Does the health of your CEO, or any of your C-suite members, matter? The President of the United States undergoes annual physicals every August with the results published to the public, so why not begin demanding the same of your CEO? Think about it – last week, talk of Steve Jobs’ rumored declining health was said to have possibly caused a drop in Apple’s stock prices. And this all got me thinking – should C-suite members be accountable to their employees and shareholders when it comes to their health? (Read: execs – put down the donuts.)
First off, let’s address the privacy issue – many are saying that Jobs’ health is not anyone’s business except his own. And as an HR pro, I cringe when any employee’s health issues are made public. If someone needs time off for a serious health condition, the specifics stay between me and the employee. That being said, I can’t help but feel that the rules change a bit when it’s your leader whose health is in question. After all, even the FMLA considers different treatment for key employees when it comes to reinstatement rights… so, perhaps, there is something to treating our execs’ health a little differently, too.
As a starting point, there’s providing executive health assessments, which most major health centers
offer. It’s a nice, cushy perk, but for your succession plans, I’d say it’s also smart to add in, if not essential. Want some longevity out of your exec? Then make sure they’re healthy and balanced. Want to know how long you might get out of your exec? Have them participate in physical exams. Imagine – with a relatively healthy exec, you could create a succession plan that projects five to seven years out. With an exec who has high cholesterol, is cancer prone, or is a smoker? Make it a two or three year transition plan. It’s slightly morbid, but it’s also thinking ahead and managing for the next generation.
As Joe Wilcox of Apple Watch wrote,
“Steve Jobs doesn’t just serve as CEO at "the pleasure of Apple’s board" of directors. He serves at the pleasure or displeasure of the shareholders. Restated: He serves shareholders, the real owners of Apple. Steve has obligations to them.”
Yep, I’d say Joe’s on to something there. And for a forward thinking HR pro, your execs’ health has got to be on your mind as a part of your succession plan.
There’s a right for those who need to know, to know. It’s lonely at the top, but maybe the spa services provided with the executive package physical will make the privacy issues easier to stomach.
Health information is privileged and protected by the US government. Working in the insurance industry will give you a good taste of just exactly how much it’s protected and certainly hones your sense of why. I do not agree that there are circumstances that should be exceptions to this policy. Mr. Jobs and his colleagues deserve the same privacy as the rest of us get, and expect.
Besides, nobody is irreplaceable. If a CEO is unhealthy and their life is shortened because of the way they choose to live, there will be other qualified candidates.
An ex-boyfriend had an interesting take; he disrespected upper management that didn’t take care of themselves physically. Maintained if they were overweight, out of shape, had poor eating habits and/or other bad habits, they were not worthy of his respect. A hard line and he was set in his ways about a lot of things (hence, EX-boyfriend) however, I found I had at least a bit of agreement with his assessment.
Joe Wilcox is on to something. Steve Jobs’ health concerns would surely be his own business if he were a midlevel engineer at Apple. He’s not. He’s CEO. And Founder. And Guiding Spirit. An Apple without him at the helm would be very different as a company to deal with, a place to work and a place to invest. That’s why I think that Apple is being quite so tight-lipped about Jobs’ health. Any news other than robustly healthy affects the stock and employee morale.
If your CEO isnt already contractually obligated to provide lengthy advance notice that he/she intends to resign, you will always be at risk of losing the CEO without notice. Invading the CEO’s privacy re: health information only increases the likelihood of departure without notice. If I were a CEO working for Wilcox, the day a health condition popped up that I didnt want to disclose would be the day that I resigned. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
‘Any news other than robustly healthy affects the stock and employee morale’.
That statement in itself absolutely re-emphasizes the need for protected health information to remain private.
A person’s health is a very private matter and further, in no way whatsoever should one person’s health record affect a company’s stock and/or performance.
As usual, very thought provoking Ms. Lee! But I can’t see a good reason why it makes sense to publicize a CEO’s health issues. Just because a person has a major health concern, there still is no guarantee when they’re going to kick the bucket, and it could cause a lot of unnecessary speculation and panic as a result. If a person drives recklessly, doesn’t wear a seat belt or participates in extreme sports, he or she is increasing their chances to have an unplanned exit from the company as well. Basically, when it’s their time to go – they will. It’s best for the shareholders and Board members to have a succession plan in place for key leaders at all times – and keep their personal health issues out of it.
Hi Gang -
I see a lot of focus on the privacy issue here, and I agree. I think JLee did as well though. I re-read her post, and my take is that she is 1)advocating that execs are responsible for taking care of themselves, and 2) boards are responsible for taking care of succession planning, and 3) boards are responsible for giving the market confidence that succession planning is under control.
All of which can be handled without disclosing PMI….
thanks for swinging by, all. i appreciate your sentiments… it’s a tough spot to be in because as an HR pro, i don’t think people’s health should be anyone’s business… but when you have a steve jobs or in other orgs where the CEO is that similar kind of beacon, it’s not the same game.
okay, okay… so perhaps we don’t need to know every gory detail about an exec’s health (cholesterol level, BMI, etc…) – but! i do think having a general health assessment is important, and i think if there is something major going on, an exec should disclose it.
KD – thanks for your comments. i haven’t thought through who an exec should disclose to – but the board makes sense. up in the air on who should be involved in succession planning. gotta be the board or the senior HR person if they are trusted. tough issue…
tom – the unfortunate reality is that steve jobs is such an important figure that what’s going on with his health could indeed impact apple’s performance and image. as much as we’d like to think that one person can’t carry an org, one person can.
by the way – looking forward to george w’s health report. should be out this weekend or early next week!
Corporate Wellness is an extremely important program for any company looking to treasure its workforce. The losses due to absences and low productivity owning to health issues affect the progress and a lot of estimates and strategies go wrong. My company has recently availed of corporate Wellness Services of Elitehealth.com and the first couple of sessions of check-ups and interaction have been quite refreshing.
http://www.elitehealth.com/corporate_nutrition.php