Madbury, N.H. — Nov. 2
When it comes to focus, about a fifth of senior executives and managers can count it as a personal strength, according to a new worldwise survey by NFI Research of 246 managers and senior executives.
Focus is one of 12 executive skills, which are brain functions or cognitive skills that neuroscientists have located in specific regions of the brain, primarily the frontal lobes.
These brain functions develop starting at birth, and they’re hard-wired into every person and fully developed by adulthood.
Every person has a set of 12 executive skills (self-restraint, working memory, emotion control, focus, task initiation, planning/prioritization, organization, time management, defining and achieving goals, flexibility, observation and stress tolerance).
Focus is the capacity to maintain attention to a situation or task in spite of distractions, fatigue or boredom.
Slightly more than a fifth (22 percent) of senior executives and managers are high in focus, while 8 percent are low.
“With so may interruptions at work today, anyone who is low in focus will find themselves having a tough time to stay on tract,” said Chuck Martin, NFI Research CEO.
When it comes to focus, the same percentage of senior executives and managers are high in the skill. Of those low in focus, there are more managers (11%) than senior executives (4 percent).
“I've often noticed that the top executives are much better focused than I am,” one survey respondent said. “ However, I can honestly say that the quality of my output is usually superior, so the distractions slow me down, but they don't seem to affect quality.”
Other respondents echoed similar sentiments.
“Interest and stimulation are great motivators,” another respondent said. “I find when tasks become routine, I lose interest and find it difficult to stay on task.”
By company size, more of those high in focus are at large companies rather than small or medium. More of those low in focus are in medium companies, followed by small.
There were no senior executives in large companies who rated low in focus.
By title and company size, the most who are high in focus are senior executives in small companies. The most who are low in Focus also are senior executives in small companies.
