Being The CEO 2024 Survey

Being the CEO Survey 2024

Welcome to Forum Strategy’s annual Being The CEO survey. We run this survey to capture key trends and valuable insights into what ‘Being The CEO’ means in the current context. In doing so, it provides a useful opportunity for you, as CEOs, to reflect on your experiences and personal development in the role. It also informs our collective understanding as a sector around how the role is evolving, what the key priorities are for CEOs, and what more can be done to support you going forward,

As we go into the fifth year of the report, we know the context has shifted significantly and we want to hear directly from you about what this means for your leadership and your organisation in the months and years ahead. The report is arguably one of the most important each year in helping us to share learning across trusts and between the CEOs who lead them.

Please note this survey is completely anonymous unless you choose to provide your details to us at the end of the survey. In any case, the reports findings are always presented anonymously. The survey should take around 15 minutes to complete - you will be redirected once the survey has been completed. We look forward to sharing findings with you in November. Thank you for your support and participation. We hope you find this to be a really useful opportunity for self-reflection.

About you

How long have you been a Chief Executive?

0 - 1 years

1- 3 years

3 - 5 years

More than five years

Is this your first CEO role?

Yes, my first one

No, it's my second

I've been a CEO more than twice before

Are you the founding CEO of your current trust?

Yes

What was your professional background prior to being a CEO?

Teaching

Educational support

Business & corporate

Charities and third sector

Local authority

Other:

ONLY ANSWER IF your professional background was teaching: What aspect of your experience best prepared you for the CEO role?

Teaching

Managing key business functions

Leading teams of people

Working with governors / board

Budget Management

Working with external partners

Leading the development and delivery of innovative projects

Other:

ONLY ANSWER IF your professional background was not teaching: What aspect of your experience best prepared you for the CEO role?

Managing key business functions

Working with governors / board

Budget Management

Working with external partners

Leading the development and delivery of innovative projects

Other:

Do you feel it is necessary to have been a teacher in order to become a trust CEO?

Yes

Please could you provide some comments about why you selected your response above

What attracted you to the CEO role? (choose two)

The chance to make a bigger difference

The challenge of leading a larger / more complex organisation

The outward facing aspects of the role / working with stakeholders

Working with a greater diversity of people

The opportunity for more professional autonomy

The chance to be more strategic

I was asked to put myself forward

A higher profile in the system to contribute to system wide improvement

Other:

About the role of CEO

What are the main differences you’ve experienced between the CEO role and your previous role? (choose three)

Leading diverse teams of experts

More out-ward facing

More time spent on other aspects of the organisation

The level or nature of working with the board

Being more strategic in terms of resources and planning

Less time on operational leadership / ‘letting go’

Managing the political and policy environment

A greater public profile

The need to focus on communications and the media

Other:

What has been your key learning point about the CEO role since taking it on? (choose three)

The importance of a compelling leadership narrative

The need to ‘let go’ and delegate

The need to have a strong relationship with the Chair

The need to have diversity of expertise amongst the senior team

The importance of project management, data and systems for working at scale

The importance of access to a coach(es) / mentor(s)

The importance of stakeholder feedback – staff, parents, pupils

To have a wide network of other professionals/CEOs to draw upon for support

The need to secure one’s own wellbeing

To keep engaging in professional development and keep learning

The importance of recruitment and retention

The importance of financial controls

The need to invest strategically

Other:

Does your trust have a Chief Operating Officer?

Yes

If yes, does your Chief Operating Officer have a professional background in the education sector, specifically in schools?

Yes

What key aspects of organisational development are you most confident in overseeing? (choose three)

Finance

Technology

School Improvement

Sites and health & safety

Procurement

Relationships with governing board

Media and marketing

Inclusion and diversity

Being an environmentally sustainable organisation

Stakeholder relationships (community stakeholders)

Stakeholder relationships (government)

What key aspects of organisational development are you least confident in overseeing? (choose three)

Finance

Technology

School Improvement

Sites and health & safety

Procurement

Relationships with governing board

Media and marketing

Inclusion and diversity

Being an environmentally sustainable organisation

Stakeholder relationships (community stakeholders)

Stakeholder relationships (government)

Where do you spend most of your time as CEO? (choose three and rank them in order of most time spent)

Min 1 / Max 10

Finance

Technology

School Improvement

Sites and health & safety

Procurement

Relationship with governing board

Media and marketing

Stakeholder relationships (community stakeholders)

Stakeholder relationships (government)

Priorities and development

What are your three main priorities as CEO in the twelve months ahead (choose up to three)

Growth of the organisation

Technological capacity and delivery

Employees’ and pupils’ wellbeing

Pupil attendance

Crisis management

Developing improvement capacity

Securing good relationship with governance

Financial sustainability

Supporting children & families through the cost of living pressures

Increasing buy-in to the vision & values of the trust across all schools

Recruitment and retention

Diversity and inclusion

Being an environmentally sustainable organisation

Having strong a presence/influence in your local communities as a Trust

Other:

What are your key priorities as CEO from one to three years ahead? (choose up to three)

Growth of the organisation

Technological capacity and delivery

Employees’ and pupils’ wellbeing

Pupil attendance

Crisis management

Developing improvement capacity

Securing good relationship with governance

Financial sustainability

Supporting children & families through the cost of living pressures

Increasing buy-in to the vision & values of the trust across all schools

Recruitment and retention

Diversity and inclusion

Being an environmentally sustainable organisation

Having strong a presence/influence in your local communities as a Trust

Other:

What do you see as a key challenge for the academy trust sector going forward? (choose up to three)

Recruitment and retention of teachers

Recruitment and retention of leaders

Recruitment and retention of central team expertise

Financial stability and ensuring sufficient income

The cost of living pressures

Digital and technology capacity and capability - including cyber security and AI

Environmental sustainability of estates

Organisational growth

Public perception and support

Wellbeing of staff

Wellbeing of pupils

Diversity and inclusion

Maintaining performance in tests, exams and qualifications

Changes in government policy on trusts

Continued management of pandemic issues

Other:

Where is the cost of living crisis impacting most across your trust so far? (choose up to three)

Rising costs of energy, including heating and electrical

Rising costs of staffing

Rising costs of supply staff

Rising costs of supporting families

Rising costs of catering

Rising costs of other supplies and services

Rising costs of travel and fuel

It isn’t

Other:

Where is the cost of living crisis impacting most upon pupils and families (to the best of your knowledge)?(Choose up to three)

Not at all

Increased levels of anxiety brought about by household financial challenges

Families struggling to ensure pupils are ready for the school day

Lack of equipment

Lack of uniform

Unable to access some extra-curricula activity

Unable to access travel services

Other:

What are your key sources of support and development? (choose up to three)

Leadership programmes

Facilitated CEO Networks

Mentors / coaches

The board

RSCs/Regional Directors

Colleagues

CEOs beyond education

Friends and family

Other:

Which key stakeholders do you spend the most time working with as a trust? (choose up to three)

Parents

Government (RSCs, DfE)

Community leaders (church, community groups etc.)

Local Government

Local businesses

Educational charities

Other charities

Other trusts

Other public services leaders (NHS, police etc.)

Media

Other:

Looking to the future

Which key stakeholders would you like to spend more time working with as a trust? (choose up to three)?

Parents

Government (RSCs, DfE)

Community leaders (church, community groups etc.)

Local Government

Local businesses

Educational charities

Other charities

Other trusts

Other public services leaders (NHS, police etc.)

Media

Other:

What are your career intentions over the next five years? (optional)

Is there a leadership (CEO) succession plan in place for your trust?

Yes

Unsure

What do you think are going to be the most likely professional backgrounds of future academy trust CEOs? (Please rank 1-5 with 1 being most likely and 5 being least likely)

Min 1 / Max 5

Education

Wider public sector

Private sector

Charity sector

Other

Which of the following would you advise aspiring CEOs to undertake to best prepare themselves for a CEO role? (Please rank 1-5 with 1 being the most important and 5 being the least important)?

Min 1 / Max 5

Undertake a CEO development programme (such as Being The CEO or similar)

Undertake shadowing with a current serving CEO

Undertake coaching and/or mentoring

Connect with a network of CEOs to find out more about their experiences and advice

Read books, articles and resources related to the CEO role

Any further comments to add:

Where are you looking to add more capacity in your central team in the next two to three years (select all that apply)?

Technology (including cyber security and AI expertise)

Estates

Finance

Specialist educational support

School Improvement Leadership

Mental health and wellbeing

Governance professional

Operational compliance

Fundraising and corporate affairs/relations

We won’t be adding any further roles or expertise

Other:

If your trust is looking to grow in the years ahead, which aspects of the trust quality descriptors do you feel most confident in? (further briefing on these can be accessed here: Making the case for trust growth; the pillars, the evidence you’ll need, and not losing sight of the bigger story | Forum Strategy ) (please rate from 1 to 5 with 1 being most confident and 5 being least confident)

Min 1 / Max 5

High-Quality and Inclusive Education

School Improvement

Workforce

Finance and Operations

Governance and Leadership

How many schools do you believe your trust will be running in three years’ time?

1- 4

4- 10

10 - 20

20 - 30

30 - 50

50 plus

With a new Labour government in place, what would be your main message to this government in relation to education (in no more than 50 words)?

Being The CEO 2024 Survey

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