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Executive suite

Microsoft's Gates tops list of most admired

By Nathan Hurst, Globe Correspondent, 12/18/05

AP PHOTO Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates. The most admired executives Which executive do you admire most?

For the world's top business leaders, geek is chic this year.

While reality television viewers got their fill of cheesy chief executives such as Donald Trump and Martha Stewart in 2005, a worldwide survey of the most prominent corporate leaders conducted by Burson-Marsteller, a public relations and public affairs firm based in New York, showed that three of the top 10 most admired chief executives were in charge of well-known technology firms.

Not surprisingly, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates took the top spot in this year's survey, followed by Steve Jobs, the chief executive of Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple Computer.

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Michael Dell, whose namesake Dell Computers made him both rich and well known throughout the business world, took the number four slot, right behind number three Warren Buffett, the financial mogul who leads investment giant Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Dr. Leslie Gaines-Ross, chief knowledge and research officer for Burson-Marsteller and the founder of the study, said that while this year's survey found that impressive business skills and results were important attributes in admired chief executives, a strong sense that a corporate leader performed his or her job ethically and with appropriate community stewardship was important as well.

"The selection of Bill Gates as the 2005 world's most admired leader not only recognizes his ongoing stewardship at the company he founded, but it also acknowledges the powerful effect the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has had on Bill Gates' reputation," Gaines-Ross said. "Leaders and their companies can no longer safely ignore the value placed on corporate responsibility and commitment by 21st century citizens."

Other notable personalities topping this year's list: number five Richard Branson, the flashy chief of Virgin Group, which includes a namesake record label in addition to airlines and cellphone firms, and number 10 Rupert Murdoch, head of News Corp., which controls a diversified media portfolio, including newspapers and the Fox television movie studio and television brands.

All of the top 15 most admired executives, the list of which was released late last week, were men and six were from the United States. Four were from the United Kingdom.

Patrick Ford, head of the global corporate and financial practice business for Burson-Marsteller, said having longevity and a well-established history with a company helped candidates get on the list.

"Business decision makers clearly voted for long-term performance and proven track records over fleeting success," Ford said. "The tenures of these top-ranking CEOs are not short-lived. They had an average of 21 years to repeatedly prove themselves."

A just-right workload tied to job satisfaction

Companies looking to make sure employees stay put should take a bit of fairy tale advice: When it comes to employee workloads, too much or too little won't cut it. Keeping it just right, however, will.

Sirota Survey Intelligence, an attitude research firm, polled over 200,000 employees this year about their workloads and how happy they are in their jobs.

The results? Underworked employees are more likely to be unhappy with their jobs, as are those with too much on their plates.

Sirota took the raw results of its employee survey and factored both workload and satisfaction numbers together to create a composite score, which represented an approximate percentage of workers in the category who were satisfied.

Of those who indicated they had an appropriate amount of work to do, about 68 percent were happy with their jobs. Those with "too much work" and "much too much work" were satisfied with their jobs at the rates of about 60 percent and 52 percent, respectively.

While it's no surprise that workers with too much to do were less satisfied than those with an appropriate workload, it may shock bosses that workers who look bored at work aren't necessarily lazy. They're unhappy as well.

Those workers who said they performed "too little work" were only satisfied at the rate of 43 percent and only 37 percent of those who had "much too little work" were happy with their jobs.

Jeffrey Saltzman, the chief executive of Sirota, said the results are directly tied to the fact that most workers have a strong desire to be challenged and excel at their jobs.

"The most recent survey results confirm one of the timeless truths about employee satisfaction. Employees don't want to just get by in their jobs," he said. "Most people come to work enthusiastic and want to make a real contribution. Those who feel they have too little to do and possibly feeling not appreciated by their employers, have lower levels of overall satisfaction and a waning sense of enthusiasm."

Younger workers more likely on the job prowl

Young workers are most likely to be looking for better career opportunities, putting more pressure on employers to have effective retention programs, according to a recent study released by Spherion, a Florida-based staffing and recruitment firm.
The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive, a national research and polling firm, showed that workers ages 18 to 24 were just over four times as likely as their most senior counterparts, ages 65 and over, to be looking for a new job within the next year.

While 60 percent of the youngest workers polled said they would likely be looking for a new paycheck, only 12 percent of the oldest responded similarly.

Overall, the trend to begin looking for different work within the next year decreased as a worker's age increased, the study showed. For workers of all ages, only 39 percent said it was likely they would be looking for work over the next year and 10 percent indicated it would be neither unlikely nor likely.

Hiring managers shouldn't worry too much, however. Despite the fact that a good number of workers indicated they would be at least flipping through job ads soon, a majority of workers - 51 percent - in all age categories said they were unlikely to look for new work.

Richard Lamond, senior vice president and chief human resources officer at Spherion, said the results weren't surprising at a time when workers, especially younger ones, are looking to work for a company that supports them and provide more than just a place to earn money.

"Working is about more than just a paycheck," Lamond said. "Employees want the opportunity to grow and advance within an organization. They want a positive relationship with their supervisor, a workplace that promotes work-life balance and the proper training they need to perform their job well."

Many workers in the survey - 31 percent - said they felt turnover rates and a lack of employee retention program were problems at their company.

Another 27 percent felt their company was not taking any steps to prevent employees from walking out. Less than half - only 41 percent - said morale in their workplaces was high.

Lamond recommends employers add programs that strive to keep good workers and attract new employees who will want to stick around for the long haul.

"Employers that implement programs to increase retention and boost morale, such as flextime and telecommuting options, expand training and development offerings and coaching services, will become an employer of choice," he said.

"Not only will this help reduce turnover, but it puts companies in a better position to recruit top talent as well."

Nathan Hurst can be reached at nhurst@globe.com

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