Global CEOs losing confidence in their leadership teams -survey

Chief executives of global corporations are losing confidence in their leadership teams' ability to tackle issues like digital technology, climate change and diversity, according to a new survey by the search firm Russell Reynolds Associates on Friday.

Chief executives are much less confident than they were 18 months ago in their top leadership's abilities to embrace change and model the kind of behaviors and culture they want in the organization, according to the Leadership Confidence Index.

Confidence in leadership teams is also falling among other C-suite executives and those who report to them, it showed.

"The gap between talk and real impact on issues like digital, ESG, DE&I and succession planning is becoming increasingly clear for many organizations," the survey said, referring to environment, social and governance (ESG) and diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I).

The findings, based on online responses from nearly 1,700 CEOs, senior executives and non-executive board directors in 46 countries, underscore how the fatigue of managing through the pandemic, years of disruption and a challenging geopolitical and macroeconomic environment is taking a toll on executives.

It comes after a PricewaterhouseCoopers survey showed nearly 40% of CEOs thought their companies would not be economically viable over the next decade unless they innovated and transformed at a faster pace.

Taken together, the findings could mean companies are forced to re-evaluate whether they have the right sets of skills on their leadership teams and invest in developing talent.

"It is reasonable to expect that many leadership teams will see changes," said Tom Handcock, managing director of Russell Reynolds' Center for Leadership Insights. "They will bring in new people that have different experience and fresh ideas."

Handcock attributed the declining confidence in leadership to fatigue, economic challenges and increased complexity in managing a diverse set of stakeholders.

The survey showed, however, that the confidence of directors in leadership teams was higher than that of other executives.

"This may point to a gap in the depth of engagement some directors have with the business," it said.