StratBlog

LeadershipIQ.com recently announced the results of its four-year study of why CEOs are fired or forced out. The study, based on interviews with 1,087 board members from 286 public, private, business and healthcare organizations, found that chief executives were fired, or otherwise forced out as a result of:

• Mismanaging change (31%)
• Ignoring customers (28%)
• Tolerating low performers (27%)
• Denying reality (23%)
• Too much talk, not enough action (22%)

The report says virtually every organization it interviewed has undergone change initiatives, noting:

“half of board members said that their change initiative did not go well. Most pointed to a failure on the CEO’s part to properly motivate employees and managers, and more specifically, to adequately sell the need to change course. Another group identified the CEO’s inability to follow-through and solidify the gains as the cause of failure.”

Other studies have shown that 70 percent of organizational change initiatives fail, often because the CEO isn’t committed to the change, doesn’t sell the need for the change or fails to follow through with execution. Similarly, up to 90 percent of strategic plans are never effectively implemented for the same reasons.
(Thanks to Lisa Haneberg for the link)