CEOs Get Stressed And Lonely Too

Though sometimes it feels like CEOs of companies are super humans, they are actually just ordinary people who get stressed from work and lonely. According to CEO Briefing, half of chief executive officers surveyed in a new study said the intensity of their job and the lack of peers to confide in creates intense feelings of isolation. This disconnect has been a drag on performance for 61% of the 83 CEOs of large public and private organizations surveyed by management consultancy RHR International. “Stress, pressure, and loneliness all combine to create job challenges unlike any other they have previously had,” said Thomas Saporito, Chicago-based chief executive officer of RHR.. It has a strong impact “because you know the buck stops with you and it can be daunting to consider whether you are making the wisest decision based on the limited information you have at hand.”

The survey found that first-time CEOs are particularly susceptible to this feeling of loneliness. Nearly 70% of new CEOs say loneliness and the lack of feedback negatively affects their ability to do their jobs. The findings reveal that even confident CEOs can be surprised by the stress that comes with the job, said Saporito. Even though CEOs are at the top, they still feel job insecurity. The current state of the economy is the greatest threat to CEO’s  tenure and 21% cited worry about the speed of change in their industry. Many said they feared they would eventually clash with shareholders or the board over failing to meet expectations. Only 6% said they worried about not having the right management team to get results.

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So how does a leader overcome these fears? “To overcome the isolation at the top, CEOs need to find people they can trust who can hold up the mirror to them. It’s generally not someone on their management team; most often it becomes someone on the board or a peer CEO or former exec outside the company who has experience with a similar organization,” Dr. Saporito said, adding: “It’s up to the CEO to seek out unvarnished feedback.” CEOs overwhelmingly said they find boards a fruitful source of feedback and support, with 96% saying they can speak honestly with certain directors about their performance and the impact of their decisions, and 59% citing the board as their most helpful source of feedback.

Photo:  Paul Schlemmer/Shutterstock.com