Recent research with over 18,000 C-suite leaders has shown that it is common for talented executives to find their careers have stalled. To understand the issue further the researchers assessed 113 strong performers who were finalists for a C-suite job but were turned down. Sixty percent of these individuals were found to have had at least one crucial problem and 10% had more than one.
These crucial problems were:
- Lack of leadership presence that was typically described as lack of self confidence
- Poor communication style including using ‘ivory tower’ vocabulary or continually attributing success to themselves rather than acknowledging their team’s involvement
- Poor peer relationships including being well regarded by their own team but much less well regarded by their peers
- The remaining individuals had challenges with excessive optimism or perfectionism.
The research showed that stronger candidates for leadership positions were better at persuading others including their peers to agree to their point of view, more likely to treat others with respect, building stronger relationships with employees and having a better reputation for doing what’s right for the business.
If your career has stalled recently and if you honestly look at your own performance, are any of the above crucial problems relevant to you?
For more information contract: Iain McCormick 021 575449 or Helen Burt 021 864 650 at the Executive Coaching Centre.