October 29 2007 - Leadership development deficiencies are threatening the future performance of major global businesses, according to results announced in Corporate University Xchange's latest study on leadership. 97% of study participants are concerned about leadership strength, and 73% say current leadership ability is not sufficient to support company growth initiatives.
Significant concern about ongoing leadership development also exists. Only 3% expressed confidence in their firms' ability to develop future leaders to effectively ensure long-term success. In addition, commitment to leadership development is weak or not supported by appropriate financial investment at 70% of organizations polled. Seventy-three learning and business executives from Fortune 500 and Global 2000 companies participated in CorpU's study. A complete list of participants and the report's Executive Summary can be found at
www.CorpU.com/leadership.
"Given the increasing complexity of today's business environment, where companies focus on a growing number of markets, countries and regions, leadership talent is even more critical for long-term success," said Alan Todd, Chairman of the Board, Corporate University Xchange. "Failure to build leadership talent at a pace on par with aggressive company growth strategies and expansion to emerging markets may severely inhibit business results."
CorpU found that leadership talent identification and development initiatives are lacking, with 91% of organizations challenged to identify high potentials early in their careers. Developing talent often receives minimal attention in formal leadership development programs.
Commitment to leadership development is not supported at the executive level, the study indicated. Only 32% said executives demonstrate strong commitment to leadership development and are willing to finance that commitment, while 81% are challenged to persuade managers to release high potentials for development assignments. Yet participants cite lack of leadership as a threat to business growth: 69% are concerned that insufficient leadership talent will prevent their firms from capitalizing on new markets in emerging economies.
"Human capital is becoming the competitive differentiator in today's business world," said Peter Capelli, Director of The Wharton School's Center for Human Resources. "CorpU's latest report provides an eye-opening look at the state of leadership development in major corporations and should motivate organizational change."
The "Leadership 2012" report includes analysis of leadership trends and detailed information about leadership development practices used by specific businesses.
About Corporate University Xchange
Corporate University Xchange is the leading provider of corporate learning research, benchmarking, and advisory services. Founded in 1997, CorpU's mission is to help organizations maximize human capital to deliver improved business results. The company's independent benchmarking studies and research conducted with Fortune 500 and Global 2000 companies provide unparalleled insight into trends and best practices in areas such as corporate training, leadership development and performance management. With the industry's largest paid membership network of Chief Learning Officers and Learning & Development practitioners, CorpU also has 30,000+ business leaders subscribing to its complimentary periodicals and webinars. For more information,
visit www.corpu.com.
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