In Q1 of 2020, Gravitas Impact looked at cases of 128 mid-market CEOs. Gravitas (of which ProActive is a part) wanted to learn more about the mind of the CEO, their problems, how they tried to solve them, and the impact of coaching on their businesses. You may or may not see yourself in these results. But (spoiler alert) they make a compelling argument for the benefits of hiring a business coach. Note: this analysis was performed before Covid turned the world upside-down, so pandemic-specific impacts are not reflected here.
Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data led to these top five most pressing CEO challenges:
- Executing strategy to achieve goals (77%) - Respondents said they are good at strategy but poor at execution - or that they have a strong vision, but need help bringing it all together
- Developing a successful company strategy (58%) - They know where they want to be in 10 years, but don't know how to get there
- Maintaining a healthy, accountable culture (55%) - Team heads are not meeting expectations, and are poor leaders
- Selecting, communicating, and aligning top priorities (51%) - Teams are siloed, and we can't get everyone on the same page
- Scaling operational processes (45%) - The executive team is too much "in the weeds" and not strategic
Relying on DIY
CEOs are smart, you know that already. Ingenuity, creativity, and resourcefulness helped them progress to where they are. Given past successes, it makes sense that CEOs would first default to rely on themselves for the solutions to the top 5 listed above. Here's what they said about how they initially confronted their issues:
- DIY approach - 77%
- Tolerating the issue without taking action - 48%
- Joined a CEO Roundtable - 40%
- Not fully aware of challenges - 34%
The majority of the coaches surveyed (60%) said they believed they must figure it out themselves. Almost half (46%) were unaware that there was a coaching option. Others were concerned about the cost of coaching, or had a bad experience with a previous coach.
The Cost of DIY
The DIY approach wasn't working in these 128 companies. In terms of revenue growth and profitability, data showed that 85% of organizations had low, flat, or declining revenue. More than half (53%) were producing profits below benchmark before their coaching engagements.
The hidden cost of DIY was the impact on the CEOs' state of mind. Words like "frustrated", "stressed", "lack of confidence in team", "lack confidence", "overwhelmed", "scattered", and "anxious" were used to describe their mindset.
Company performance after coaching
The number of companies who moved into a high-growth trajectory increased significantly after coaching . While only 15% reported high growth pre-coaching, 65% reported high growth post-coaching. That's a 4x increase. At the same time, companies that reported volatile, declining, flat and low growth decreased from 85% to 35%.
Profitability among the CEOs showed a 6x increase from pre-coaching to post-coaching (11% to 66%).
Impact on CEO after coaching
The data demonstrates that it is indeed "lonely at the top". Prior to coaching, CEOs didn't have a confidant who could listen and help with some of the tough issues of leadership. This contributed to low self-confidence.
Once they began working with a coach, the CEOs' state of mind began to shift. They described being more confident, clear, calm and focused. Their personal productivity also increased as they built a culture of accountability and were able to be more strategic.
ProActive Leadership's award-winning coaches have more than a
century of combined coaching experience. Why resort to DIY when you can be supported by a well-trained professional who can provide the structure and process you need to take your business to the next level? Contact us for a complimentary strategy session.
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