I am frequently asked the question: what sort of person makes the best CEO?
Does a man or a woman make a better CEO? Is it better to have a young CEO or an older one? Is being an extrovert leader better than being an introvert? Is it better to have a CEO who makes quick decisions or someone who listens and takes time to build consensus?
The good, the bad and the ugly
During the last 20 or so years that I’ve been in the corporate consulting business I’ve met them all: the good, the bad, the virtuous, the corrupt, the male, the female, the introvert, the extrovert, the consensus builders, the instant decision takers, the young, the middle-aged and the old. I’ve worked with CEOs of huge multinationals, middling organizations and very small companies. I’ve coached leaders who were paid tens of millions and those who made a fraction of that.
I’ve researched the issue of leadership as a psychologist and as an MBA student. I’ve read countless books on leadership and research papers penned by the finest scholars. My conclusion?
Well, let me start with a statistic… I have a professional fascination with statistics and this one’s a beauty:
According to research published in July of last year the 30 most profitable of the Fortune 500 companies either had women as their chairperson or CEO.
This despite the fact that women are hugely under represented in the executive suites of such firms.
Why should this be so?
It turns out that women are better at listening to others opinions and building consensus than men. Other research has shown that overall women make better “transformational” leaders and exhibit a higher level of social and emotional intelligence. It’s not that men can’t adopt these leadership characteristics—the best male CEOs, in my experience, do.
Male leaders tend to become more committed to their ideas and to force through their decisions—even when they’re seen to be wrong. On the other hand they’re more able to “go with their gut” against opposition. When they’re right the result for a company can be spectacular, when they’re wrong it can be more of a disaster.
Wisdom comes with age
Age is an issue, particularly with male CEOs. There are many great young men CEOs but they are a minority (most CEOs are male, but older). A lot of research has shown that wisdom comes with age, or at least middle age.
A fascinating study by Professor Maurice Levi, and others, of the University of British Columbia Business School has shown that CEOs under 45 tend to be driven by the need for personal power and dominance rather than by concern for the good of the company. They can’t help it, of course, it’s the testosterone factor, literally, according to another Harvard study. The Harvard people demonstrated that executives with a higher the level of this hormone lead to behaviors that are uncooperative, rash, risky and self aggrandizing.
According to Prof Levi if a Board selects a youngish male CEO (or other member of the C-suite for that matter) they had better keep a close eye on him. Levi’s research was published in September 2010 in the journal Management Science.
Extroverts make the best leaders, don’t they?
OK, so a middle-aged woman might be the best selection. She should nevertheless be an extrovert right?
Well, not so according to researchers lead by Francesca Gino of the Harvard business School and to be published early 2011 in the Academy of Management Journal. Gino found that introverts get better performance from the firms and teams that they run. Once again because introverts are better able to listen to others’ suggestions and are not so invested in their own positions. Introverts also tend to value other people more and are more able to create loyalty and engagement in the organizations that they lead.
Perhaps the main point that comes out of Gino’s and others’ research is that it’s not so difficult to be a good leader (research has shown that it’s much harder to be a good subordinate). Almost anyone can learn the kind of transformational leadership skills that the overwhelming body of research has shown are the most effective provided you don’t let youth, testosterone, extraversion and being male get in the way.