Insights
BlueSteps CEO Career Report - May 2014
The top career management concern for 81% of CEOs worldwide was finding new opportunities. Concurrently, the majority of CEOs are focused on finding and retaining top talent to grow their current organization, with the majority (53.3%) stating that this is their top business-related concern.
The 2014 BlueSteps CEO Career survey was conducted from February 2014 to April 2014 and received 160 responses from executives with the title Chief Executive Officer (CEO) worldwide. The purpose of this survey was to discover the issues faced by CEOs and to learn where CEOs are headed for the purpose of helping current and aspiring CEOs successfully manage their careers.
The survey results highlighted a strong focus by CEOs on the growth of their own careers. CEOs understand that their skills are imperative to their organizations’ success, but at the same time they have concerns about the stability of their current mandate and an interest in securing their next opportunity. This trend represents the top career management concern of this survey’s CEO respondents, which was finding new opportunities (81.3%). Concurrently, CEOs are focused on finding and retaining top talent to grow their current organization, with the majority (53.3%) stating that this is their top business-related concern.
Peter Felix, AESC & BlueSteps President, commented: “This report reminds us that while CEOs are focused on the key issues of attracting and retaining talent to their organizations, they are themselves concerned about their own career progression and the next opportunity. This is an inevitable reflection of the modern business world and a fast changing, competitive landscape. For the CEO in many organizations the only way to achieve greater responsibility, career potential and wealth creation is probably to find opportunities outside of the organization – a fact that many Boards of Directors will overlook when reviewing their current CEO or considering succession issues. CEO’s, just like everyone else, are human beings chasing their career dreams.”
Regarding their relationship with company stakeholders, the majority of CEOs believe they communicate effectively with key company stakeholder groups. In addition, a significant percentage believe their relationship with their board of directors was a positive one.