Think carefully before taking the boss up on the suggestion to "be brutally honest," suggests a recent PsyMax Solutions study, which reveals that CEOs are less thick-skinned than other top executives.

PsyMax Solutions, a human capital assessment firm, studied a population of 2,000 employees including district and regional managers, department or unit managers, supervisors and foremen, as well as 242 chief executives, and analyzed their profiles for "tough-mindedness and resilience," also known as the ability to accept criticism. Their median tough-minded score was approximately 12 percentile points below executives at other levels. A summary of the executives' resiliency levels is shown in the chart below.

As CEOs climb the corporate ladder, the study suggests that they get less thick-skinned, and that they tend to become more insulated the higher they rise and are surrounded by more staff. Although the intent of the study was not to measure this finding, it does carry water statistically.

According to PsyMax Solutions CEO Wayne Nemeroff, corporate staffs typically serve to protect their CEO from dissent; therefore, when criticism does penetrate it may be all the more disturbing. The study also found that many CEOs, during their day-to-day affairs, seem to hear little disagreement. But on the contrary, a CEO's charisma may earn admiration from subordinates, while making less obvious their dissatisfaction.

"Effective leaders can handle criticism and keep their emotions under control in stressful situations," said Nemeroff. "Remaining even-tempered is how top executives build credibility and earn respect. They recognize that some conflict is inevitable and that other people will have and express differing viewpoints."

Nemeroff added that problems can result when the resiliency skill is not developed. Common issues that might emerge would be allowing stress and frustration to show, becoming defensive in response to criticism or rejection, having difficulty rebounding from setbacks and "shooting the messenger." He suggests that this might be one reason why many top leaders find themselves surrounded by "yes" people.The study suggests five developmental tips for leaders, as well as potential leaders, to build their resiliency:

• Accept the reality of controversy. Recognize that some amount of conflict is inevitable and work toward developing a comfort level with some controversy. Leaders should stand their ground rather than backing down if they notice dissension and expect others to have and express differing viewpoints.
• Understand duties and obligations. Most leaders find that the decisions they face may have a negative effect on employees and managers, but trying to please everyone is impossible and leads to poor decisions that sacrifice the organization's best interest (and often individuals' best interests, too). Leaders should think about what is in the long-term best interest of their organization and act accordingly.
• Choose how to react. How to react to certain circumstances falls under one's personal control, as well as taking responsibility for those reactions. When leaders receive negative feedback or bad news, they should identify what they learned rather than allowing their emotions to dictate a negative response.
• Compartmentalize setbacks. Don't allow an isolated event to shatter outlook. For example, the last thing those who don't get invited to an important meeting or get an expected promotion should tell themselves is that they are failures and their careers are over. Rather than dwell on the setback, try focusing on the next step and turn a negative event into a positive opportunity.
• Set realistic targets. Don't expect to be perfect. Setting unreachable standards will only result in failures and disappointment. Instead, set personal goals that are challenging, but also realistic and attainable. Furthermore, establish goals that don't require comparisons to others. Instead of setting a goal to be better than someone else, set a goal with measurable standards.

When coaching executives, Nemeroff emphasized the importance of encouraging them to hear the good, the bad and ugly. "Leaders are likely to be much more successful when they know, as soon as possible, when something is wrong," he said.

Furthermore, leaders that discourage others, even inadvertently or unconsciously, from giving them bad news run the risk of making a negative situation worse. Moreover, Nemeroff added that they run the risk of being blindsided by events that can potentially affect the bottom line of an organization - or even worse, result in unethical behavior that can lead to disastrous outcomes.

"If the train is going off the tracks, leaders need to know as quickly as possible," said Nemeroff. "They can run into a lot of trouble if they isolate themselves from the people who know what is happening but aren't being heard."