CEO’s - trying to impart certainty in an uncertain world.

We’ve been looking at some key trends across the CEO spectrum in light of recent unexpected changes in the global geopolitical landscape. Sure enough some common themes emerged and of those, three stood out and can be distilled as follows:   

1. Trust in the business and the brand.

What continue to be described as ‘emergent technologies’ should really be assigned as ‘established technologies’ mean we are more interconnected and interdependent than at any point in history. Concerns about trust in business has grown and over half of CEOs are concerned that declining trust in business could harm their growth. This increasing ‘trust gap’ in public confidence creates risks for individual companies, but also political, economic, and social systems around the globe.

A significant proportion of CEOs we surveyed firmly believe that attaining and retaining trust is more challenging in the digital era. To offset the risks arising from data breaches and cybersecurity, an organisation with values of integrity and transparency will be well place to communicate directly to its customers charting all that is done and will be undertaken to preserve data privacy.

Today, executive teams need to fully grasp the ethical and moral implications of their decisions, and communicate their actions with integrity. Trust has become an equalizing force, moving power from top-down to peer-to-peer.

2. The war for talent.  

The ‘war for talent’ seems to show no signs of lessening is as fierce as ever. The population ages, skills requirements alter and businesses search for the skills they need to realise their growth plans. Over three-quarters of CEOs polled stated concern that skills shortages could hamper their organisation’s growth.

Even with burgeoning workplace automation, CEOs realise that to innovate, they creative types with innovative problem-solving skills and true emotional intelligence. Ironically, the hardest skills to find.

To find these employees, CEOs are increasingly tapping into a more diverse hiring pool—and looking across borders. They are also focused on the structure and future of work, including the “gig economy,” with 28% of CEOs relying more heavily on temporary workers. A laser focus on delivering results, a drive to find the right skills, and ability to execute are what distinguish the CEOs that have higher confidence in their companies that we see in this survey.

3. Being responsive in a changing world.

Brexit and the U.S. presidential election are key recent examples of how it is near impossible to foretell the future. Sure enough, CEOs ranked uncertain economic growth and geopolitical uncertainty among their top concerns.

With globalization moving to a complex power-struggle amid power centres, economic growth, and geopolitical threats, most CEOs are now dealing with multiple value systems, frameworks, and trading blocs. Forces like rising income inequality and accelerating digital connectivity are causing rifts and new alliances.

How does a CEOs develop a sustainable businesses against a backdrop of increasingly unpredictable external factors? No panacea, but having the right senior team, seasoned in experience and prepared for sudden change is a major factor separating those who have turned adversity into opportunity. Talk to us at Redline Executive about how you can calibrate and align your senior team to best navigate a sea of uncertainty. You can reach me via ARaymond@RedlineExecutive.com or on +44 (0)1582 450054.