Study reveals top 10 goals for leadership development in 2015
Study reveals top 10 goals for leadership development in 2015
Talent management consulting firm Lee Hecht Harrison (LHH) recently conducted a global study of nearly 400 organisations.
The study has ascertained that 54 per cent of employers plan to increase investments in leadership development in 2015.
Kristen Leverone, senior vice president of LHH Global Talent Development Practice, noted that to its little surprise, the survey has also identified developing leaders as one of the top talent management priorities in 2015.
Leverone added that having a strong pipeline of “ready-to-go”leaders is at the heart of a high-performing talent management strategy, which requires strong investment and commitment.
“To ensure investments are made strategically, it helps to prioritise the competencies needed for success both today and in the future,” she said.
The LHH study then cited the top competencies that the surveyed organisations plan to focus on when developing leaders this year. The five top priorities were results management, strategic thinking, team leadership, collaboration and communication.
Respondents also felt that decision-making, coaching, ethical behaviour, interpersonal skills and influence are the next five important competencies in which firms should train their future leaders.
"In our experience, companies rely most heavily on formalised development programmes and cross-training opportunities to develop leaders," advised Leverone. “Coaching and mentoring are also frequently used to provide more individualised development and feedback.”
However, Leverone warned that the operating norms for firms of this age are skinny and flat, which often makes it hard for organisations to recruit, retain or develop future leaders. Failure to do so may result in losing the best talents.
“In some departments there may be talent hoarding, which makes it difficult to assess the full potential of leadership bench strength within the organisation as managers operating in this situation hoard the talent they have for fear of poaching. Difficulties retaining top talent can also be another impeding factor to building a leadership pipeline,” she explained.
LHH, the conductor of the survey, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Adecco Group. LHH is a global leader in career transition, leadership development, employee engagement and change management with 350 offices in 64 countries, servicing over 7,000 client firms and 200,000 candidates annually.
