CEOs are hanging on through this recession

November 9, 8:40 AMLeadership ExaminerSteve Arneson

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I came across some interesting research this weekend – fewer large corporations are making leadership changes this year. According to executive recruiting firm Spencer Stuart, through September 30th only 38 companies in the Fortune 500 have changed CEOs in 2009. While that may seem like a lot, it’s down from 48 over the same period in 2008. In fact, it’s the fewest CEO changes over the first 3 quarters since Spencer Stuart starting tracking change at the top in 2004.

Is this a trend, or does it tell us something about the importance of continuity and stability, even in bad times? Surely many more than 38 companies have hit hard times, or fallen behind their peers over the last year. Is it that corporate Boards would rather not take on additional risk in the face of a crisis? Is it that they can’t find in-house candidates capable of taking the helm? Or maybe they can’t find external candidates willing to jump into these turbulent waters?

My guess is that the issues are so complicated and the path forward is so tenuous, that Boards would rather ride with the talent they know, faults and all. Changing CEOs is never an easy transition, and perhaps it’s just not seen as the time to take on additional change – in philosophy, leadership style, or new ideas for the business.

Look around your organization or institution – are you bucking this trend or mirroring it? Are leaders coming and going at a brisk pace, or is your outfit retaining leaders well past their expiration date? Which ever is the case, why do you think that is? What factors are in play in your culture or your business model that are contributing to your pace of leadership change?

I don’t know if this knowledge will help explain what’s going on in your firm, but I encourage you to find and use these kinds of external data points when opining on things in your own backyard. The next time someone asks you – “why are we sticking with so and so?”, you can say: “well, actually, I just saw a study that says…” And if that helps explain what’s going on in your firm, well, there you go. The point is, no matter what the issue, it’s always a good idea to raise your head above the immediate fray and take a look around… there might be a trend or two emerging that you can use to sound even more intelligent and informed.