But occupying the top positions in a company is not going to be for everybody, no matter how hard they want it.

Becoming an executive, particularly a member of the C Suite (CEO, CFO, CTO, COO), requires more than drive, more than good schooling, more even than pure technical ability. There is an ineffable quality that comes with corporate success, some of which can be taught, but some of which is innate, and for many, unobtainable.

"We have a sort of template which we apply when recruiting for senior executive positions, " said Michael Lenahan, director of P-E Executive Search and Selection and chairman of ESCA (the Executive Search and Consultancies Association). "It is based around five broad competencies, which anyone aspiring to hold any senior role should have. And while there are no hard and fast rules regarding recruitment, experience has shown us that it is difficult to argue against the template."

The first of Lenahan's competencies is the most important, as well as the broadest - strategic capability.

"This is about the ability to take a helicopter view, " he explained. "It is a combination of intelligence and analytical and creative ability, and it allows people to see the big picture, both in breadth and distance; a picture which can then be translated into strategic planning.

This can be both taught and innate."

The second quality required of senior executives, according to Lenahan, is leadership, signified by perseverance, drive and motivational capability; while the third is the ability to deliver - driving operational performance within budgets and timescales.

The fourth quality, which is required more and more the further up the ladder that executives climb, is in relation to external relationships and negotiation capabilities.

"For senior executives, much of their work is externally focused, " he said. "This focus could be on customers, shareholders or the government, but it is outward looking."

The final element, which many people might have expected to be the most important, is the issue of professionalism . . . having a high level of academic education and a proven track record.

"Having a high degree of professionalism takes the act of faith out of appointing a senior executive, " he explained. "Past performance is a good indicator of future performance."

But how can people demonstrate that they have the skills in what is a difficult area of the business world to break into?

"Companies tend to go with the candidates who come with the least risk, " said Lenahan. "If they are faced with a bright person with a lot of potential, or a less bright person with a five year track record in the job that they want to fill, they will tend to go with the latter. So it is less easy for people to make the leap either upwards or across. The exception to this is if people are already with a company, because there has already been considerable investment and buy-in with this individual."

Of course, unless they are related to the boss, practically every executive started at a point where they were not an executive. But, through a mixture of skill and perseverance, they found themselves climbing the corporate ladder until they reached a point that they could distinguish themselves from the rest of the pack.

"When people are reaching the levels of senior executive, their technical competencies are taken for granted, whether their competencies are in financial, business development, sales or production, " said Mark O'Donnell, director of Human Capital at Deloitte. "From that point, while there is a small element of "x factor", ultimately what companies are looking for is commercial awareness . . . and this is a common thread for both small and large companies."

This commercial awareness is based around a strategic view of both the business and the market.

"When people understand their market, they will be able to project what will happen within that market, " said O'Donnell. "Part of this is keeping their eyes and ears open, and having an innate understanding, but it can also be taught, and individuals need the motivation to read up on their business and markets."

There are also behavioural traits that companies will look for when appointing new executives . . . such as enthusiasm, the ability to lead, gravitas, a collegiate team style and, perhaps most importantly, decisiveness. And, given the scientific approach now applied to recruitment, such as psychometric testing and EIQ readings, it is very difficult to fake these sorts of traits.

"Companies will know from the start the people who are executive material, " said O'Donnell. "In smaller companies, people who want to be executives will need to display entrepreneurial traits, while for larger corporates, they will need to be commercially aware, and realise that they will have to serve an apprenticeship before their time comes. They need to be focused, they need to have a plan, and they need to be driven . . . and only about 3% of the population have those traits in them."

So, for anyone in the other 97% who find themselves in an executive position, they are either very lucky, or very well connected.