Do You Have The Right Leaders to Guide You Towards a New Economy

As we are now in a new decade, Discussion Partner consultants were curious as to how C-Suite clients perceived the status of leadership effectiveness in the context of

 “Do I have the right people to effectively navigate the end of the  crisis”, and “After the crisis has abated do I have the right people”? 

Unfortunately in our study of 115 CEO’s  the answer to both of the questions was NO!

In the realm of leadership effectiveness the economic crisis has brought out the best and less than attractive nature of managers and organizations! 

 The common denominators DPC derived from the study  that we feel are inhibitors now and in the future are as follows:

1. There is no objective mechanism in place that realistically assesses and compares the proficiencies of managers.   DPC takes the position that “Peter is a good dude”, may be lacking the necessary rigor to provide reassurance that you truly have the best.
2. When the crisis started virtually all developmental initiatives were postponed.  The short and medium predicament this posture promotes is self evident.   How can you be assured of the best talent when you are abrogating the need to invest in skills enhancement?
3. We have dropped back to the “new best friend” model of assertively hiring during a time when the perception is there are “better people now in the market we need to get them quick”.   This leap of faith in our experience is misplaced and also has the unintended consequence of alienating your current leadership.
4. The crisis has been at the expense of the “good citizen”.  Every organization has them.  These are the folks who really drive the enterprise and do not receive the accolades or perks of the high potentials.   Be advised that as the crisis ends, in tandem with the shifting demographics, this alienation will be problematic for engagement purposes. 
5. Transcending the now to the soon the reason the answer is a congruent NO is that the benign neglect for development,  differentiated recognition and reward that existed before the crisis, and during  exacerbated, has not prompted the degree of planning we perceive as necessary to mitigate the situation as the crisis ends.

 As we begin to see the crisis diminish, now would be a reasonable time to begin thinking of innovative practices that have been forsaken or barely received lip service in the recent past. 

The crisis postponed but did not eliminate the impending challenges of talent shortfalls nor managing a differentiated demographic workforce.

Tom Casey is Managing Principal and Founder of Discussion Partner Collaborative a Global Executive Advisory firm focused on Human Capital Strategy and Executive Development. An expert in the development of organizational transformation strategies for rapidly growing multinational or transitioning organizations, he has consulted in over 20 countries.  Tom is the author of 66 articles and 2 books on Human Capital Strategy . Tom is frequently interviewed about human resource topics and quoted in the media - for example, ABC Nightline, CNN, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, and Financial Times.  He has been profiled in TIME Magazine and Electronic Business.