Managing Human Capital with the Spencer Stuart CEO Survey

Strong leadership is one of the most valuable—and often overlooked—assets inside a privately held business. Whether you oversee a team of 10 or 1,000, the quality of your leadership decisions influences culture, performance, risk, and ultimately the long-term value of your company. To help business owners access world-class leadership insight, we highlight the Spencer Stuart CEO Survey, one of the most respected leadership pulse-checks available today.

What Is the Spencer Stuart CEO Survey?

The Spencer Stuart CEO Survey is conducted annually by Spencer Stuart’s Global Board & CEO Practice, gathering input from more than 1,000 CEOs and over 1,000 corporate directors across industries. The survey explores how leaders think about: culture and talent, strategic decision-making, uncertainty and disruption, governance and communication, board or advisory alignment, and succession readiness.

It is one of the few large-scale qualitative studies where leaders openly share what keeps them focused, what challenges them, and where they believe organizations succeed or fall short.

Why This Matters—Even for Small and Mid-Sized Businesses

Although the survey draws heavily from global organizations, its lessons are highly applicable to owner-led and privately held companies. Most leadership challenges are not “Fortune 500 problems”—they are human problems, which show up in companies of every size. Common struggles and growth areas referenced by many executives are:

• How do we communicate clearly?
• How do we attract and retain the right people?
• How do we keep culture healthy as we grow?
• How aligned is our leadership team?
• Are we prepared for succession or unexpected change?

These qualitative leadership tenets—clarity, culture, communication, alignment, and readiness—are the very factors surveyed CEOs cite as central to performance. For smaller companies, these issues are often even more influential because a single leadership gap can have a disproportionate organizational impact. The survey’s greatest value is giving business owners a way to compare their leadership practices to those used by high-performing peers across the country and around the world.

Key Themes Business Owners Should Pay Attention To

Recent survey findings highlight several leadership priorities that translate directly to the small-business environment:

1. Culture and Talent Continue to Take Center Stage: Leaders consistently rank culture and people priorities above technology or economic concerns. For smaller firms—where every person plays an outsized role—culture is often the single greatest determinant of success.
2. Uncertainty Is the New Normal: CEOs report high levels of volatility in markets, regulations, and workforce dynamics. Strong communication, adaptability, and clarity of purpose allow smaller businesses to stay resilient.
3. Leadership Alignment Matters More Than Ever: A common theme in the survey is the gap between how leaders believe they are aligned and how aligned they actually are. In a privately held business, misalignment between owners, managers, or key employees can slow decisions and weaken execution.
4. Succession Planning Is a Persistent Weak Spot: Even large organizations struggle with leadership succession. For owner-led businesses, succession is not only a practical concern—it affects continuity, value, and the long-term stability of the enterprise.

How Business Owners Can Use This Resource

The Spencer Stuart CEO Survey offers an accessible way for owners to:

• Benchmark their leadership focus
• Identify gaps in communication or alignment
• Strengthen decision-making and team clarity
• Improve cultural health
• Prepare for future leadership transitions
• Bring structured leadership conversation into owner, board, or management meetings

You don’t need to be a Fortune 500 CEO to benefit from world-class leadership thinking. These insights help business owners sharpen the qualitative side of management—the side that drives performance but rarely shows up on a balance sheet.

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