Why Are so Few CHROs Promoted to CEO?
A few weeks ago I had the chance to attend my first DisruptHR-Tampa event and left quite impressed. I had the opportunity to listen to many knowledgeable speakers and one that really impacted me was John Wilson CEO @ WilsonHCG . John offered some interesting statics and reasons why so few CHROs become CEOs within Fortune 500 companies. Having sold into HR over the past 20+ years and currently selling a new HR technology solution into HR, this information was eye opening and I decided to explore further.
What does it take to become a CEO? Is it all about your pedigree? Do you have a better shot if you attended a school with an elite MBA program? Or is it all about who you know?
It turns out that none of these are correct. While they can help, they aren’t necessary and generally aren’t predictive of future career performance.
According to the CEO Genome Project, a ten-year study that gathered data on 17,000 CEOs and closely analyzed 2,600 of them for specific characteristics, the most predictive factor in reaching CEO is taking big risks.