Being The CEO 2022 Survey

Welcome to this year’s Being The CEO survey. Previous years’ reports have provided our CEO members from across the country with some helpful insights into what ‘Being The CEO’ means in context. As we go into the third year of the report, never has context been so important as we see pressures coming from many places – cost of living, energy rises, recruitment and retention and more. We want to hear directly from you as our valued, diverse CEO network, about how the role is looking as we go into the challenging months ahead. The report is arguably one of the most important each year in helping to share learning across trusts and the CEOs who lead them.

Please note this survey is only open to active members of Forum Strategy’s CEO network and is completely anonymous. We look forward to sharing findings with you in November. Thank you for your support and participation.

BeingTheCEO

About You

How long have you been a Chief Executive?

0 - 1 years

1 - 3 years

3 - 5 years

More than 5 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

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 functions

Leading teams of people

Working with governors / board

Budget Management

Working with external partners

Leading 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 functions

Leading teams of people

Working with governors / board

Budget Management

Working with external partners

Leading innovative projects

Other:

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

Yes

Unsure

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

The chance to make a bigger difference

The challenge of leading a large / 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 promote vision / values

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

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

Does your Chief Operating Officer originally come from the schools sector?

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? (rank them in order of most time spent - 10 being most time and 1 being least time)

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 key priorities as CEO in the twelve months ahead (choose up to three)

Growth of the organisation

Technological capacity and delivery

Employees’ and pupils’ wellbeing

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 pupil wellbeing

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 capacity and capability - including cyber security

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)

Do you have a leadership (CEO) succession plan in place for your trust?

Yes

UInsure

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

Min 1 / Max 5

Education

Wider public sector

Private sector

Charity sector

Other

Being The CEO 2022 Survey

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