Is a Global Leadership Crisis in the Making?

[Gaurav Shah]

It seems like leadership is in a crisis. Leaders today are more busy with current issues without focus on creating leaders for tomorrow at all. How will companies survive through substandard leadership then? Take a 2030 perspective...

[Saumil]

A recent survey by IBM on Leadership crisis in APAC region:

"Companies in the Asia Pacific region are most concerned with their ability to develop future leaders (88 percent); followed by Latin America (74 percent); Europe, Middle East and Africa, (74 percent); Japan (73 percent) and North America (69 percent).

Rotating employees across divisions and geographies is an important way to hone future leadership talent. Yet, according to the study, 36 percent of HR executives state rotating leadership talent is a significant challenge in developing future leaders. Another key challenge is the generation gap -- passing on knowledge from older to younger employees (28 percent).

52 percent of HR executives say a significant workforce-related challenge facing their organizations is the inability to rapidly develop skills to address current and/or future business needs. Furthermore, the study shows that more than one-third of study participants state their employee skills are not aligned with current organizational priorities.

Forty-seven percent of the organizations surveyed said that employee turnover has increased over the past two years, while only 16 percent said it has decreased.

Many believe their corporate reputations will allow them to attract and retain the people they need. While 52 percent indicate an inability to rapidly develop skills is a primary workforce challenge, only 27 percent state the inability to attract qualified candidates is a problem".

My Take:

Corporates today are relying on reputation to attract talent, but the catch is, where will the talent come from if no one is working towards it. In the short run, with this attitude, reputed corporates might march on. It is only in the longer run as this topic suggests, will we start seeing the impact of such an attitude. And to add insult to injury, survey shows one-third of corporates stated that their employee skills are not aligned with current organizational priorities and forty-seven percent corporates said employee turn over is on the rise.

Situations are hostile even today. The leadership is keeping the ball rolling, but unless they groom talent and create leaders for tomorrow, tomorrow seems to be quite dark. In today's battle for survival, the challenge is not only to make it to the other side but also to create leaders for the future.

No company can survive with substandard leadership, if lucky, they will hit a small peak and wither away. The need is dire and I only have one suggestion to all, Wake Up before its too late.

[Kelly Karius]

I wonder how much of this issue comes down to protectiveness. In Canada right now the job market is very fluid, and young people are moving from job to job. There may be reluctance to create leaders. Leadership creation involves a great deal of openness, and what if the new leader moves to another organization with the information provided to them in your organization?
Protecting information because of this type of anxiety is a detriment to organizations. Potential new leaders may feel out of the loop and move on because of a sense of their talents not being appreciated. I've seen many organizations that are stagnant, keeping the old guard who may or may not be an asset to the company and losing good people who can be a future asset.