Recruiters Reveal Qualities Execs Need to Lead C-Suite During Tough Times

The WWD article, "Recruiters Reveal Qualities Execs Need to Lead C-Suite During Tough Times" quotes Russell Reynolds Associates' Robyn Soto about the most important qualities that set apart CEOs from the rest of the executive population during tough times. The article is excerpted below. 

Moreover, these pressures on the c-suite can be amplified during economic downturns. When times get tough, leaders often have to manage sinking morale, layoffs, store closures and even bankruptcies.

Executive recruiters say this is when the core qualities of a good chief executive officer or other c-level manager are tested. How a leader navigates during challenging times reveals the value of placing the very best at the very top.

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Robyn Soto, a consultant in the retail and luxury practice of Russell Reynolds Associates, an executive search firm, said the most important “qualities don’t change for a CEO in challenging times.”

Soto said proprietary research from her firm “highlights that two things that set apart CEOs from the rest of the executive population are the ability to embrace the right risks and ability to capitalize on opportunities.”

“If anything, those qualities — being courageous and moving fast — become more important during challenging times,” Soto explained. “And in difficult times, the best-performing CEOs — distinguished in our data by their passionate nature, their focus on substance and their ability to keep problems in perspective — truly rise above the pack.”

To read the full article, click here.