Executives Rate Their Networks, by Level
It’s not always what you know, but who you know, which may be what propels executives to the very upper levels of organizations.
ExecuNet’s analysis of more than 2,100 self-assessments of executive networks reveals that presidents and chief executives perceive their connections to be of the highest quality and greatest strength compared to those in other levels.
Nearly 3-in-10 presidents/CEOs considered their network quality to be excellent or very good, followed by 23 percent of CxOs. However, 81 percent of CxOs assessed their network quality as excellent, very good or good, compared to 72 percent of the president/CEO respondents.
Presidents/CEOs rated their relationships the strongest with roughly 40 percent reporting them to be excellent or very good, but when “good” is added to the assessment of relationship strength, CxOs, directors and vice presidents surpass the top officers. The large majority of all levels rated their network relationship as excellent, very good or good.
All levels had a high perception of whether their networks were mutually beneficial, with CxOs holding a slight edge over their president/CEO counterparts. At the lowest end of the range, 81 percent of managers rated their network reciprocity as excellent, very good or good compared to 86 percent of CxOs who had the same regard.
“It could be that those who have a lesser amount of business responsibility — the managers — may still be thinking about networking as ‘What’s in it for me?’” noted Lauryn Franzoni, vice president of ExecuNet’s Executive Career Management and Networking Services. “Outward focus and willingness to give first deepens with success.”
