Differences that matterMay 2014

Emerging Leaders in Europe

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Effective leadership is crucial to business success. In today’s economic climate, characterised by fragile growth, ambiguity and rapid change, leaders need a range of skills and capabilities to ensure that their organisation and people are best placed to take advantage of opportunities.

In recent years organisations have battened down the hatches to focus on survival. Hierarchies have been trimmed, workforces reduced and development budgets cut back. But as the economy improves organisations must consider whether they have the necessary skills in their emerging leadership cohort. Failure to do so means leaving too much to chance and running the risk of having to rush leaders into roles before they are ready.

At Hudson we wanted to assess the skills and attributes of emerging leaders in Europe. We used Hudson’s Business Attitudes Questionnaire (BAQ) to analyse the personality characteristics of over 400 emerging leaders. These were then compared with the results of over 600 existing C-level leaders.

We found that emerging leaders showed potential but still have some way to go when measured against our 5 key Growth Potential Factors model: Vision, Action, Impact, Human and Drive. In particular, we found the gap between male and female leaders is narrowing, heralding opportunities for strong female leaders to step up.

Our study is a barometer of emerging leadership capability and provides a blueprint for organisations seeking to be ‘battle ready’ for the challenges ahead. There are three key questions every organisation must consider:

1. What leadership profile do you now need to be successful?

2. Have you identified who your emerging leadership talent are?

3. What programmes do you have in place or planned to help them make the grade and keep them retained?

This document summarises some of the key findings. Further details, including the detailed report and data tables can be found at www.uk.hudson.com/emerging-leaders. You can also join the debate on the Hudson dedicated Emerging Leaders LinkedIn group. Sign up now, search ‘Emerging leaders’ on LinkedIn and click ‘Join’ to get involved.

Tim Drake E: tim.drake@hudson.com T: 0207 187 6007

Are your emerging leaders ready to step up?

the gap between male and female leaders is narrowing, heralding opportunities for strong female leaders to step up“

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Our research shows that emerging leaders have great growth potential. They possess strong skills, attitudes and behaviours to drive organisations to grow and prosper in the ‘new normal’ economic climate. The skills required to create success in the post economic crisis environment will be different to that of the financial crisis of 2007-2012 and

these leadership qualities of these future leaders will differ to those of the past to support organisations to adapt to the pace and rapidity of change.

The Hudson Growth Potential Model was used to identify the key factors in which European emerging leaders have opportunities to evolve to become

the leaders of the future. It defined the competencies that will make someone a great leader in the new normal economic environment and is based on a thorough analysis of numerous existing leadership models and criteria that predict the success of leaders.

Although emerging leaders show strengths in these areas they still have a long way to go to match the abilities, talents and capabilities of today’s leaders. As highlighted by the model, there are five key areas where the emerging leaders will need to develop.

Firstly vision, having the capacity to effectively create a personal view and adapt to new situations. Action, demonstrating the capacity to manage uncertainty and change effectively to give people direction. Thirdly, impact. Having the capacity to inspire others and to unleash their potential. The human angle, maintaining positive relationships and taking the long term view. And finally drive, demonstrating a strong desire, confidence and resilience to pursue ambitious goals and objectives.

HR directors and their teams across all sectors and industries must recognise these emerging leaders for the potential they can offer their organisation and develop strategies to nurture the career of these individuals.

How developed are your emerging leaders?

Emerging Leaders show strengths, but they still have a long way to go“

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Capacity to create a personal view and vision by integrating and manipulating complex information from different sources

Demonstrate the capacity to take wise decisions and to manage uncertainty and changeeffectively

Having the capacity to inspire others and to unleash their potential and talent by having a strong impact

Build and maintain positive relationships with people and groups from different backgrounds and cultures

Demonstrate confidence and the resilience to pursue ambitious goals with a high level of eagerness to learn.

VISION

ACTION

IMPACT

HUMAN

DRIVE

The Hudson Growth Potential Model’ consists of 5 main factors that emerging leaders possess:

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The strength of the female emerging leader

When evaluating our findings, we carried out a comparative with an earlier study looking at the differences between female and male executives. When comparing the results of this study with those of our 2008 study, ‘Could the right man for the job be a woman?’ it is striking that the differences between male and female emerging leaders in Europe are similar to the differences between male and female C – level leaders.

However, from our 2014 study, we found that the differences between men and women at C-level are now fewer with the gap narrowing between men and women.

Although the differences are fewer, females are still ahead and demonstrate

the leadership qualities which will be in demand as companies look to meet the challenge of the new business environment.

Compared with male emerging leaders females tend to be more organised and have a more conceptual view adopting abstract thinking techniques to problem solving. Compared with males, female emerging leaders are also open to change. They follow the human approach and adopt a more open style of communication developing social relationships ahead of their male counterparts. Being more socially confident and following their intuition are also behaviours which are not as strong on the male leadership spectrum.

The skills that females demonstrate over their male counterparts will offer organisations a competitive advantage in the new normal economic climate. These softer skills which ally themselves more closely to females will ensure that their behaviour will begin to influence corporate behaviour and this will see organisations react in new ways in order to succeed. To respond to these changes, HR directors must ensure they know the profile of their emerging leaders and identify where the gaps are and how their development strategies will play a role in this.

Leading

Motivating

Persuasive

Decisive

Strategic

Communicative

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Organisations must take action now

Establish a high potential talent management strategyEnsure this is aligned to the company strategy and clearly sponsored by the most senior executive.

Set up a high potential committeeDetermine the criteria for identifying ‘likely’ emerging talent and implement a policy of picking out high potential employees from other high performing staff.

Bring in talent management expertsUse development centre measurement and tracking techniques to identify the high potentials from the ‘likely’ group and develop programmes to groom these people for more senior roles.

Manage and tailor career pathsEnsure high potentials are prioritised and develop a strategy to engage, acquire and develop.

Action points

The economic environment we are now entering, that of the ‘new normal’ requires a different type of leader and according to our research could see the demand for female leaders grow. Hudson is calling on organisations to analyse the type of leadership they need to maximise their development and growth, and look internally to their emerging leaders.

HR directors must look at the ways to obtain a greater understanding of what motivates the emerging leader population so that they can not only engage and help them to develop these skills, but most challengingly by retaining them as a valued assets.

Below are four strategies to implement in your organisation to plan and assess your emerging leader capability:

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