In a blog over at harvardbusiness.org Marshall Goldsmith discusses the high rate of executive turnover in today’s business environment.
“Over 64% of new CEO’s (whose data is most readily available) fail to make it through their fourth year in their job, while 40% are gone in 18 months.” –Marshall Goldsmith
Marshall makes some excellent points about company culture and job fit. He maintains that these executive “casualties” are not incompetent, rather they have a different set of core values from the company as a whole. Employees will not trust someone who doesn’t share their values, and they will not follow someone they don’t trust.
Marshall urges for everyone considering a promotion or move to do three things.
- Understand your own personality by taking behavioral assessments.
- Observe the culture of the team or organization you are looking into.
- Verify your observations with contacts who have experience with the team or organization.
