to be advocating appropriate development in the top levels of the organization as well as advocating succession plans that include accurate success profiles targeted to meet the changing leadership requirements of today's business environment.
Take a look around your organization. Are symptoms of executive weaknesses and potential failure becoming evident in the organization? Do you have executive who haven't changed their leadership style and approach in 30 to 40 years? What plans have you put in place to address weaknesses in the executive suite? Your future as well as your company's may be depending on the developmental actions you take this year and next.
To read Emily Chasan's article as posted on shrm.org click here: CEO Turnover At An All-time High
Posted by Denise Knutson, Senior Consultant, The H.S. Group
The figures cited in the article make one wonder are the expectations higher or are the skill sets weakening? Recent articles from the Center for Creative Leadership raise the issue of increasing ineffectiveness of executives due to their failure to change their leadership skill sets. Those same skills that have helped executives rise in their career are now causing their demise.
We have been conditioned over time to accept that absolutely no one is irreplaceable. However, the reality is that failures of a company's most senior level management can cause incredible and long-lasting damage to the entire organization. The symptoms of the pending executive failure include higher turnover, lower productivity, lower morale and reduction in quality. The transition to a new senior executive can include more upheaval as past problems are cleaned up and the new executive puts his/her mark on the organization and its culture.
Companies, boards of directors and executives need to remember that Leadership Development is not just for lower level leaders. Executives who do not continue to develop and sharpen their skill sets may very well find themselves in next year's executive turn-over statistics. Human Resource professionals need to be advocating appropriate development in the top levels of the organization as well as advocating succession plans that include accurate success profiles targeted to meet the changing leadership requirements of today's business environment.
Take a look around your organization. Are symptoms of executive weaknesses and potential failure becoming evident in the organization? Do you have executive who haven't changed their leadership style and approach in 30 to 40 years? What plans have you put in place to address weaknesses in the executive suite? Your future as well as your company's may be depending on the developmental actions you take this year and next.
To read Emily Chasan's article as posted on shrm.org click here: CEO Turnover At An All-time High
Posted by Denise Knutson, Senior Consultant, The H.S. Group
posted by The H.S. Group at
8:47 AM
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