The expression alone – or alone – at the top can take on its full meaning when you find yourself at the head of a company or an organization. This is the case for 80% of Quebec CEOs, who say they experience a feeling of loneliness when carrying out their duties, which can possibly alter their decision-making capacity or their communications with their employees and stakeholders.
Published at 7:30 a.m.
The distance that power often induces between CEOs and employees, the propensity of managers to hide their emotions and only display superficial feelings and the constant pressure linked to the imperative of performance are all factors which contribute to nourish the feeling of loneliness in a business manager.
Here are some preliminary observations that emerge from the first study just carried out by Pôle D of HEC Montréal. Pole D – for manager and strategic direction – was set up three years ago, but its official launch took place on Wednesday evening.
Led by HEC Montréal associate professor Alaric Bourgoin and full professor Denis Chênevert, this new research center is entirely devoted to the profession of CEO and its objective is to create high-level scientific knowledge on the lives and behaviors of managers.
The study on loneliness at the top is part of this desire to know more about the effects that this problem can have on the behavior of the CEO and on his entire organization.
First observation, 80% of organizational CEOs say they have experienced loneliness in the performance of their duties, while 25% said they often feel alone at work.
Research on the subject demonstrates that “loneliness at the top can lead to a lack of emotional support, making decision-making an anxiety-inducing task…it can also undermine effective communication with employees and stakeholders stakeholders… and that it can hinder innovation and the ability of the CEO to adapt to a rapidly changing competitive environment,” summarizes the research from Pole D of HEC Montréal.
There are several ways to alleviate this feeling of loneliness that are mentioned by CEOs themselves. Thus, 72% of the hundred CEOs interviewed for this study say they often do physical activities, 41% attend CEO support groups, 37% say they get involved in cultural and community activities and finally 14% follow therapy. quite regularly.
Crises as a factor of isolation
By the way, it is interesting to note that the various crises that can arise within the life of a company were the main isolating factor identified Wednesday evening by several CEOs who participated in a panel around this theme, on the sidelines of the official launch of Pôle D of HEC Montréal.
For Alain Batty, former CEO of Ford Canada, the expression alone at the top was embodied in a dramatic way when he had to respond to an order from the American headquarters to close a plant in the Toronto area and to implement foot 3500 workers.
“Ford had to close five factories in the United States and although our site was still very successful, we had to close at least one factory in Canada for good measure. It was very hard to live with. Everywhere in my life, I felt very alone,” recalled the ex-CEO, now an associate professor at the HEC School of Managers.
Marie-Line Beauchamp, head of operations at MTY Group, also experienced a pervasive feeling of loneliness for many months during the pandemic when she had to close several hundred restaurants in her Canadian division.
“It lasted almost two years. I had to thank people I would have liked to keep on the team. I felt very alone,” says the career manager.
Same thing for Brigitte Jalbert, CEO and owner of Emballages Carrousel, who took over the family business founded by her father and who had to force her father to let go.
“My father was 81 years old and he wanted to continue running the business; even if he was in his right mind, he had to understand that we were moving on. I experienced immense loneliness for two years,” said the CEO.
A business manager must live with the decisions he makes, there is often no one above him or at his side with whom he can express his doubts or his anxieties, and his board of directors can sometimes even appearing as a threat.
“It’s certain that when everything is going well, the company is performing well and you are the star, you feel less alone, that’s for sure. But when things are less good, when you are scrutinized by everyone and you have to deliver results, it is less obvious,” says Alaric Bourgoin, co-director of Pôle D.
The team of this new research center includes around fifteen researchers who are simultaneously working on a dozen different subjects in four separate laboratories.
The next study to be made public will focus on the role of emotions in a CEO’s decision-making, and the next will focus on the governance of state-owned companies. We’ll talk about it again.
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