Bob Taylor understands the anxiety that can afflict the newly promoted leader. A director of Eon UK, the British arm of the German energy group, he recalls the challenge of returning home from an expatriate assignment to manage the integration of a newly acquired electricity company.

"Having been my own man, I was coming right back into the heart of the corporate centre and trying to grapple with a range of issues after the acquisition, while also repatriating my family," he says.