Why do 40% of New Leaders Fail?

Why do 40% of New Leaders Fail?

Laptop_airport Most executives think it is important to "go it alone" due to their belief in the myth of individualism; they hold tightly to the idea that everyone succeeds or fails on the basis of individual efforts and abilities.

This assumption is so powerful that when an alternative view is suggested (that success depends on our relationships with others as much as it does on us) the usual reaction is denial. Denial of the role of relationships in the executive's success preserves the self-enhancing illusion that we are masters of our own fates and, therefore, deserving of all the credit for our successes.

The myth of individualism can negatively affect our chances for success.

Consider that four out of ten newly promoted managers and executives fail within 18 months of starting new jobs, according to research by Manchester, Inc, a leadership development firm in Bala Cynwyd, PA. "Failing" includes being terminated for performance, performing significantly below expectations or voluntarily resigning from the new position. When newly recruited, the following types of executives experienced the highest failure rates within the first 18 months: senior-level executives (39%), sales executives (30%), marketing executives (25%), and operations executives (23%).
Here are the major reasons for failure in the new job:

They fail to establish a cultural fit……………......................75%

They fail to build teamwork with staff and peers…...........…52%

They are unclear about what their bosses expect….............33%

They don't have the required internal political savvy…..........25%

There's no process to assimilate executives into the firm…...22%
Two out of every five new CEOs fail in the first 18 months (HBR, January 2005).

During the second half of 1999, when statistics began to be compiled, nearly 270 chief executives were forced to leave their companies or simply resigned, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the Chicago-based outplacement firm that follows employment issues. Since then, the pace has quickened--in 2004, 663 chief executives departed and turnover doubled to 1,322 in 2005, according to the firm.

CEOs are now lasting just 7.6 years in office on a global average, down from 9.5 years in 1995, according to consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton.

Leaders often fail for a few common reasons: due to unclear or outsized expectations, a failure to build partnerships with key stakeholders, a failure to learn the company, industry or the job itself fast enough, a failure to determine the process for gaining commitments from direct reports and a failure to recognize and manage the impact of change on people.

Focusherenow_22 Executive onboarding coaching of the newly recruited or promoted executive can turnaround this high rate of failure.

February 13, 2010 in Career , Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Failure, Leadership, Myths | Permalink ShareThis

Technorati Tags: common failure reasons, failure to build partnerships, failure to gain commitments, failure to manage change, leadership failures