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JEROEN BOGAERT INE WINDEY ELLEN VOLCKAERT
EMERGING LEADERS IN EUROPE
DIFFERENCES THAT MATTER BUSINESS STUDY
INDEX
ABSTRACT
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HUDSON GLOBAL RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT CENTRE
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INTRODUCTION
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
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THE MAKE-UP OF EMERGING LEADERS IN EUROPE
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COULD THE RIGHT MAN FOR FUTURE LEADERSHIP JOBS BE A WOMAN?
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EMERGING LEADERS IN MULTINATIONALS COMPARED WITH EMERGING LEADERS IN LOCAL ORGANISATIONS IN EUROPE
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EMERGING LEADERS IN EUROPE VERSUS C-LEVEL LEADERS IN EUROPE: LESS IS MORE
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CONCLUSION: GROWTH POTENTIAL FOR EMERGING LEADERS
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ABOUT HUDSON
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RESOURCES
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ABSTRACT
It would be difficult to overstate the importance of leadership in organisations. In the New Normal economic climate, being able to lead an organisation through change and uncertainty is critical to an organisation’s success. For that reason, now is the right time to question whether emerging leaders are ready for the future and, in particular, whether they are ready to lead their organisations in the New Normal. It is therefore of key importance to benchmark the typical leadership profile of emerging leaders against the profile of their C-level leaders and to identify the Growth Potential Factors for emerging leaders. We used Hudson’s Business Attitudes Questionnaire (BAQ) to analyse the personality characteristics of more than 400 emerging leaders in Europe in order to gain a better understanding of what it is that characterises them. Their results were compared with those of over 600 C-level leaders in Europe and over 150 000 people from the global population. Based on this study, we were able to identify 5 key Growth Potential Factors: Vision, Action, Impact, Human and Drive. The results demonstrate that while emerging leaders in Europe generally have great potential for the future, they still have some way to go. For example, for the factor ‘Vision’, emerging leaders in Europe still have room for improvement, particularly in developing their strategic view. Although the emerging leaders’ scores for the ‘Action’ factor are quite close to those of senior leaders, they can still develop further their ability to make decisions, and they are expected to demonstrate higher levels of Change-orientedness. Furthermore, in comparison with C-level leaders in Europe, emerging leaders find it more of a challenge to increase their ‘Impact’. They can make a greater impact by adopting a more leading, motivating and persuasive attitude. Europe’s emerging leaders are on the right track when it comes to adopting a ‘Human’ leadership style, but they could still benefit from creating a more cooperative context, which in turn would improve their ability to build and maintain positive relationships with people. Finally, the emerging leaders also show the appropriate level of ‘Drive to pursue ambitious goals and objectives in a sustainable manner. These findings have consequences for any organisation that wants to formulate the right strategy for acquiring and developing its future senior leaders. The New Normal economic climate forces organisations to thoroughly analyse the type of leadership they need in order to guarantee optimal organisational development in the future. Emerging leaders should be coached and developed on the five Growth Potential Factors identified in this study.
Hudson copyright, 2013 Nothing from this publication may be copied and/or made public through print, photocopying, microfilm, computer systems or any other way whatsoever without the prior written consent of Hudson. The reproduction of any part of this text by a duplicating machine, photocopying process or any other method, including computer installations, is breaking the copyright law.
HUDSON’S GLOBAL RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT CENTRE As a strategic choice, Hudson invests widely and systematically in research & development. Over the past 15 years, the company has expanded its reputable R&D Centre of highly skilled professionals. Their mission is to shape the future of HR through innovative products and solutions that create a competitive advantage for organisations, as well as a positive candidate experience in times when talent is a scarce resource. In addition to a team of experienced psychologists, Hudson’s Global R&D Centre comprises support and IT teams specialising in on-line software development and cloud HR solutions. The Centre is under the expert leadership of Jeroen Bogaert, who is vastly experienced in Selection, Test Development and Assessment Centre techniques. The R&D Centre specialises in developing HR models, processes and tools for internal Hudson use and activities for clients (private and public sector) on a global & local (glocal) level. The R&D Centre’s breakthroughs include: II
I nterview Manager: an online application to help HR professionals and line managers to increase their interviewing skills and to facilitate the creation of tailor-made interviewing guides. We believe that interviewing is an art that everyone should master.
II
Electronic Assessment Simulation Exercise for middle- and high-level managers: using the technique of artificial intelligence, the EASE is a unique, virtually interactive assessment exercise for high potentials and managers. The system allows users to carefully select the relevant competencies to be measured via a fully automated assessment exercise.
II
lexible Competency Assessment: an online competency assessment exercise for assessing the F potential of young professionals (graduates, individual contributors, project leaders) on 5 behavioural competencies.
II
Click-Call-Meet™ Talent Management approach: a flexible, client-centred approach for providing advice to organisations on various talent management processes; for example, selection, assessment, development, high potential identification, and coaching underpinned with scientifically validated instruments and methodologies.
We live in a time of war for talent, diversity, generations Y, M, F, & Z, globalisation, increased mobility and great change. The R&D team’s objective is to develop HR instruments that have the greatest possible added value not only for organisations but also for their (future) employees to help them manage their talent and careers.
INTRODUCTION It is impossible to overestimate the value of strong
To do this, we investigated the typical business attitudes
leadership. Today’s global economic climate means
of emerging leaders in Europe. What typical talents do
leaders must possess the necessary competencies for
emerging leaders in Europe possess? What makes them
guiding their organisations through periods of change
different from the ‘average professional’? Do female
and ambiguity, especially now the economic environment
emerging leaders really differ from their male colleagues?
has changed so drastically. ‘The new normal’ is very
To what extent do emerging leaders in multinationals
different from the ‘old normal’, in that growth is slow, but
differ from their counterparts in local organisations in
uncertainty is high and change is fast (Gary Burnison,
Europe? To what extent are emerging leaders ready
2013).
to take on the higher level leadership positions in their organisations and to what extent do they differ from the
Leaders have to think and act very differently in the New
current C level leaders in Europe? To what extent do their
Normal, and therefore more and more focus is now being
business attitudes give an indication of their potential to
put on leadership, not only at the higher levels of an
grow into leaders in the New Normal?
organisation, but also at lower levels, in order to identify people who can potentially become leaders in the New
The results of our study are presented in this publication.
Normal. Identifying (a) the critical Growth Potential factors
We used our Business Attitudes Questionnaire (BAQ)
for such leaders and (b) the ‘emerging leaders’ who
to gather the data analysed in this study – this tool was
demonstrate these competencies is of vital importance to
also used for conducting past research into leadership
guaranteeing the future of an organisation.
(Bogaert, J., Trbovic, N., & Van Keer, E., 2008; Bogaert, J., & Van Keer, E., 2009, Bogaert, J. & Windey, I., 2013).
Hudson’s R&D department has carried out extensive research in order to identify the most critical Growth
The findings contained in this report will help business
Potential factors for leaders. The ‘Growth Potential Model’
leaders to (a) identify the most talented emerging leaders
defines the competencies that make people exceptional
in their organisations and (b) encourage those identified to
leaders in the New Normal and is based on the thorough
develop their most important leadership competencies.
analysis both of numerous existing leadership models and of criteria that predict the success of leaders. The ‘Growth Potential Model’ consists of 5 main factors: Vision, Action, Impact, Human, and Drive. In this study, we analysed the readiness of emerging leaders on each of these 5 factors (which are explained further later on in this document). Old Normal
New Normal
Strong GDP growth; stable market conditions
Slow GDP growth; fragile economic, political and environmental conditions
Growth
Quite long economic cycles, with periods of serious growth
Faster economic cycles, slow growth periods with high levels of uncertainty and change
Innovation
Innovation is important, for certain sectors in particular; evolutionary type of innovation to strengthen existing business models
Innovation is crucial for all sectors; more revolutionary and disruptive innovation to create new business models
Talent
War for talent for specific roles; talent management seen as an important HR focus
Intense war for talent for crucial roles; talent management seen as a pivotal competitive advantage
Market conditions
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
RESULTS OBTAINED USING HUDSON’S BUSINESS ATTITUDES QUESTIONNAIRE (BAQ) WERE USED AS THE BASIS FOR THIS STUDY. Hudson’s Global R&D Centre developed the BAQ based on the widely recognised ‘Big 5’ personality model and applied it to the work environment (Bogaert, J., Trbovic, N., & Van Keer, E., 2008). This questionnaire is used by Hudson consultants and by Hudson client organisations in Assessment and Development Centres worldwide. It measures 25 aspects of an
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GRAPH 1 Business Attitudes Questionnaire: the big 5 (+1 professional domain)
individual’s business attitude that can predict professional performance.
The BAQ has been proven, through hundreds of selection
differences that matter for emerging leaders (Bogaert,
and talent management programmes, to give valuable
J., & Windey, I., 2013). Given the sound scientific
insights into career development and transition, coaching,
results produced by these studies, we used the same
conflict handling and team assembly. The unique
methodology for this study on emerging leaders in
combination of an absolute measurement (the ‘normative’
Europe.
section of the questionnaire) and a relative measurement (the ‘ipsative’ section of the questionnaire) of the individual’s personality has proven especially valuable. In the normative section, the respondent’s personality characteristics are compared with those of a reference group of relevant people in order to get an indication of where the respondent is positioned globally. In the ipsative section, respondents determine their relative strengths and weaknesses across the different personality dimensions. In this study, we used the normative section of the questionnaire and compared emerging leaders in Europe to the global population (consisting of over 150 000 individuals). In 2008, Hudson’s Global R&D Centre conducted a widely recognised study on female leadership: ‘Could the right man for the job be a woman?’ (Bogaert, J., Trbovic, N., & Van Keer, E., 2008). In 2009, a similar study was conducted to investigate the differences between private and public sector leadership (Bogaert, J., & Van Keer, E., 2009). In 2013, a study on emerging leaders in multinational organisations in Australia revealed the
SAMPLE POPULATION Over 400 emerging leaders in Europe completed Hudson’s BAQ, either voluntarily or as part of an assessment procedure conducted by Hudson. A breakdown of the sample population is shown in the first row of the table below. This group was compared with other groups of leaders who had completed the BAQ either voluntarily or as part of a Hudson-conducted assessment procedure in which they were involved. A breakdown of these groups; namely, ‘Professionals (non-leaders) in Europe’ and ‘C-level leaders in Europe’, is given in the table below. We used a general benchmark of professionals to define the typical profile of an emerging leader in Europe. This group was composed of more than 150 000 participants from across Europe. For this study, emerging leaders in Europe were defined as employees of European organisations who currently hold a middle-management but not a C-level function.
Sample
Men
Women
Unknown
Total
Emerging Leaders in Europe
316
86
11
413
Professionals (non-leaders) in Europe
92 892
47 260
10 120
150 272
Emerging Leaders in Multinationals in Europe
78
30
1
109
Emerging Leaders in Nationals in Europe
77
18
4
99
496
154
2
652
C-Level leaders in Europe
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METHODOLOGY
Comparing these groups allows us to see whether any
This research enables us to compare average scores on
significant differences exist between them. Investigating
the different dimensions of the BAQ for different types of
these differences provides a better understanding of
groups:
what differentiates emerging leaders from other relevant groups of leaders. In addition, these comparisons help
II
Emerging leaders in Europe compared with the
us to derive the key Growth Potential factors for these
‘average professional’ in Europe: what differentiates
emerging leaders, based on their business attitudes.
an emerging leader in Europe from the general
II
professional population in Europe? What
When comparing populations of the size used in this study,
characteristics make emerging leaders stand out
nearly every difference becomes statistically significant.
from the crowd?
The main problem reported in literature is that the p-value
Male versus female emerging leaders in Europe: to what extent do men differ from women as emerging leaders in Europe?
II
II
depends essentially on two variables: the size of the effect and the size of the sample (Thompson, 1999; Cohen, 1994; Harlow et al., 1997).
Emerging leaders in multinationals in Europe
We therefore decided to use the effect size methodology
compared with emerging leaders in local
(Robert Coe, 2002) in order to determine differences
organisations in Europe: what differentiates the
between groups. J. Cohen (1988) defines an effect
emerging leaders in multinationals in Europe from
size of .20 as a small difference; .50 as an average
their local counterparts in Europe?
difference and .80 as a significant difference. In the
Emerging leaders in Europe compared with C-level managers in Europe: what differentiates an emerging leader in Europe from the group of C-level leaders in Europe? Taking the changing economic climate into account, to what extent are the emerging leaders ready for a C-level position?
following graphs, we classify effect sizes from .20 to .39 as small differences (*); those from .40 to .59 as average differences (**) and those from .60 to +.80 as significant differences (***).
THE MAKE-UP OF EMERGING LEADERS IN EUROPE
BEFORE DESCRIBING THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EMERGING LEADERS IN EUROPE AND OTHER GROUPS OF LEADERS, WE FIRST WANTED TO IDENTIFY THEIR TYPICAL BUSINESS ATTITUDE PROFILE IN ORDER TO REVEAL THE TYPICAL TALENTS OF THIS GROUP.
To do this, we compared the profile of the emerging
Additionally, they also show a tendency to give themselves
leaders with a sample of more than 150 000 professionals
lower scores on the Altruism dimension; for example,
in Europe who do not currently hold a leading position.
lower scores for Helpful.
This comparison produces a very clear, reliable and accurate portrait of the typical characteristics of emerging
This means that emerging leaders in Europe are typically
leaders in Europe.
managers with a broad strategic view who want to demonstrate their impact and who focus less on details.
The results of this comparison are shown in the graph on
Moreover, they are less interested than the average
the next page.
professional is in supporting others, which means that they position themselves much more as a leader than
What is immediately evident is that the emerging leaders
an ‘average co-worker’. On the whole, this result is not
score significantly higher in the domain of Extraversion.
surprising and is in line with previous research into
This underlines their strength in leading and persuading.
leadership (Bogaert, J., Trbovic, N., & Van Keer, E., 2008;
In addition, in comparison with the average professional,
Bogaert, J., & Van Keer, E., 2009, Bogaert, J., & Windey,
the emerging leaders score significantly higher on
I., 2013).
Strategic Thinking, which is also an important facet for leaders, as we can see from our previous studies
It is remarkable, however, that the emerging leaders do
(Bogaert, J., Trbovic, N., & Van Keer, E., 2008; Bogaert, J.,
not differentiate themselves on several dimensions that
& Van Keer, E., 2009).
can be considered crucial to a leading role in the New Normal economic climate. For example, they do not differ
Looking at the personality traits on which emerging
on dimensions like Innovative, Change-oriented and
leaders in Europe score lower than the average
Openness, which could ultimately limit their capacity to
professional, we can see that they score themselves lower
find creative ways of dealing with the New Normal and of
on Conscientiousness dimensions such as Meticulous.
driving change.
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PAGE
Emerging leaders Europe Professionals (no leaders) Europe
11
Autonomous
Strategic*
Result-oriented
Critical
Ambitious
Professionalism
Persevering
Rational
Meticulous*
Organised
Conscientiousness*
Socially confident
Helpful*
Cooperating
People-oriented
Altruism
Open-minded
Change-oriented
Innovative
Abstract
Openness
Motivating
Persuasive*
Communicative
Leading*
Extraversion*
Decisive
Stress-resistant
Optimistic
Relaxed
Emotional stability
GRAPH 2 Differences between emerging leaders in Europe and the average professional in Europe
6.0
5.0
4.0
COULD THE RIGHT MAN FOR FUTURE LEADERSHIP JOBS BE A WOMAN?
AS IN OUR 2008, 2009 AND 2013 STUDIES ON LEADERSHIP, WE WERE INTERESTED IN UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS.
When comparing the results of this study with those of our
On the other hand, we see that fewer differences exist
2008 study ‘Could the right man for the job be a woman?’,
between men and women than was the case in our C-level
it is striking that the differences between male and female
study (Bogaert, J., Trbovic, N., & Van Keer, E., 2008). We
emerging leaders in Europe are similar to the differences
did not find any differences on dimensions like Meticulous,
between male and female C-level leaders. Nevertheless,
Result-oriented and Autonomous. This could mean that
some of the differences that exist between male and
the differences between men and women in the new
female senior leaders are not yet manifest in male and
generation of leaders are smaller and that women now
female emerging leaders in Europe.
tend to take more and more of a natural leadership role, with still a typically female touch.
Compared with male emerging leaders, females tend to be more Organised, have a more conceptual view of things
This female touch, which allows leaders to (a) have a
(more Abstract thinking) and appear to be more open to
conceptual view, (b) be open to change and (c) adopt
change (more Change-oriented).
a participative and cooperative leadership style, could be a great advantage in the New Normal economic
Compared with males, female emerging leaders adopt a
climate. This will become clearer when we discuss the
more open style of communication (Communicative). They
Growth Potential Factors for emerging leaders. Our study
also follow a more human approach, paying more attention
suggests that men could learn a lot from women about
to social relationships (Altruism, People-oriented,
how to act as leaders in the New Normal.
Cooperative, Helpful and Motivating). When following this more human approach, they also feel more Socially Confident than their male counterparts. Additionally; in comparison with men, they follow their intuition more (i.e. they score lower on Rational).
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12
PAGE
Male Emerging leaders Europe Female Emerging leaders Europe
13
Autonomous
Strategic
Result-oriented
Critical
Ambitious
Professionalism
Persevering
Rational*
Meticulous
Organised*
Conscientiousness
Socially confident*
Helpful**
Cooperating*
People-oriented*
Altruism**
Open-minded
Change-oriented*
Innovative
Abstract*
Openness
Motivating*
Persuasive
Communicative*
Leading
Extraversion
Decisive
Stress-resistant
Optimistic
Relaxed
Emotional stability
GRAPH 3 Differences between male and female emerging leaders in Europe
6.0
5.0
4.0
EMERGING LEADERS IN MULTINATIONALS COMPARED WITH EMERGING LEADERS IN LOCAL ORGANISATIONS IN EUROPE IN ADDITION, WE WERE INTERESTED IN UNDERSTANDING THE (POSSIBLE) DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EMERGING LEADERS IN MULTINATIONALS IN EUROPE AND EMERGING LEADERS WHO WORK IN LOCAL ORGANISATIONS IN EUROPE.
The fact that emerging leaders in multinational
The combination of these results means that within
organisations have a bigger scope (by virtue of the size
multinational organisations, emerging leaders typically
of their organisations and the context in which they work)
demonstrate leadership behaviour that is indeed based on
can influence their business attitude to the extent that
demonstrating personal drive and having a high impact.
they demonstrate higher levels of impact and a greater
These elements are critical Growth Potential Factors.
personal drive to make the difference. The differences between multinational and national The results contained in the graph on the next page
emerging leaders in Europe seem particularly small
represent the differences between emerging leaders in
when compared with those found in other studies; for
multinationals and emerging leaders in local organisations
example, Hudson’s study on Australian emerging leaders
in Europe. Although the differences are rather limited,
(Bogaert, J., & Windey, I., 2013) found that differences
they are nevertheless interesting to discuss.
exist between multinational and national emerging leaders in Australia for the ‘Human’ aspects, something that is
In general, emerging leaders in multinationals appear to show higher scores on Communicative, Change-Oriented and Persuasive. In addition, in comparison with the way their local counterparts describe themselves, emerging leaders in multinational organisations see themselves as being more Autonomous and Result-Oriented.
PAGE
14
apparently not the case in Europe.
PAGE
15
Autonomous*
Strategic
Result-oriented*
Critical
Ambitious
Professionalism
Persevering
Rational
Meticulous
Organised
Conscientiousness
Socially confident
Helpful
Cooperating
People-oriented
Altruism
Open-minded
Change-oriented*
Innovative
Abstract
Openness
Motivating
Persuasive*
Communicative*
Leading
Extraversion
Decisive
Stress-resistant
Optimistic
Relaxed
Emotional stability
GRAPH 4 Differences between emerging leaders in multinationals and local organisations in Europe
6.0
5.0
4.0
Emerging leaders Europe - Multinational Emerging leaders Europe - Local
EMERGING LEADERS IN EUROPE VERSUS C-LEVEL LEADERS IN EUROPE: LESS IS MORE
WE WONDERED HOW PREPARED EMERGING LEADERS WERE TO EVOLVE PROGRESSIVELY TO C-LEVEL ROLES.
To find out, we compared emerging leaders in Europe
Even though a comparison of their results with those of
with a large group (around 600) of C-level leaders across
the average professional reveals that emerging leaders
Europe. We also wondered whether the responses of
see themselves as more Extravert, Leading, Persuasive
emerging leaders would reveal any interesting differences
and Strategic, they still have some way to go before they
with the higher level leaders that could indicate that they
can start taking on senior leadership responsibilities.
are sufficiently well-armed for the New Normal economic climate in which they will lead their organisations.
What is interesting about this result is the fact that our data provide empirical support for previous conclusions
The graph on the following page shows the results of this
(for example, that of Giberson, Resick, & Dickson, 2005)
comparison.
on leader–follower congruence. Other authors have suggested that high leader–follower congruence based
These results clearly show that the emerging leaders have
on personality would have a positive effect on satisfaction
a similar profile to the senior leaders, though one that is
and performance (Ahmad, 2008).
somewhat less pronounced. Nevertheless, the extent to which all the different scores follow this same pattern is
Despite already being on the right track, emerging leaders
striking.
can still evolve as leaders by increasing their levels of impact and strategic vision, and while they show great
This suggests that emerging leaders are clearly prepared
potential for building long term relationships (most of their
to take on leadership responsibilities progressively.
interpersonal factors are at the same level as those of
However, because they do not yet have full authority,
senior managers), emerging leaders can still evolve further
they score significantly lower on a number of the
as relationship builders, in particular by creating a more
typical leadership characteristics (such as Leading,
cooperative atmosphere.
Communicative, Persuasive, and Motivating) that are important for having the necessary impact
In addition, it is striking that the emerging leaders do not show any differences on the crucial leadership
In comparison with how senior managers see themselves,
characteristics for leaders in a changing environment. The
emerging leaders in Europe describe themselves as being
emerging leaders do not display high level aspects like
less Decisive and Strategic. They could also benefit from
Innovative, Change-oriented and Openness, all of which
adopting a more cooperative attitude.
are crucial attitudes for driving change.
PAGE
16
PAGE
17
Autonomous
Strategic*
Result-oriented
Critical
Ambitious
Professionalism
Persevering
Rational
Meticulous
Organised
Conscientiousness
Socially confident
Helpful
Cooperating*
People-oriented
Altruism
Open-minded
Change-oriented
Innovative
Abstract
Openness
Motivating*
Persuasive*
Communicative*
Leading**
Extraversion*
Decisive*
Stress-resistant
Optimistic
Relaxed
Emotional stability
GRAPH 5 Differences between emerging leaders in Europe and C-level leaders in Europe
6.0
5.0
4.0
Emerging leaders Europe C-level
CONCLUSION: GROWTH POTENTIAL FOR EMERGING LEADERS
MANY ORGANISATIONS DO NOT KNOW THE PROFILE OF THEIR EMERGING LEADERS, I.E. WHERE THEIR GAPS ARE AND WHAT THEY NEED TO DEVELOP. The opportunity cost of this can be very high. We
This ‘Growth Potential Model’ defines the competencies
conducted this study to help organisations form a clearer
that make someone a good leader in the New Normal
picture of the leadership characteristics that are needed
economic environment and is based on a thorough
in their future leaders.
analysis of numerous existing leadership models and criteria that predict the success of leaders. The ‘Growth
The Business Attitudes of emerging leaders that we
Potential Model’ consists of 5 main factors.
discuss in this study give an interesting insight into the Growth Potential of these leaders. Hudson’s ‘Growth
These 5 factors are described below.
Potential Model’ was used to identify the key factors in which European emerging leaders have opportunities to evolve to become the next leaders of the future.
Vision
Having the capacity to effectively create a personal view and vision by employing the capacity to integrate and manipulate complex information from different sources to create a systemic view and by easily assimilating new facts and personal experiences to anticipate new situations.
Action
Demonstrating the capacity to take wise decisions and to manage uncertainty and change effectively to give direction to people to stay focused on (a) obtaining set goals in an efficient way and (b) remaining flexible in order to adapt to circumstances.
Impact
Having the capacity to inspire others and to unleash their potential and talent by having a strong impact and by showing role modelling behaviour that inspires others to further evolve, develop and to share a common sense.
Human
Having the ability to build and maintain positive relationships with people and groups from different backgrounds and cultures, both in and outside the organisation, by recognising, accepting and managing attitudes, energy, and behaviour both in the immediate moment and in the longer term.
Drive
Demonstrating a strong desire, the confidence and the resilience to pursue ambitious goals and objectives in a sustainable manner and, with a high level of eagerness to learn, to create the capacity to achieve those goals and to increase one’s self-awareness.
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18
Graph 6 gives an overview of the scores of the emerging
The emerging leaders show themselves to be quite similar
leaders on these 5 Growth Potential factors, in addition to
to senior leaders for the ‘Action’ factor. Although they are
a subset of dimensions from the BAQ that form the basis
on the right track, they can still develop their approach
of these factors. These results are compared with those
to decision-making (Decisive). In addition, given the
of the C-level leaders to give a clearer picture of the gap
uncertainty and changing environment in the New Normal
between the emerging leaders and the current C-level
economic climate, emerging leaders face the challenge
leaders.
of making the difference together with the current C-level leaders to drive change.
It is clear that, in the main, the emerging leaders have great potential for the future but still have some way to
In comparison with C-level leaders in Europe, emerging
go. The pattern of scores for the emerging leaders in
leaders have most opportunities to develop in the ‘Impact’
Europe is in line with that of the scores for C-level leaders;
cluster. Besides improving their Growth Potential for
however, it is less pronounced.
the facet ‘Leading’, they can also gain more impact by adopting a more motivating and persuasive attitude. This
Emerging leaders in Europe tend to have a broader
will definitely increase their Impact, both internally and
strategic view and vision, and they generally focus less
externally.
on details than the average professional does. Despite this, when compared with C level leaders, they still need
When emerging leaders are compared with senior
to develop some aspects of the factor ‘Vision’. Emerging
leaders in Europe, it is clear that they are on the right
leaders in Europe still have room to develop, in particular,
track in terms of adopting a ‘Human’ leadership style.
their ability to build a strategic view; they also need to
Nevertheless, they could benefit from creating a more
evolve from functioning at an operational, tactical level to
cooperative context, which in turn would improve their
functioning at a strategic one.
ability to build and maintain positive relationships with people.
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Finally, compared with leaders from higher levels in
Talent management experts should be brought in to
the organisational hierarchy, emerging leaders also
use development centre measurement and tracking
show a similar level of Drive to pursue ambitious goals
techniques to identify the high potentials from among the
and objectives in a sustainable manner. However, it is
‘likely’ group and to develop programmes to groom these
remarkable that this personal Drive is not fundamentally
people for more senior roles.
higher than that of the average professional. Organisations certainly need to examine their future
The organisation then needs to manage and tailor the
leaders’ personal commitment and ambition to make the
career paths of the high potentials it develops, and it
difference.
should regard the derailment of some potential leaders as merely temporary and as an opportunity to strengthen
If an organisation does not focus clearly on its emerging
areas of weakness and to invest in high-potential
leaders, it cannot properly prepare its next generation
development. The benefit of rewarding high potentials
of leaders to fulfil their future roles; moreover, by not
with development and training is two-fold; there is an
focusing clearly on emerging leaders, organisations leave
increase both in capability and retention.
too much to chance and run the risk of having to rush leaders into roles before they are ready.
To further develop emerging leaders in Europe, we recommend giving them an opportunity to take full
To prevent this from happening, all organisations, be
responsibility for an international change project. This
they local or multinational, should put a high potential
will give them the chance to develop their Leadership
talent management strategy in place that is aligned to
potential further. With the appropriate coaching, they
the company strategy and clearly sponsored by the most
will gain the experience to develop their strategic view,
senior executive.
take the necessary decisions, drive change, and further develop their capacity to inspire others by taking a more
A high potential committee should be set up to (a)
leading, persuasive and motivating attitude.
determine the criteria for identifying ‘likely’ emerging leaders and (b) implement a policy to pick out high-
This study has revealed that emerging leaders in Europe
potential employees from among other high performing
demonstrate great potential to become the leaders of the
staff who may not have the ability to maintain a high
future. Although comparisons made between this group
performance level or who may lack the necessary Growth
and other groups of leaders have revealed significant
Potential for the future.
and challenging differences, we strongly advise against focusing solely on these differences. By focusing only on the differences, one might miss the chance to make the difference, which is what really matters in the New Normal.
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20
Autonomous
Result-oriented
Ambitious
Open-Minded
Drive
Socially confident
Co-operating*
People-oriented
Human
Helpful
Motivating*
Persuasive*
Leading**
Impact**
Critical
Rational
Change-oriented
Decisive*
Stress-resistant
Action
Strategic*
Meticulous
Innovative
Abstract
Vision
GRAPH 6 Growth Potential factors for emerging leaders and C-level leaders in Europe
6.0
5.0
4.0
Emerging leaders Europe C-level Europe
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21
ABOUT HUDSON
Hudson is a global talent solutions company with
We combine broad geographic presence, world-class
expertise in leadership and specialised recruitment,
talent solutions and a tailored, consultative approach
contracting solutions, recruitment process outsourcing,
to help businesses and professionals achieve higher
talent management, outplacement and eDiscovery.
performance and outstanding results.
We help our clients and candidates succeed by leveraging
More information is available at Hudson.com.
our expertise, deep industry and market knowledge, and proprietary assessment tools and techniques. With more than 2,000 people in 20 countries, and relationships with millions of specialised professionals, we bring an unparalleled ability to match talent with opportunities by assessing, recruiting, developing and engaging the best and brightest people for our clients.
W W W. HUDS O N .CO M
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