Today’s leaders are having to cope with phenomenal volume of transactions in comparison to their predecessors.
Thought Partners’ Wellington-based director Jane McCann says in the 1980s research clocked leaders completing 100 transactions day – mainly phone calls, letters, faxes, or meetings. “In the 1990s, I clocked leaders doing 200 transactions day – mainly email. But now, I’ve found the 21st century leader can be doing up to 300 transactions before morning tea time.”
McCann has discovered that most CEOs spend 85 percent of their days in formal and informal meetings. So the time that remains is valuable. “Also you’ve got to make meeting matter and it’s got to happen with speed.”
McCann says communication skills are crucial in business world run mainly in open-plan offices, where leaders are expected to be more accessible than ever before.
Caring CEOs of the future, page 34
