McKinsey senior partners developed a CEO performance questionnaire informed by in-depth interviews with more than 70 successful chief executives across industries.
The checklist is meant to assess CEOs' performance in six dimensions: setting direction, aligning the organization, mobilizing through leaders, engaging the board, connecting with stakeholders and managing personal effectiveness.
"Sure, CEOs have an abundance of financial, operational, and organizational metrics to look at, but what CEOs should be doing to influence those metrics wasn't exactly clear," the authors noted. The checklist serves as both a self-assessment tool and a framework for gathering honest feedback from board members, executives and trusted advisors.
Below is a condensed list of the questions, with commentary and more explanation of each available in the full article from McKinsey here.
1. Vision: Do we have a clear and compelling vision that reframes what winning looks like, and is it owned by the whole enterprise?
2. Strategy: Have we created a short list of clearly defined big moves at the enterprise level that will distance us from our competitors?
3. Resource allocation: Are we 'thinking like an outsider' to actively reallocate resources (such as dollars, people, and management attention) to our highest priorities, even when it's hard to do?
4. Culture: Are we targeting and systematically pursuing specific areas of cultural change to further execute our strategy?
5. Organizational design: Is our organization characterized by a balance of stability and agility that maximizes the speed and effectiveness of execution?
6. Talent: Are the most value-creating roles in our organization filled with the right talent, and do they have a strong leadership pipeline?
7. Team composition: Is my senior team the right size, comprising people with complementary skills and characterized by an 'enterprise first' mindset?
8. Teamwork: Does my senior team effectively use data and dialogue to make timely decisions on topics that only they can take on?
9. Operating rhythm: Does my senior team have an effective annual operating rhythm and business review cadence that drives execution and minimizes surprises?
10. Relationships: Have I built trust with my board members by being 'radically transparent' and showing an interest in their views?
11. Capabilities: Do we have the right profiles on the board, and are we sufficiently educating directors and pulling them in to help where they can?
12. Board meetings: Are board sessions well prepped, effectively run, and focused on the future (going well beyond fiduciary topics)?
13. Purpose: Are we clear on the holistic impact we aspire to (our 'why?'), and have we embedded that into the core of how we run our business?
14. Interactions: Do we fully understand our stakeholders' needs (their 'why?') and find constructive common ground with them?
15. Moments of truth: Have we built resilience ahead of any potential crises so that we'll be able to mitigate their impact and use them to unlock opportunities?
16. Time and energy: Do I manage my time and energy well, and do I have the right office support in place to help me successfully and sustainably do what only I can do as the CEO?
17. Leadership model: Am I leading in a way that is authentic to my convictions and values while also adjusting my behaviors to what the organization needs?
18. Perspective: Do I approach my position with humility, focusing on helping others to succeed and continually improving my ability to do so?