Top executives are not immune to burnout

Christie Struckman, Vice President Analyst, Leadership, Culture and People, Gartner.

CEOs tell us the top four organisational competencies they need in place to deliver on their business strategy are talent management, technology enablement, digitalisation, innovation, and execution. They need an effective system to either hire or develop the skills needed for their strategy, and they need to continue with their digitalisation investments.

They need to simultaneously think differently about how they design and deliver their products, services, and they need flawless execution on their business plans. And do this in the context of the virus with differential impacts around the world, and concerns about how to make hybrid work in their organisations.

Leaders have the right to prefer onsite v offsite work, and if so, should be clear sooner rather than later. The ambiguity is worse than not knowing. Executives should balance the work needs with employee preferences. But just know that employees are expecting to be offered hybrid working options.

Our research suggests that by 2022, 47% of knowledge workers will be hybrid workers, up from 27% in 2019. And if you force your employees to go back full time in the office, you could lose 1 in 3 workers.

There is no one right culture for success. The best culture is one that is consistent with the strategy of the organisation, accentuates the unique value of the organisation in the ecosystem, celebrates the organisational history, and provides clear guidance to employees about what is accepted and expected.

Culture is an outcome of the systems, processes and practices of the organisation that teach employees how to behave. Similarly, there is no one right structure. The organisational structure is simply a tool to organise employees. Executives should focus on making sure their operating model is efficient and effective.

We believe four skills or competencies are critical for executives — business acumen, digital acumen, emotional intelligence, and relationship management. Executives need to understand how their enterprises make money or provide services and know the levers that impact the business model.

Digital acumen is the ambition and ability to use and apply existing and emerging technology to drive better business outcomes. Emotional intelligence, the ability to recognise and manage emotions, helps executives as digitalisation changes employee’s work practices, behaviors, and reporting relationships. And relationship management is critical to resolve challenges and barriers that arise across the enterprise.

Executives are not immune to burnout. The superhuman responses required to address today’s challenges are fueled by adrenaline. But the relentless sense of urgency is not sustainable. Executives need to modulate the work so that employees get a chance to play catchup both with other work commitments and with their home life.

And therefore, executives should model doing the same themselves. Telling employees to take care of themselves and take some time off will more likely be followed if employees see the executives doing the same.

Reporting structure is typically informed by two competing design principles: the role should be closest to the place where the decisions they influence happen and there needs to be manageable spans of control. Given these design principles, CIOs report to the CEO or COO of any organisation that has digitalisation as part of its business strategy.

Christie Struckman, Vice President Analyst, Leadership, Culture and People, Gartner.
Christie Struckman, Vice President Analyst, Leadership, Culture and People, Gartner.

The CTO, depending on the role they are asked to play in the organisation might report to the CEO or COO, or to the CIO. And the CISO role that sets security vision and strategy, develops security management frameworks, and enforces enterprise security and risk policies, tends to report to the CIO.


KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Top four organisational competencies to deliver business strategy are talent management, technology enablement, digitalisation innovation, execution.
  • Leaders have the right to prefer onsite v offsite work, and if so, should be clear sooner rather than later
  • Executives should balance the work needs with employee preferences.
  • But just know that employees are expecting to be offered hybrid working options.
  • Our research suggests that by 2022, 47% of knowledge workers will be hybrid workers, up from 27% in 2019.
  • And if you force your employees to go back full time in the office, you could lose 1 in 3 workers.
  • Executives need to understand how their enterprises make money or provide services and know the levers that impact the business model.
  • Four skills are critical for executives, business acumen, digital acumen, emotional intelligence, relationship management.
  • The organisational structure is simply a tool to organise employees.
  • Executives should focus on making sure their operating model is efficient and effective.
  • Reporting structure is closest to where decisions they influence happen and manageable spans of control.
  • Executives are not immune to burnout and relentless sense of urgency is not sustainable.
  • The superhuman responses required to address today’s challenges are fueled by adrenaline.
  • Executives need to modulate work so that employees get a chance to play catchup with other commitments and with home life.
  • Telling employees to take care of themselves will more likely be followed if employees see the executives doing the same.

While the superhuman responses required to address today’s challenges are fueled by adrenaline, the relentless sense of urgency is not sustainable.