Leading A Family Firm Is Getting More Complex

A new survey of 500 senior decision-makers within UK businesses, commissioned by Alliance Manchester Business School, has found that UK business leaders are struggling with the increasing complexity of their roles.

Key Findings:

• 73% say their role as a leader has become more complex over the past five years

• The emergence of new technologies, such as AI, was the main reason cited, followed by increased cybersecurity and data privacy risks, and the performance of the UK economy

  
  

Almost three quarters (73%) of senior decision-makers within UK businesses said their roles had become more complex since 2020, rising to 79% among directors and C-suite, and 82% among decision-makers within mid-size companies (100-249 employees).

This is according to a study by Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS), one of the world's leading business schools. It commissioned Censuswide to survey 500 managers, directors and C-suite executives within UK businesses.

When asked what factors had contributed to this increased complexity, the most common response was the emergence of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI). More than three in ten (31%) respondents selected this as one of the main reasons for their jobs getting harder.

Other key factors were increased cybersecurity and data privacy risks (28%), the performance of the UK economy (27%) and new regulation and legislation (also 27%).

Elsewhere, a quarter (25%) of the business leaders surveyed said that pressure on meeting expectations around diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) had been a contributor to the greater complexity of their roles over the past five years. The same number (25%) cited the rise of remote working, while 21% pointed to employees’ pay demands.

Stuart Wells, Managing Director of Executive Education at Alliance Manchester Business School, said:

“Over recent years, significant new pressures have been placed on business leaders, and evidently this has translated into the vast majority feeling as though their roles have become far more complex."

“If you look at the different factors contributing to this increased complexity, you quickly appreciate just how much the business world has been transformed since 2020. The rise of remote working since Covid, the proliferation of AI tools, scrutiny over DEI, cyber threats and data privacy, and turbulence within the broader economic climate – senior decision-makers are needing to navigate all these changes as they lead their teams and perform in their roles, and that is hugely challenging."

“Regardless of experience or competence, it’s clear that many senior managers require greater support."

"From peer-to-peer learning to formal training, it is imperative that organisations consider which issues are impacting their leadership team and take action to ensure individuals are suitably equipped to lead effectively in this rapidly changing business world.”