CEOs 'most likely to come from Operations and Finance'

Western corporate chief executives are most likely to come from Operations and Finance and less likely to come from Human Resources, Marketing, IT, Engineering and Research and Development, according to a survey of 1,400 CEOs and human resource professionals by global talent and career management consultancy Right Management and the Chally Group.

When asked what functional areas are most likely to produce a company’s C-level executives, Operations were the most likely to be indicated (68%) and Finance was second ranked (56%) with Sales third (49%). The more specialised functions were less likely to provide the career path to the top. Marketing was less likely (34%), Human Resources (24%), Engineering (22%), IT (13%) and Research and Development only (8%).

The survey also asked respondents to rate the four competencies most critical for C-suite positions and for most creating a strategic vision was key, followed by inspiring others and maintaining leadership responsibility. These ranked above developing an accurate and comprehensive overview of the business and wise decision-making.

The survey identified the top 10 factors that contribute most to the failure of senior leaders are:

Failure to build a relationship or team culture (40%)
Mismatch for the culture (32%)
Failure to deliver acceptable results (25%)
Unable to win support (25%)
Lack of appropriate training (23%)
Egotistical (15%)
Lack of vision (14%)

Sue Roffey-Jones, Practice Leader at Right Management, says: “Leadership development today is more science than art. In today’s business environment leadership development needs to be grounded in real work and focused on the critical competencies required for success in C-level roles."