Becoming a chief executive officer (CEO) represents the culmination of an executive’s career. It is the final promotion into the role overseeing the entire organization. But the job entails risk, as some estimates put the average tenure of a CEO at around four years. This means that if CEOs do not successfully manage the most important parts of their role from the very beginning, they are not likely to last long.

Search firm Egon Zehnder recently surveyed 408 CEOs from around the globe to assess what they felt were the most difficult aspects of the role, particularly parts that they felt least prepared for when ascending into it. Interestingly, the results of this survey support the theme we have discussed in this chapter, that is, the importance of getting strategy, talent, and culture aligned and managed effectively.

First, when asked about how different aspects of the CEO role corresponded to their expectations, the three they found most difficult were “driving cultural change,” “finding time for myself and for reflection,” and “developing my senior leadership team.” Regarding culture, examples written by CEOs were “Better understanding of developing a high-performance culture,” and “How resistant the culture was to change. I would have moved faster on some changes as a result.” Regarding talent, and particularly the senior team, one CEO wrote “Building, hiring, training, trusting a strong team allows me to delegate most of the doing. My ability to make people decisions and act on them decisively is the most important skill in this role.”

Also, when asked, besides building a strong business, which work objectives were most important to them, 62% hoped to “Create a value-based culture with purpose.” One CEO said “As the CEO, I sincerely want to grow our company and make us a company that is critical and indispensable for our society. I want to devote all my energy to thinking about how I can contribute in this regard and acting upon it.”

Why do you think CEOs have to focus so much on the talent around them? Explain with new ideas and details.