Heading into 2021, CEOs described the year ahead as a year of hope. Then, heading into 2022, they offered up a variety of answers, with ‘hopeful’ being almost exactly counterbalanced by ‘uncertain.’ Now, halfway into 2022, with rising inflation, the mounting mental health crisis, and geopolitical instability, coupled with a broadening array of stakeholders with diverse interests, opinions, and expectations, it is not surprising that CEO optimism has declined.

CEOs have traditionally remained a beacon of hope and optimism throughout turbulent times. However, after leading their organizations through an unprecedented health crisis over the last two years, and now facing a new wave of social, political, and economic disruptions, it’s not surprising to see that respondents shared lowered growth expectations and rising pessimism. The latest Fortune/Deloitte CEO survey insights also bring to light what appears to be increased expectations on the evolving role of the CEO. 

Below are highlights from this latest survey, for which 116 leading CEOs shared their perspectives on a variety of topics including growth, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, diversity, equity, and inclusion practices, and the factors guiding decisions for taking stances on social issues.

Overall, CEO commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has grown over the past year, including increases in organizations building DEI into strategic priorities/goals (92%) and disclosing DEI metrics to employees (72%). However, organizations that link DEI goals to performance and pay remain the exception (36%). Additionally, less than half (46%) have disclosed DEI metrics to the public. Over half (56%) of CEOs believe the focus on DEI outcomes is currently the appropriate amount, with more than a quarter (26%) believing the focus is too little, and another 10% believing it is too much.

Consistent with last year’s findings, alignment with their organization’s strategy, purpose, and values remains a top factor for determining whether CEOs take a vocal stand on social or societal issues (90%). Employee sentiment is also a consideration for almost half of CEOs (44%). A distant third consideration is alignment with one’s own values and conscience (29%). Only 17% of CEOs indicate they generally abstain from taking a stand.

When asked about their organization’s succession plan readiness, the majority of CEOs (63%) believe their board has a well-defined search process in place. However, only a little over half (54%) believe they have a strong bench of viable/qualified CEO candidates. In terms of successor criteria, CEOs believe several factors will be taken into consideration, with vision and demonstrated capability topping the list (95%), followed by strong commitment to purpose and values (92%). The majority (68%) of CEOs also believe DEI will be a purposeful, thoughtful component of the selection process.

When asked about their biggest challenge, CEOs didn’t disappoint in sharing their candid perspectives. The challenges were many but rising to the top this year was ‘uncertainty and volatility,’ beating out ‘talent,’ which still garnered significant mentions. Other top factors were ‘inflation,’ ‘managing stakeholders,’ ‘supply chain,’ and ’navigating change.’

Deloitte’s Chief Executive Program is dedicated to advising chief executives throughout their careers—from navigating critical points of inflection, to designing a strategic agenda, to leading through personal and organizational change. The Chief Executive Program offers innovative insight and immersive experiences to help:

• Facilitate the personal success of individual executives, new or tenured, throughout their life cycle
• Elevate the relationships between them, their leadership teams, and their boards
• Support the strategic agenda for their organizations in times of disruption and transformation