Preparing our leaders for the future

Abstract

Purpose

Recent research released by global talent management company, DDI, shows that over the last decade, there seems to be little real improvement in leadership quality. In the most recent Global Leadership Forecast, only one in three leaders reported that their quality of leadership was high and only 18 percent of HR professionals reported strong bench strength to meet future business needs. Clearly a significant shift is required in developing our leaders if this trend is to change, so the aim of this article is to ask: what can DDI's 6th Global Leadership Forecast tell us about leadership effectiveness and development?

Design/methodology/approach

The Global Leadership Forecast is a comprehensive survey of the attitudes of leaders in relation to talent management practices, encompassing the views of more than 12,000 organizational leaders and 1,800 HR professionals from across 74 countries.

Findings

Leaders rate themselves poorly, do not possess the skills necessary for future business success and do not have a sufficient pipeline of talent within their organization. Leadership development, processes and practices require significant transformation if organizations are to meet the increasingly rapid pace of business change.

Originality/value

This article provides useful and current data on the attitudes of leaders to development and talent management as well as providing senior leaders and HR practitioners with a useful reference for planning an effective talent management strategy.

Citation

Newhall, S. (2012), "Preparing our leaders for the future", Strategic HR Review, Vol. 11 No. 1, pp. 5-12. https://doi.org/10.1108/14754391211186250