Abstract for PHD
THE QUALITIES OF SUCCESSFUL CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
A study of successful Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and the qualities that drive their success as seen by themselves and their direct reports.
The purpose of this study is to identify the qualities of successful CEOs as past leadership research has tended to focus on senior and middle management levels. Therefore little is known about the qualities of CEO success other than assuming that results from other levels of management are applicable to CEOs.
A literature review determined the qualities associated with CEO success including philosophies, characteristics, leadership style, areas for improvement and lessons taken from experience. The philosophies included those related to life, self and others. Six characteristics were identified including achievement, humanistic approach, inclusiveness, integrity, learning & self-awareness and proactive thinking. Previous research indicated that successful CEOs will demonstrate an inclusive although varied leadership style and that areas for improvement will be related to the over use or under use of characteristics associated with success. The lessons taken from experience were also expected to reinforce the acquisition or development of philosophies and characteristics associated with CEO success.
A Model of CEO Success was developed based on the qualities found in the literature and propositions were made about the relationship between them. Propositions included that the philosophies about life, self and others manifest as characteristics, characteristics then manifest as leadership style, when characteristics are either under-used or over-used they will manifest as areas for improvement, and finally, lessons taken from experience will lead to the development of philosophies and characteristics associated with success.
Research questions were developed regarding the qualities of successful CEOs and investigated by using a questionnaire and interviews with the sample of successful CEOs and their direct reports. The questionnaire was designed to test (a) the importance of the characteristics for CEO success and (b) the degree to which a sample of successful CEOs actually demonstrated the same characteristics. The interview was designed to ascertain the qualities associated with CEO success in an organisation setting.
A sample of 20 CEOs was carefully selected using criterion for success including occupying their role for at least 2 years, achieving performance targets for the same period and/or through industry awards and recognition. In addition, 34 direct reports were carefully selected to ensure they were familiar with the CEO's qualities. The questionnaire results indicated that CEOs and direct reports agreed that all characteristics were equally important for CEO success and effectively demonstrated. Only one significance difference was found in the analysis that indicated that female CEOs rated themselves as more humanistic approach than male CEOs and than observed by male direct reports.
From the interview data similar characteristics were identified with the addition of one, balance. However, as the interview data allowed prioritisation three characteristics were identified as most associated with CEO success; humanistic approach, achievement and proactive thinking.
Interview data also lead to the identification of additional qualities associated with CEO success. Philosophies most associated with CEO success included humanistic, proactive thinking and achievement followed by learning & self-awareness, balance, integrity and leading people. CEOs used a variety of leadership styles but mostly humanistic approach, empowering, achievement oriented, participative and directive approaches. Successful CEOs demonstrated areas for improvement with emphasis on a need to empower, coach and involve more often, be more patient, more learning & self-awareness, manage performance more effectively, confront more, be firmer with others and balance (detail). The results identified that the lessons CEOs take from experience lead to the acquisition of philosophies and characteristics found in the interview data to be most associated with success including humanistic approach, achievement and proactive thinking.
It was also found that the philosophies and characteristics most associated with CEO success were very positive in their nature and shared properties with other psychological constructs such as positive core self-evaluations and the proactive personality. Furthermore, there was a high level of agreement between CEOs and their direct reports which supported the connection between managerial self-awareness and CEO success.
The strengths of the thesis include a carefully selected successful CEO sample population, the selection of direct reports who worked closely with the CEO, multiple perspectives provided by CEOs and their direct reports, and a research design that included quantitative and qualitative approaches and triangulation of results. Key limitations of the study include the taking of data out of context without consideration of factors such as organisation culture and size, a small although intimate sample group and the unaccounted affects of a range of perceptual biases related to the CEO-direct report relationship. A future area for research would be a more detailed analysis of the relationship between the qualities associated with CEO success, particularly the identification of the critical qualities associated with success and the manner in which they interact to create success. For example, are some qualities more critical than others and how do they work together? Further research to understand how the variety of leadership styles work together to create success. That is, which styles are critical or is a variety of styles that work in a complimentary, compensatory or situational manner more important for CEO success? Finally, further research could identify the manner in which the over-use or under-use of characteristics associated with success specifically leads to areas for improvement. That is, do successful CEOs tend to rely too heavily on one or two characteristics that are over used and could they be more effective by developing a broader range of characteristics. Furthermore, which characteristics are most sensitive to under use or over use, and at what point does under use or over use become more than a development need?
The results of this study have practical implications for CEO recruitment as there is evidence of specific qualities associated with CEO success. The results also have implications for CEO development and coaching as the results show how qualities associated with success are developed. This study has contributed to the understanding of CEO success by detailing several qualities based on data obtained from a sample of successful CEOs and their direct reports. In addition a Model of CEO Success has been proposed to explain the manner in which these qualities are developed and interact.