Leading Effectively e-Newsletter - November 2008 Issue

News to Lead By

Leadership Development Top Priority, Still Lacking

Leadership development is the top priority for improvement among HR professionals, according to a study published in Human Resource Executive's "Talent Management: State of the Industry" report (June 2, 2008).

"Given the current and impending shortages of executives and directors, most companies feel a sense of urgency around these issues," writes Josh Bersin, principal of talent management firm Bersin & Associates. The firm, in partnership with Human Resource Executive, recently conducted a study, 2008 Talent Management Factbook: Trends and Analysis in Enterprise Talent Management, to examine how organizations are governing their talent-management initiatives and how their processes are evolving to make these initiatives more effective.

Bersin continues: "Leadership development is still immature within most companies. Our survey found that a disturbingly large number (approximately half) of the companies interviewed have no formal process for leadership development."

The study also showed that:

"Fewer than one in five companies have a comprehensive leadership-development approach that we would consider either 'focused' or 'strategic.'

"In a focused leadership-development approach, programs are customized and progressive, building on one another throughout a leader's career. The process is supported by top executives and aligned with the business strategy.

"A strategic approach goes a step further by integrating leadership development with the company's overall talent-management process. Executives are fully engaged and hold managers accountable for developing employees. And, as a final step, programs are monitored and assessed by senior leaders. The overall curricula are continually improved to ensure successful development of future leaders."