International companies lack confidence in the abilities of their managersnor on the possibilities that the current leadership can produce the strategic changes and innovation that the market needs.
This is revealed by the "Real World Leadership" study conducted globally by Korn Ferry, a consultancy firm for the enhancement of human resources and the development of organizations.
An analysis carried out on over 7.500 executives from 107 countries, the results of which leave no room for doubt. Although we do nothing but talk about top managers (and their salaries) only 17% of respondents say they have full confidence in the ability of the leaders in charge to implement the necessary changes for the business. In reverse 56% answered that they were 'not very confident' and more than a quarter (27%) were unsure or distrustful of their team's leadership skills.
The study also focused on the features that, according to the executives, should be developed as quickly as possible. Well, according to the respondents, the only way to improve profitability is to increase market share push on innovation and development. «Developing strong and efficient leadership is extremely important for the success of any organization – comments Maurizia Villa, managing director of Korn Ferry Italia. – The ability to innovate and flexibility to change are the key factors for the growth of companies; for this reason the best leadership development programs are focused on how to help managers manage situations of uncertainty, anticipating them».
So what to do? The analysis highlights how almost half of the approaches to leadership development currently adopted are considered insufficient to develop true leadership skills, not taking into account "the overview of all the factors that underlie growth strategies of business – continues Maurizia Villa.
The managing director of Kord Ferry Italia indicates three guidelines for achieving a better level of leadership globally: «Strategic business development initiatives cannot achieve success if they do not involve human resources as a whole. It is at this point that leadership development comes into play, which must be effective, relevant to the business, constant over time and must involve the entire organization».
