CEO Study
CNET Networks Business Research – June 2007
Methodology
• Email survey of BNET.com registered users
• Fielded June 11–18, 2007
• Sample size: 1,572 completed surveys
• Please note: For the purposes of this report, “CEO”
denotes the top executive within a company and is
inclusive of company presidents and owners;
“respondents” refers to BNET’s registered users who
completed the survey.
2
Executive Summary
•
CEOs receive a B- in overall job performance but get the strongest marks for their
passion for the business, intelligence, and ethics.
•
Soft skills like the ability to inspire, accessibility, communication, compassion, and
approachability are where CEOs are delivering poorer performances — in fact,
communication, leadership skills, and their treatment of others are the attributes liked
least about CEOs.
•
The general perception is that good ideas frequently don’t find their way up the
organization to the CEO’s ear and that CEOs value the bottom line more than qualities
like innovative thinking, integrity, and being a team player when it comes to employee
performance.
•
Dissatisfaction with CEOs and management in general is apparent; fewer than half of
respondents report a strong sense of satisfaction with their CEO’s performance, and
“management inadequacies” is the third most-mentioned topic respondents would like
to discuss with their CEOs after “company strategy” and the “long-term vision” for the
company.
3
Attitudes Toward CEOs
4
CEOs and company presidents/owners
%
76.3
80
70
60
50
43.6
42.7
39.9
38.0
40
25.0
30
25.6
25.0
17.7
20
8.5
10
0
Most...do a good job leading
their organizations
Tend to be overpaid
Agree (top 2 answers on 5pt scale)
Tend to be unethical
Get picked on in the m edia Are under-appreciated for
the responsibility they
shoulder
Disagree (bottom 2 answers on 5pt scale)
While more than two-fifths of respondents believe CEOs do a good job leading their
organizations, there is consensus that these executives are overpaid; given this, it’s not
surprising that more than two-fifths of respondents disagree that CEOs are underappreciated; around the same portion also disagree that CEOs get picked on in the media
and tend to be unethical.
5
Q: If there was a “CEO Appreciation Day,” which would best describe your reaction?
You have to be kidding.
CEOs’ salaries are
appreciation enough
37.7
CEOs take a beating in the
media. It would be
refreshing to focus on the
positive for once
14.6
Don’t care
23.6
Don’t know
14.4
9.8
Other
%
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
More than one-third of respondents feel there’s no need for further recognition of CEOs;
another third don’t care or don’t know if CEOs should have an appreciation day.
6
CEO Evaluation
7
%
60
Q: Does your CEO or
company president/owner
solicit input and advice
from smart people?
53.8
Q: Do good ideas percolate
up through your
organization and come to
the CEO or company
president/owner's
attention?
Q: Do you think your CEO or
company president/owner
gets good advice from the
executive leadership
team?
48.7
50
38.5
40
30
21.4
20
14.1
10.0
9.1
10.2
8.9
10
0
Always/Often
Rarely/Never
Don't Know
Only around a third of respondents feel good ideas frequently find their way up the reporting
chain; about half, however, are confident CEOs are frequently getting good advice from their
leadership teams and/or are asking smart people for advice.
8
Q: When evaluating company employees, what qualities do you think your CEO or company
president/owner values most?
60.6
Delivering results
34.7
Innovative thinking
29.9
Integrity
27.2
Being a team player
23.2
Resourcefulness
21.2
Loyalty
Saying what he/she wants to hear
16.7
Honesty
16.4
7.9
Smooth talking
6.6
Sucking up to get noticed
4.9
Cleverness
3.9
Don't know
5.0
Other
%
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Almost two-thirds of respondents believe CEOs value the results employees deliver —
perhaps regardless of how they are achieved — as integrity, being a team player, and
honesty scored much lower.
9
Q: How would you characterize your CEO or company president/owner’s leadership style?
41.9
Engaged
36.0
Visionary
34.7
Effective
24.2
Inspiring
22.5
Caring
21.3
Warm
14.0
Aloof
Intimidating
12.2
Manipulative
12.0
Divisive
8.7
Cold
8.5
Suspicious
8.2
6.7
Don't know
11.6
Other
%
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
CEOs’ leadership styles most often were described as “engaged;” one-third of respondents
also felt the terms “visionary” or “effective” described their top executive’s style of leading; less
than one-quarter felt their CEO was “inspiring.”
10
Q: What do you like MOST/LEAST about your CEO or company
president/owner? Top 3 Attributes
Like Most
Like Least
Vision for the
company
41.0
24.7
Results delivered
Communication
style
22.3
Treatment of
others
Treatment of
others
22.0
Business
decisions
Leadership style
21.5
Vision for the
company
20.4
Business
decisions
13.8
Background
Don't know
13.5
Don't know
5.9
12.2
11.1
9.5
4.3
27.9
6.9
Other
%
5
14.3
Standards of
conduct
Background
0
17.8
Personality
14.4
Other
20.8
Results delivered
18.9
Communication
style
26.0
Leadership style
Standards of
conduct
Personality
30.0
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
%
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
CEO’s vision for their company is the attribute respondents liked best, but less than half felt that
way; although respondents describe their top exec’s leadership style as “engaged”, leadership
style is the attribute liked least, right after communication style.
11
Q: Please grade the performance, A through F, of your CEO or company
president/owner in each of the following categories:
Average Grade “GPA”
AVERAGE
2.8
Passion for the business
3.4
Intelligence
3.3
Ethics
3.1
Vision
2.9
Delivering results
2.8
Company direction
2.7
Leadership
2.7
Approachability
2.6
Compassion
2.6
Communication
2.5
Accessibility to me
2.5
Ability to inspire
2.4
Overall, CEOs get a B- grade
on their “report card,” but they
earned a B+ for their passion
for the business, intelligence
and ethics; communication,
charisma and accessibility are
where CEOs receive the
lowest marks, which is not
surprising given the dislike of
CEOs’ communication and
leadership styles.
12
Q: Overall, how satisfied are you with your CEO or company president/owner’s job
performance?
Satisfied
47.3
Unsatisfied
38.2
14.6
Top 3 answers
Middle 4 answers
Bottom 3 answers
Overall, slightly less than half of respondents feel a strong sense of satisfaction with the job
their CEO is doing; the other half are mostly lukewarm.
13
Q: If you had the opportunity to chat with your CEO or company president/owner,
what would you like to discuss with him/her?
56.9
Company's strategy
53.6
Long-term vision
31.4
Dysfunctional management
30.6
Industry trends
29.6
Competitive environment
25.2
Advice on how to succeed
19.8
His/her leadership style
18.1
My career prospects
11.2
Family, outside interests, or hobbies
9.9
My current salary
5.0
My immediate supervisor
2.7
Don't know
6.5
Other
%
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Company strategy and long-term vision are what most respondents want to discuss with their
CEO; but almost a third of workers would like to complain about dysfunctional management.
14
Sample Demographics, Interest, and Interaction
15
Age, country of residency, and employment of survey respondents:
%
Age
<35
18.5
35-49
44.3
50+
37.2
Country of United States
residence
90.3
Employed
93.1
16
Job Title (among employed)
12.8
Executive Management
11.7
Senior Management
25.9
Middle Management
Other Management or
Supervisory
19.3
10.2
Technical Staff
7.4
Other Staff
9.4
Professional
Don't Know / Not
applicable
0.6
2.7
Other
%
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
17
Company size (among employed)
1 to 9
10.0
10 to 99
18.8
100 to 999
23.6
1000+
46.8
%
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
18
Industry (among employed)
11.7
Manufacturer
9.0
Business Services/Consulting
Pharmaceutical/Biotech/Biomedical
3.2
Transportation/Utilities
3.1
Health Care
8.7
Communications/Telecommunications
Banking/Finance
8.6
Aerospace
6.6
Education
5.1
Insurance/Real Estate/Legal
4.7
Government-Local, State, Federal (NET)
2.7
2.0
Comp/IT – Service Provider (e.g. ISP
1.6
Travel/Hospitality
1.5
Accounting/Tax
1.0
0.9
Computer/IT– Manufacturer
4.2
Research and Development
Retailer/Distributor/Wholesaler
4.1
Personal Services
0.4
Media/Entertainment/Publishing/Advertis
ing/PR
4.0
Comp/IT–Retailer/Distributor/Wholesal
e
0.4
Engineering/Architecture/Construction
3.9
Graphic Design
0.3
Comp/IT – Business Services/Consultant
3.8
Other Industry
8.6
%
%
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
19
Topic Interest
Q: How interested are you in
news about CEOs and
company presidents/owners
in the media?
Q: How often do you read,
watch or listen to biographies
or profiles of CEOs and
company presidents/owners?
Somewhat/ Very
Interested
78.1
Frequently/
Occasionally
%
76.0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
20
Q: Which of the following best describes your relationship with your
company/organization’s top executive? (among employed)
I am my company/organization’s top executive
9.3
29.8
Interact frequently
“Interact” 50.7%
20.9
Interact occasionally
18
Acquainted with him/her, but rarely interact
See at company or organization’s meetings/events,
but have never met
10.4
“No Interaction” 36.6%
8.2
Have never seen in person
3.3
Other
%
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
21
Top Executive Segmentation
22
Segment Definitions
For the purposes of this analysis, the following definitions apply:
Top executives: employed respondents selecting the answer “I am my
company/organization’s top executive” to the question, “Which of the following best describes
your relationship with your company/organization’s top executive?”
(n=136)
Employees: employed respondents selecting one of the following answers: “interact
frequently,” “interact occasionally,” “acquainted with him/her but rarely interact”, “see at
company or organization’s meetings/events but have never met,” “have never seen in
person,” or “other” to the question, “Which of the following best describes your relationship
with your company/organization’s top executive?” (n=1318)
23
Segmentation Executive Summary
•
Top executives tend to think more highly of themselves and are more sympathetic
toward their peers than employees.
•
Across all performance categories in the survey, they give themselves a grade of
“B” or better and an A- in passion for the business, accessibility., and ethics.
•
They are more likely to describe themselves as engaged, effective, visionary,
caring, inspiring, and warm.
•
In addition, they are more likely to say they value integrity over results delivered in
their employees and that CEOs are under-appreciated and get picked on in the
media.
•
Still, top executives can be somewhat critical of their peers, only half agree that most
CEOs do a good job leading their organizations, and nearly two-thirds say CEOs are
overpaid.
•
Top executives also don’t seem to have complete confidence in their executive teams,
only two-thirds believe they always or often get good advice.
•
Less than 50% of employees feel a strong sense of satisfaction with their CEO’s job
performance and give them a B- grade overall.
24
Segmentation Executive Summary (cont’d)
•
Key areas of weakness are accessibility, the ability to inspire, and communication.
•
In addition, employees are critical of their CEO’s communication and leadership styles.
•
This dissatisfaction is further illuminated by employees’ perception that good ideas
frequently don’t filter up the reporting chain to the CEO and that their CEO values
results at least two times more than innovative thinking, being a team player, and
integrity.
•
Employees’ criticism of CEOs extends beyond their own — in fact, they are significantly
more likely than top executives to agree that CEOs are overpaid and unethical.
Employees are significantly less likely to agree that CEOs get picked on in the media
and are under-appreciated.
•
Employees do share with their top executives’ a lack of confidence in the executive
team — only half believe their CEO frequently gets good advice from those around
him. In addition, after discussing company strategy and long-term vision, they would
most like to have a word about their organization’s dysfunctional management with
their CEO.
25
Attitudes Toward CEOs
26
Agreement (top 2 answers on 5-pt scale) with: CEOs and
company presidents/owners
%
77.4
80
64.4
70
60
47.1
50
43.9
36.0
35.6
40
24.8
30
24.9
24.1
17.0
20
10
0
Most...do a good job leading
their organizations
Tend to be overpaid *
Tend to be unethical *
Top Executive
Get picked on in the media *Are under-appreciated for
the responsibility they
shoulder *
Employees
* indicates results are significantly different at a 95% confidence level
Employees are significantly more likely to agree that CEOs are overpaid and unethical, and
they are significantly less likely to agree that CEOs get picked on in the media and are
under-appreciated; however, even top execs are critical of CEOs, with just under half
agreeing that most do a good job and nearly two-thirds feeling they are overpaid.
27
Q: If there was a “CEO Appreciation Day,” which would best describe your reaction?
27.4
You have to be kidding. CEOs’ salaries
are appreciation enough *
38.9
24.4
Don’t care
23.5
CEOs take a beating in the media. It would
be refreshing to focus on the positive for
once *
22.2
13.8
16.3
Don’t know
14.1
9.6
Other
%
Top Executive
Employees
9.7
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
* indicates results are significantly different at a 95% confidence level
As would be expected, employees are the most skeptical about a “CEO Appreciation Day.”
28
CEO Evaluation
29
Q: Does your CEO or company president/owner solicit input and advice from smart
people?
Top Executive
82.8
14.2 1.5
1.5
Always/Often*
Sometimes*
Rarely/Never #
Don't Know#
Employees
50.9
0%
10%
20%
30%
22.9
40%
50%
60%
10.9
70%
80%
15.3
90%
100%
•indicates results are significantly difference at a 95% confidence level #ineligible for test
Only half of employees have confidence their CEO is consulting with smart people
frequently.
30
Q: Do good ideas percolate up through your organization and come to the CEO or company
president/owner's attention?
Top Executive
71.6
20.1
4.53.7
Always/Often*
Sometimes*
Rarely/Never *
Don't Know #
Employees
35.1
0%
10%
* 20%
32.1
30%
40%
*
50%
23.1
60%
70%
*
80%
9.7
90%
#
100%
•indicates results are significantly different at a 95% confidence level #ineligible for test
Only around a third of employees believe good ideas frequently make it up the corporate
food chain.
31
Q: Do you think your CEO or company president/owner gets good advice from
the executive leadership team?
Top Executive
65.7
23.9
2.28.2
Always/Often*
Sometimes*
#
Rarely/Never
Don’t know
Employees
47.0
0%
10%
* 20%
33.0
30%
40%*
50%
60%
11.1 9.0
70%#
80%
90%
100%
•indicates results are significantly different at a 95% confidence level #ineligible for test
About half of employees believe their CEO frequently gets good advice from the
executive team; top executives themselves are not all that confident, with only two-thirds
agreeing this happens always or often.
32
Q: When evaluating company employees, what qualities do you think your
CEO or company president/owner values most?
Top Executive
Employees
Integrity* 55.1%
Delivering results 61.4%
Delivering results 52.9%
Innovative thinking* 33.2%
Innovative thinking* 48.5%
Being a team player 27.4%
Resourcefulness* 33.8%
Integrity* 27.2%
Honesty* 26.5%
Resourcefulness* 22.2%
Being a team player 24.3%
Loyalty 21.6%
Loyalty 16.9%
Saying what he/she wants to hear* 17.9%
Saying what he/she wants to hear* 5.9%
Honesty* 15.3%
Cleverness 3.7%
Smooth talking# 8.5%
Don't know# 2.2%
Sucking up to get noticed# 7.1%
Smooth talking# 1.5%
Cleverness 5.0%
Sucking up to get noticed# 1.5%
Don't know# 4.1%
Other# 2.2%
Other# 5.3%
•indicates results are significantly different at a 95% confidence level #ineligible for test
While top execs say “integrity” is the No. 1 attribute they look for in employees, employees
feel everything is secondary to delivering results.
33
Q: How would you characterize your CEO or company president/owner’s
leadership style?
Top Executive
Employees
Engaged* 63.7%
Engaged* 39.7%
Effective* 50.4%
Visionary* 34.7%
Visionary* 48.9%
Effective* 33.1%
Caring* 42.2%
Inspiring* 23.0%
Inspiring* 36.3%
Caring* 20.6%
Warm* 35.6%
Warm* 19.9%
Divisive 8.1%
Aloof* 15.0%
Intimidating 7.4%
Intimidating 12.7%
Manipulative* 5.9%
Manipulative* 12.6%
Suspicious 5.2%
Cold# 9.1%
Aloof* 4.4%
Divisive 8.7%
Don't know# 2.2%
Suspicious 8.6%
Cold# 2.2%
Don't know# 7.1%
Other 12.6%
Other 11.6%
While there is agreement on the
top attributes of leadership style,
top execs reported feeling much
more positive about their
leadership style than employees.
•indicates results are significantly different at a 95% confidence level #ineligible for test
34
Q: What do you like MOST about your CEO or company president/owner? Top 3 Attributes:
Top Executive
Employees
Vision for the company 39.3%
Vision for the company 41.0%
Leadership style* 37.8%
Results delivered 24.2%
Treatment of others* 34.8%
Standards of conduct* 21.3%
Standards of conduct* 31.1%
Personality 20.6%
Results delivered 30.4%
Treatment of others* 20.8%
Business decisions 25.2%
Leadership style* 19.8%
Communication style 20.0%
Business decisions 18.3%
Personality 19.3%
Don't know* 14.3%
Background 10.4
Background 14.2%
Don't know* 5.2%
Communication style 13.8%
Other 4.4%
Other 6.1%
•indicates results are significantly different at a 95% confidence level
Both top executives and employees agree that company vision is the most-liked attribute; top
execs are significantly more likely to be enamored with their leadership style, treatment of
others, and standards of conduct than employees.
35
Q: What do you like LEAST about your CEO or company president/owner? Top 3 Attributes:
Top Executive
Employees
Don't know* 40.9%
Communication style* 30.9%
Communication style* 20.5%
Leadership style* 27.3%
Results delivered 17.4%
Don't know* 26.5%
Personality 13.6%
Treatment of others* 21.8%
Leadership style* 12.9%
Business decisions 18.4%
Vision for the company 12.9%
Vision for the company 14.5%
Business decisions 12.1%
Results delivered 11.7%
Treatment of others* 10.6%
Personality 10.8%
Background* 8.3%
Standards of conduct 9.9%
Standards of conduct 6.1%
Background* 3.9%
Other 5.3%
Other 7.0%
•indicates results are significantly different at a 95% confidence level
Communication, leadership style, and treatment of others are where CEOs get the most
criticism from employees; more than a quarter of employees, however, simply don’t know
which trait they dislike most, perhaps indicating a gap between employees and their
company’s leader.
36
Q: Please grade the performance, A through F, of your CEO or
company president/owner in each of the following categories:
Average Grade “GPA”
Top Exec.
Employees
AVERAGE
3.3
2.7
Passion for the business
3.6
3.3
Accessibility to me
3.6
2.4
Ethics
3.6
3.0
Approachability
3.5
2.5
Intelligence
3.4
3.3
Vision
3.3
2.9
Compassion
3.2
2.5
Delivering results
3.2
2.8
Leadership
3.1
2.6
Ability to inspire
3.1
2.4
Communication
3.1
2.4
Company direction
3.0
2.7
Top execs feel they are performing quite well across the board, meanwhile employees give
their CEOs an average grade of B-. Accessibility, ability to inspire, and communication are
where employees feel their CEOs are performing the worst.
37
Q: Overall, how satisfied are you with your CEO or company president/owner’s job performance?
Satisfied
Unsatisfied
69.8
Top Executive
24.0
6.2
Top 3 answers*
Middle 4 answers*
Bottom 3 answers*
45.0
Employees
0%
10%
20%
30%
39.5
40%
50%
60%
70%
15.5
80%
90%
100%
•indicates results are significantly different at a 95% confidence level
Top executives are, for the most part, satisfied with the job they are doing; employees are
significantly less satisfied with CEO performance.
38
Q: If you had the opportunity to chat with your CEO or company
president/owner, what would you like to discuss with him/her?
Top Executive
Employees
Long-term vision 53.4%
Our company's strategy 57.3%
Our company's strategy 51.9%
Long-term vision 53.5%
Industry trends* 38.2%
Dysfunctional management* 33.3%
The competitive environment 32.8%
Industry trends* 29.7%
Advice on how to succeed 29.0%
The competitive environment 29.3%
My career prospects 14.5%
Advice on how to succeed 24.8%
Family, outside interests, or hobbies 14.5%
His/her leadership style 20.4%
His/her leadership style 13.7%
My career prospects 18.3%
Dysfunctional management* 12.2%
My current salary 10.0%
My current salary 8.4%
Family, outside interests, or hobbies 10.9%
Don't know* 6.9%
My immediate supervisor# 5.3%
My immediate supervisor# 1.5%
Don't know* 2.3%
Other 5.3%
Other 6.6%
•indicates results are significantly different at a 95% confidence level
After company strategy and long-term vision for the company, employees want to gripe about
dysfunctional management to their CEOs.
39
Conclusions
•
Results indicate that CEOs have a long way to go when it comes to people skills and
communication.
•
These top executives’ visions of themselves are considerably different than the
perceptions held by employees. Top execs rate themselves more highly in all job
performance categories and claim an appreciation of integrity above all in their
employees, but these perceptions are not in line with those of employees.
•
Employees appear to feel disconnected from their company’s top executive and
perceive that person as being engaged but unapproachable, incommunicative, and
solely focused on results.
•
Opening lines of communication within organizations may be a first step toward
improving these perceptions for CEOs; specifically, creating processes for employees
to get their ideas heard could be a good place to start
40
Copyright © 2007 CNET Networks, Inc., All Rights Reserved.
41