Berkeley-Haas Uncovers Cross-Sector Career Trend Among Executive Leaders
The Berkeley-Haas School of Business recently published an article written by James Daly about a new study that makes a case for the necessity of leaders with “cross-sector careers” — that span the corporate, public, and nonprofit sectors — to handle “the complex leadership challenges of modern organizations.”
Co-authors Paul Jansen and Nora Silver observed the career arcs of over 2,000 executives who more often than not “ended on top of a mountain that was entirely different than the one they targeted early in their careers.” Jansen and Silver examined the “careers of Fortune 200 company CEOs and management team members, as well as a random sample of 300 elected and appointed public sector officials (from federal to state), top nonprofit sector 100 foundation presidents, and top 100 nonprofit executive directors.”
The study revealed that 50% of the executives surveyed had some cross-sector experience. Moreover, firms like Bank of America, Cisco, and Goldman Sachs “actively encourage cross-sector experience as they groom future leaders.”
One of the case studies in Jansen and Silver’s research was former Miami Herald publisher Alberto Ibarquin. Ibarquin reflects on his multi-faceted career, which includes current stints on the boards of PepsiCo and American Airlines, as well as CEO of the Knight Foundation.
“I never had a master plan. I built on myself, thinking about what kind of activity this new role would engender, whether it would allow continuous engagement with the community, and whether it is an organization I might want to lead someday.”
Ibarquin adds that not only do cross-sector careers help expose professionals to “a wide range of leaders and problems,” but they also help “build a wide professional network which helps to create a flow of very interesting opportunities.”
The major downsides to cross-sector careers tend to be (surprise, surprise) time and money. Cross-sector careers often limit the depth and scope of one’s technical understanding, simply because there’s not enough time to devote to a single field or organization.
With regard to the financial reality of nonprofit organizations:
“Those who’ve grown accustomed to the sometime lucrative salaries in the private sector salaries may be discouraged by [their] comparatively skimpy compensation packages.”
Co-author Silver concludes: “There is no longer a stable career marketplace. To have a great career you sometimes need to get out of your comfort zone and tap into the opportunities you only ever see by having a diverse network.”
About the Author
Jonathan Pfeffer
Jonathan Pfeffer joined the Clear Admit and MetroMBA teams in 2015 after spending several years as an arts/culture writer, editor, and radio producer. In addition to his role as contributing writer at MetroMBA and contributing editor at Clear Admit, he is co-founder and lead producer of the Clear Admit MBA Admissions Podcast. He holds a BA in Film/Video, Ethnomusicology, and Media Studies from Oberlin College.
