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Long-serving CEOs, the 'Great Resignation', & the truth about female leaders
In this month’s myGrapevine magazine leadership round up, we take a look at the effect that the ‘Great Resignation’ is having on the C-Suite, how companies that are led by women are outperforming those led by men, and ask whether long-serving CEOs make the best leaders. We also explore the reason why two bosses gave away a third of their shares to staff members...
Why the ‘Great Resignation’ is
piling pressure on the C-Suite
Why the ‘Great Resignation’ is
piling pressure on the C-Suite
With no sign of the ‘Great Resignation’ abating, there’s been much talk of the reasons why people are quitting – stress, desire for a better work-life balance, and the search for employers who fit their values have all been cited as common reasons. But what perhaps hasn’t been mentioned is that all these reasons apply to the C-Suite too – and research from HiBob and Fiverr has suggested that senior-level executives are leaving their jobs at a faster rate than entry-level employees.
What’s also causing C-Suite executives to rethink their positions is that there’s pressure on them to be “selfless leaders” and offer support and mentorship to employees – despite also having to deal with whatever may be going on in their own lives.
Under these circumstances, generous pay packages and bonuses are not necessarily enough to keep C-Suite executives in roles where they have little or no support, so perhaps it’s no wonder they’re wanting to walk away.
Companies with female leaders
outperform those led by men
International Women’s Day took place on March 8, 2022, and to mark the occasion, Labour looked at House of Commons research which found that companies led by women systematically outperform those led by men – companies in the top quartile for female executives outperform companies in the bottom quartile by 25%.
Research also found that companies with more than 30% of female executives outperformed those with a smaller number of female executives. Nonetheless, women are continuing to fall behind men in the workplace – not just in leadership, but in all areas of employment.
Annaliese Dodds, the Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities, said that women hold the key to a stronger economy, but are held back by gender bias and childcare issues, among other things.
“Unless we actually back women in business, then we’re going to be losing out on a huge amount of potential extra economic activity and prosperity, that all of our communities really need,” she said.
Companies with female leaders
outperform those led by men
International Women’s Day took place on March 8, 2022, and to mark the occasion, Labour looked at House of Commons research which found that companies led by women systematically outperform those led by men – companies in the top quartile for female executives outperform companies in the bottom quartile by 25%.
Research by academics from the Universities of Glasgow and Leicester also found that companies with 30% of female executives outperformed those with a smaller number of female executives. Nonetheless, women are continuing to fall behind men in the workplace – not just in leadership, but in all areas of employment.
Annaliese Dodds, the Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities, said that women hold the key to a stronger economy, but are held back by gender bias and childcare issues, among other things.
“Unless we actually back women in business, then we’re going to be losing out on a huge amount of potential extra economic activity and prosperity, that all of our communities really need,” she said.
Why long-serving CEOs could
make the best leaders
Why long-serving CEOs could
make the best leaders
One subject that frequently comes up for debate is whether founder CEOs or seasoned executives make the best leaders; now a new study has suggested that veteran CEOs are the best at providing long-term business value.
According to the Brand Guardianship Index, which lists the world’s top CEOs, the top ten have all been in their roles for twice as long as the average time served by a CEO (7.6 years). All the top ten CEOs in the Brand Guardian Index, have been in role more than 15.2 years, including Fred Smith, Founder of FedEx (50 years) and Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and CEO of Emirates Airline (37 years).
However, Annie Brown, Associate at Brand Finance, warned that that doesn’t mean that CEOs always continue to get better with age. “They can reach a ‘sell-by date’. Boards – and the CEOs themselves – need to recognise when that time is so they can make changes in the best interests of the brand,” she said.
Why two bosses gave away a
third of their shares to staff
A tech duo have seen their company receive a huge boost to productivity and morale after taking the decision to give their workforce partial ownership of the firm. Charlie Hoult and Mike O’Brien, Founders and CEOs of software company Opencast, used the Government’s Enterprise Management Scheme to share stock with their employees last year.
It may seem like a gamble – but it appears to have worked. Not only is the company now valued at £15million, but it’s given them a boost in the ‘war for talent.’ Hoult said: “We’ve managed to attract some of the UK’s best tech developers, analysts and user experience consultants to come and work for us. There’s a talent war out there and we want to be on the winning side.”
Why two bosses gave away a
third of their shares to staff
A tech duo have seen their company receive a huge boost to productivity and morale after taking the decision to give their workforce partial ownership of the firm. Charlie Hoult and Mike O’Brien, Founders and CEOs of software company Opencast, used the Government’s Enterprise Management Scheme to share stock with their employees last year.
As work-life balance continues to be put under the microscope amid the pandemic, a six-month trial period of a four-day work week has been launched across the UK, to help improve productivity and staff wellbeing.
It may seem like a gamble – but it appears to have worked. Not only is the company now valued at £15million, but it’s given them a boost in the ‘war for talent.’ Hoult said: “We’ve managed to attract some of the UK’s best tech developers, analysts and user experience consultants to come and work for us. There’s a talent war out there and we want to be on the winning side.”
© 1979-2023 Executive Grapevine International Ltd
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