What It Takes To Get The Top Job Now, Pay Ranges In Job Postings And How To Work With Anyone
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For the Forbes CEO Next List 2022, we spoke to recruiters, leadership experts and board members who say the path to the top job and the skills required to get there have changed. Getty
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WWherever you are in your career, you may have wondered what it’s like to be a CEO. The power to make decisions and lead enterprise-wide teams of hundreds or even thousands of people. The ability to disrupt industries and drive strategies that can introduce new product categories or disrupt the tech status quo. And, of course, the luxuries of an army of assistants, comfortable offices, and the potential for millions in compensation.
But what board members are looking for in this top job is changing. Defining a company’s vision and strategy and filling the right roles with the right people – while being sensitive to the needs of stakeholders and the top priority of shareholders – has become a tabletop task. Between pandemic and polarization, climate change and abandonment culture, the role has evolved in ways few would have imagined just a few years ago. As Stephen Miles, executive coach and founder of Miles Group, told my colleague Diane Brady for our recent story, the CEO has evolved from the leader who runs the company to the person who also defines its purpose, impact and credentials must encourage an employer of choice.
Miles spoke to us as part of an extensive package that Diane and I produced that features aspiring leaders who recruiters, leadership consultants and CEO coaches believe are on the verge of landing the top job. Our 2022 CEO Next list of 50 executives highlights a range of trends in executive careers, from the continuing demand for operational “P&L” experience in running a business to the growth of digital transformation as a critical one area of competence.
But executives are also looking for emotional intelligence, agility, resilience and “intestinal toughness,” as Korn Ferry vice chair Jane Stevenson put it. “The expectation of CEOs to take a stand — and to know when to take a stand and when to stay silent — is huge,” Stevenson told me. “It was always about who the person is. Now it comes down to who the person is, squared.”
As part of the report, we also delved into exclusive data from the Conference Board, which found that after two years of boards keeping CEO turnover steady, chief executives may finally be joining the big resignation. As companies make their way out of the pandemic, sales are picking up again, though not yet because of poor performance.
As always, thanks to Assistant Editor Emmy Lucas for helping put this week’s newsletter together.
SELECTED STORY
More and more companies plan to disclose salary ranges in job postings, even when it’s not required
Most job postings tell you the position title, the experience employers need, and the responsibilities for the role, but omit the most important information: the salary.
But that’s about to change, according to a new poll that finds a spate of new employers planning to publicly post salary ranges in upcoming job listings after a series of state and local laws now mandated disclosure. A survey of nearly 400 employers by consulting firm WTW, formerly known as Willis Towers Watson, found that while only 17% say they currently publish salary ranges in locations where the law doesn’t require it, another 62% plan to either or consider adding salary ranges to job postings, even where not required by law. Read more of our story here.
WORK SMARTER
Five tips to keep in mind when reapplying to a company where you were previously rejected.
While some employees “quietly quit,” the boss can “quietly fire.” Here are ten warning signs that could happen to you.
Visibility in an organization can be difficult for remote workers. What you should know and do about proximity bias.
lead M&A? Here are three tools you can use to sharpen your focus.
What you should know about the power of personal branding with leadership guru Tom Peters.
ON OUR AGENDA
The future of ESG: The debate around ESG (environmental, social and governance) principles is increasing as states like Florida seek to pass anti-ESG legislation. As forbes Senior contributor Michael Peregrine writes: “The growing criticism of ESG investing and associated rating practices should prompt companies to reaffirm (not necessarily reconsider) their commitment to the long-term value that can come from thoughtful social and environmental investments ). New York Fashion Week, writes forbesMichael Posner deserves credit for recording panel discussions on sustainability, but there’s still a gap between what the industry is saying and what companies are doing on the subject.
Another viral workplace trend?: You’ve read the bevy of articles about “quiet quitting,” the term for doing what your job requires, rather than doing whatever it takes to achieve a better work-life balance. Now a new viral workplace trend could be taking place, forbes Senior Contributor Jack Kelly predicts: FatFIRE. It’s an acronym for Financial Independence, Retire Early, with “Fat” referring to the sizable nest egg you need to make it happen. FatFIRE advocates the opposite of quitting quietly and has a relentless focus on get-rich-quick to retire early.
The Queen’s Farewell: After a reign of seven decades, Queen Elizabeth II died last week at the age of 96. forbes Senior Contributor Edward Segal provides an analysis of King Charles III’s first public speech. as King, what leaders should know when it comes to crisis communications and the lessons to be learned from Queen Elizabeth II.
The latest market news: Shares tumbled on Tuesday after consumer prices rose a steeper-than-expected 8.3% last month. forbes’ Madeline Halpert reports. As inflation remains high and recession fears mount, Warner Bros. Discovery and banking giant Goldman Sachs are the latest companies reportedly planning layoffs.
National abortion ban: A bill that would ban abortion procedures nationwide after 15 weeks was introduced Tuesday by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R.-SC). Although there is a high probability that the legislation will actually be passed, forbes’ Alison Durkee shares what this ban would do while continuing to look at how employers can offer travel reimbursements for employees seeking reproductive care in states with restrictions.
BOOK CLUB
Work relationships can be tough — especially when you don’t get along with the person. author and Harvard Business Review Podcast host Amy Gallo offers a research-based guide to dealing with these relationships and difficult colleagues in her new book. Getting Along: How to Work with Everyone (Even Difficult People). Find forbes Post Christopher Littlefield’s summary of his conversation with Gallo about these inevitable office dynamics here.