Leadership Development Lacking for Execs

It didn’t surprise me to learn that a recent survey by a top talent research firm revealed that only 37% of survey respondents (352 participants) would rate their executive leadership “excellent”, and less than 20% rated first-line supervisors excellent.

The study found that focused development effort is lacking for top executives. Not enough top people are getting “continuous improvement” of their leadership skills.

The survey report is titled Leadership Development Factbook: 2009: Benchmarks and Analysis of Leadership Development Spending, Staffing and Programs. It was produced by Bersin & Associates, and is available for purchase on their web site. You can download an executive summary at no cost.

I have some additional thoughts on why top leaders may fail to achieve excellent ratings. Several personality and psychological profiles have established that there is a distinct range of task vs. people/relationships. Some people are more task oriented, some more people oriented. Their behavior on this scale is mostly automatic – they manage in keeping with their preferred tilt on this scale.

In my 25 years in executive search and talent management consulting, I’ve seen many companies promote people up into the executive ranks based on production of specific results. This is fundamentally a good thing. People should get promoted based on producing results. However, the managers who are most driven toward results are usually more task focused. Often they lack strong people skills, and this is the area in which they need the most development. Hopefully, corporations, and even the leaders themselves will realize that investing in courses, coaching, etc. to improve leadership skills is very valuable to optimize corporate performance.

Ethics and the Recession

This must be my year to be preachy. I’ve already written three blogs about lying!

I was thinking this morning about whether values, morals, ethics have shifted with the economic downturn, and my conclusion is that things are worse. People have understandably gone into survival mode, become more desperate, and are becoming inured to the traits that made us great as a nation. So I googled this topic, and sure enough, there is already a book on it. In The Ethics Recession: Reflections on the Moral Underpinnings of the Current Economic Crisis, author Rushworth Kidder (gotta love the name) makes the point that integrity has declined, but fortunately, there are many things we can do to turn this around. Many other speeches and essays have surfaced this year on the topic of values shifts in this recession, and I see this as a good sign – at least people are thinking about it.

Harvard Professor and former CEO of Medtronic, Bill George, said last week at a symposium on ethics: "Business leaders of today focus on personal gains and instant gratification." Citing a survey, George said that 66% of Americans surveyed believe we have a leadership crisis in the United States.

I believe the media perpetuates this two ways: Firstly, news stations sensationalize things done wrong by business leaders. When is the last time you heard a lead story about a leader standing up for what is right? Secondly, much to the delight of many and the chagrin of others, news outlets have become polarized, just like much of our population. The media have always been accused of bias, but now, they have an agenda, and much of what we see, hear and read is propaganda, not news.

I’m not sure what will turn this around, except individuals and organizations making a conscious choice. Kidder says we need “more ethical organizational cultures.” Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking."

The holidays are coming. A time of reflection. Anyone who has survived the past two years has a lot to be thankful for, and we can all look forward to better times soon. Let’s handle it responsibly.

More on Lying…

Usually my blogs are meant to inform – today I’m going to vent a bit. I’m one of those people who says when I put my head on my pillow at night, I don’t worry about what I said to who – because I just tell everyone the truth. I’m beginning to feel like I’m in the minority.

In April, I wrote a blog on lies told by job candidates, with advice to employers on how to get at the truth. In the last six months, I have had an astonishing number of candidates lie to me. How do I know? They get caught!

Everyone engages in some “spin” in telling stories. Spin to me is a skillful, selective portrayal of the truth, that positions you well. An example: A job seeker felt that his last boss was a jerk, who provided no real empowerment, and no opportunity for growth. The “spin” on this is: “I realized I needed to be in an environment with a supportive, mentoring boss who would empower me to accomplish great things and advance my career.” The truth, told to the candidate’s advantage.

Telling a recruiter that you have or haven’t done something when the exact opposite is true and in fact verifiable is just stupid and dishonest. Stupid dishonest people will get caught. Say the title of this blog three times fast….

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More About Automation and the Human Touch

Yesterday I wrote about the need for the Human Touch in recruiting. Today’s LA Times has an interview with Leonard Kleinrock, one of the fathers of the internet. While Kleinrock is mostly positive about the impact of the medium on society, he does point out a pitfall that aligns with what I was saying yesterday: That today’s kids are un-learning the basic human skill of reading another human being in person. Kleinrock’s quote: "It [internet] gives them a larger reach, [but] they're not getting out in the sun, playing with other kids and looking in their eyes and watching their body language as much as they used to, which I think is a shame and can create a kind of indifference in the way in which you deal with your peers. Excesses include things like notifying your significant other [by computer] that you're no longer significant to them."

As a society, I think it is worth maintaining this skill of being able to size up what another person means, just by looking at them, and listening to how they express themselves. Parents will have to model this at home, and, in the workplace, I think companies will ultimately have to teach this skill to millennials who would rather text than talk!

The Human Touch in Recruiting

Lately more and more of our contact with candidates and even with clients (employers) is electronic. “Conversations” occur by e-mail and text, and even through neutral sites like LinkedIn. It should come as no surprise that there are even robot interviewers where you record your questions, and the candidate records his/her answers. One company providing this service advertises that you can turn a stack of resumes into the perfect candidate "while you sleep."

However…. Once the candidates get to the hiring manager, chemistry, personal presentations and all the human factors come into play. So, how can a professional recruiter, whether internal or external, adequately evaluate a candidate without knowing what the candidate is like, how the candidate expresses him/herself, etc.? I would say you can’t. Perhaps my age is showing, but I think that one of the primary skills a recruiter must have is knowing who is or isn’t a fit, and why, based on their personality.

If you’ve read my stuff before, you know that I preach using a Performance Based approach, determining if a candidate can produce critical results. Can you use a recording to determine that? Not sure. I think I hear results in tone, inflection, confidence, etc., as much as I hear from the words.

If you have an opinion on automation in recruiting, please let me know. I think this is evolving, and it will be interesting to see where it all goes.

Evidence of Recovery in Staffing Plans

I’ve been writing in my company newsletter for months that I think the economic recovery will be led by a very dynamic hiring environment. Not necessarily lots of new job creation, but lots of changes and movement at the executive level. (E-mail me for a copy of my latest take on this).

Recently, other news reports and hiring experts have been echoing these thoughts. Here’s some key examples with links:

Wall Street Hiring
Google Hiring
Retailers Hiring
Hiring Guru Lou Adler on expected hiring pace in recovery (due to current dissatisfaction)
TalentRise Survey on employer expectations

The “A” players are now overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated! If all of “us” hiring experts are right, now is the time to make plans to ensure you get the people you need, before other companies grab them first.