15.11.2021
CEOS ARE GETTING WEIRDER. THE PROFESSION REQUIRES IT.
Popular bosses of companies from the recent past wore nicknames that betrayed aggression and brutality.
Al Cutter and Neutron Jack are aliases that suit boxers and wrestlers more than men in suits.
Today, however, you will not find such images in the corporate world. The key words are "empathy" and "inclusion," and appropriate nicknames would be something like Listening Tim or Sympathetic Satya.
But the fact that CEOs look a little more normal doesn't necessarily mean they really are. The demands on the people occupying this position are getting higher and weirder, writes The Economist.
On the one hand, the path to the top of the corporate pyramid has not changed much. It requires people to compete with each other for a long time. They must prove their financial and managerial success. And to be a successful manager, you have to be ready for a lot of work, ambitious and confident extrovert.
People who prefer to stay at home and watch reality shows, instead of going out and communicating with their clients, in most cases are not suitable for this job.
A research study conducted by Steve Kaplan of the University of Chicago and Morten Sorensen of Tuck Business University compared the profiles of 2,600 different CEO candidates collected by consulting firm ghSMART.
It turns out that most of them share similar characteristics in their professional biographies. In general, they perform much better than other professionals in what academics call "general abilities."
They also differ from other managers in the corporate world. CFOs, for example, are in most cases more analytical and focus on details. CEOs, in turn, rely on charisma or long-term strategic planning.
In addition, examining the career development of the candidates, the experts came to the conclusion that these characteristics are "self-fulfilling". This means that if a person has the qualities of a CEO, he is more likely to find himself in such a position in the future.
Today, however, companies are looking for more qualities in their future managers, rather than just a certain type of attitude or character. Those who have good "soft skills" and the ability to communicate interpersonally are more likely to be hired.
The announcements for executive directors contain requirements for cognitive skills, operational abilities and financial knowledge. But in recent years, what is increasingly common in the conditions for candidates for these positions is social skills - the ability of managers to coordinate and communicate with a large number of people.
Why is this important?
The answer, according to Stephen Hansen of Imperial College London, is related to the growing share of so-called "knowledge workers". Companies need more and more programmers, scientists working with large databases and managers who work independently of each other.
It is not the job of a CEO to tell each of them what to do, it is to ensure that each employee is aware of the company's long-term goals and how to achieve them.
In technology companies, the requirements for high communication skills are even higher. They are the most valuable tool for a director to persuade, not just command.
The broad environment in which CEOs operate also requires good "soft skills". A study by public relations firm Edelman shows that most customers and employees choose what to buy and where to work, mostly based on their beliefs and personal beliefs.
CEOs are tasked with reassuring politicians, responding to activists and mitigating attacks on corporations on social media. In this environment, social and communicative personalities would be more successful than impulsive and hot-tempered characters.
But, according to academics, it is too early to say that narcissism has disappeared from directors' offices. A study by Stanford University researchers among 182 members of corporate boards shows that 18% of them consider the CEOs of their companies to be narcissists.
By comparison, this share of the entire population of the United States is about three times lower, according to most psychologists.
Researchers have also concluded that corporations led by narcissistic leaders do better in their environmental, social and governance policies. There is hardly a better way for an egocentric to present himself as empathetic than to build an image of a savior on the planet, writes The Economist.
The requirements for CEOs are becoming more and more strange, especially in combination with each other. They should be more talented than other employees of the company, but without telling them what to do; to crush competition but at the same time rely on empathy; to listen carefully to their subordinates, but to be aggressive when necessary.
CEOs have always been a bit abnormal, to some extent. But today the important thing is not to show it.
