Lack of leadership stunts business growth

The majority of corporate executives (75%) question whether their senior executive teams possess the appropriate mix of skills to generate growth for their companies and seek out global opportunity in the coming year, according to the latest executive survey by The Korn/Ferry Institute.

The survey revealed that 52% of executives believe their companies need to acquire at least a modicum of new talent or invest in more talent development efforts for their executives, and 23% go further in saying that their companies need an overhaul in senior talent.

“As the global economy moves to more stable ground, it’s increasingly important for organizations to consider how their leadership and talent strategies support their business strategies,” says Ana Dutra, CEO of Korn/Ferry leadership and talent consulting. “Do organizations have the right leaders in the right roles?”

She adds, “Are they looking to the future and rigorously identifying and developing their next-generation leadership pipeline? These are strategic C-suite issues and significant work must be done in leadership-skills development.”

Nearly three quarters of respondents (73%) indicated that a lack of internal talent led their companies to postpone or abandon actions that would have resulted in growth over the past two years, including mergers and acquisitions (6%), geographic market expansion (11%) and product launches (6%), as well as multiple initiatives (32%).

When it comes to succession planning, nearly half (45%) report their companies are committed to building a robust internal talent pipeline and identifying high-potential talent deep within their organizations. However, 37% believe there’s neither rhyme nor reason to executive appointments and promotions.

Another 40% say their companies identify developmental areas for employees during annual reviews, but report the follow-up is “weak and inconsistent.”

The survey was conducted from between January 27 and March 5, and included executives from 40 countries, representing a wide spectrum of industries and functional areas.