Turnover for chief executives has doubled since statistics began to be complied in 1999, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. In 2004, 663 chief executives left, and then in 2005, the number doubled to 1332. CEOs are now lasting only 7.6 years in office, down from 9.5 in 1995, according to Booz Allen. And an Havard Business Review article reports that two out of every five new CEOs fail in the first 18 months on the job.
Here are the major reasons for new leaders' failure*:
There is no process to assismilate executives into the firm.................22%
The new leaders don't have the required internal political savvy.......25%
They are unclear about what their bosses expect..............................33%
They fail to build relationships with staff and peers............................52%
Here are the major reasons for new leaders' failure*:
There is no process to assismilate executives into the firm.................22%
The new leaders don't have the required internal political savvy.......25%
They are unclear about what their bosses expect..............................33%
They fail to build relationships with staff and peers............................52%
They fail to establish a cultural fit…........................................75%
*from the Wall Street Journal, Nov 2006
Culture is what gets you everytime.
A wise Ford executive once was quoted as saying, "Culture eats strategy for breakfast", so you can only imagine what it does to new leaders coming into complex organizations with high expectations from shareholders, board members and employees.
A wise Ford executive once was quoted as saying, "Culture eats strategy for breakfast", so you can only imagine what it does to new leaders coming into complex organizations with high expectations from shareholders, board members and employees.
"Because most organizations usually do not include any type of culture data in their leadership onboarding programs, (that is, if they have a leadership onboarding program) the new leaders start out with a significant disadvantage. True, they can talk to their bosses or peers, but this information can be biased at best, and wrong, at worst.
New leaders are prone to making common mistakes while attempting to communicate “big ideas” or determining how conflict is resolved. This not only slows their integration into the company, but taints how they are viewed by others. They will be accused of “not getting it” or “not being the right fit” for the job. This can result in lost time to productivity, team dysfunction, and general opposition to whatever changes they are attempting to implement.
Smart organizations capture that information, summarize it and present it to their new leaders in a way that is understandable and doable. They can immediately “get” how to behave in meetings, the most effective communication methods and where the power centers are in the
organization.
With this critical information, new leaders are equipped to more quickly produce the results for which they were hired. They are also more likely to express satisfaction in their work and their relationships if they have fully absorbed this cultural information. This translates to their performing at a higher level and increases their likelihood of staying with the organization, while not regretting their decision to join it."
Smart organizations capture that information, summarize it and present it to their new leaders in a way that is understandable and doable. They can immediately “get” how to behave in meetings, the most effective communication methods and where the power centers are in the
organization.
With this critical information, new leaders are equipped to more quickly produce the results for which they were hired. They are also more likely to express satisfaction in their work and their relationships if they have fully absorbed this cultural information. This translates to their performing at a higher level and increases their likelihood of staying with the organization, while not regretting their decision to join it."
-Excerpt from Leadership Culture: Impact on Strategy, November 2007
To get this whole whitepaper on the impact of culture on strategy, email us at info@connectthedotsconsulting.com and we will add you to our email distribution.
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