Asia's Leadership-Development Prowess

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What the Asia Pacific Companies Get Right

Because it's the fastest growing region in the world, Asian companies recognize the need for building leaders fast. Much of the focus in this part of the world is in developing and preparing the next generation of leaders through selection, talent development, and accelerated development opportunities.

Top companies for leaders in Asia are more intentional in who they hire—they have specific selection strategies directly tied to business needs. One hundred percent of the top companies in Asia Pacific have a specific strategy for developing leaders from within the company, compared to 89 percent of other Asia Pacific countries. Even more pronounced is that 100 percent of the top companies in Asia have a specific strategy for selecting leaders from outside the company compared to 70 percent of other Asian companies. The result of this is that all of the top companies in our Asian group report having a sufficient talent pipeline to be successful in the future, compared to 50 percent of other Asia Pacific companies.

When it comes to how they develop those hires, two things distinguish the top companies in Asia Pacific. The first is the attention to the specific development needs of the individual leader coupled with corporate needs to produce an agenda that generates strong leaders. The second is the speed with which the top companies accelerate the development of key talent through experience, exposure and custom training programs. The aim is to move leaders quickly through the right portfolio of development experiences.

What Sets Latin American Companies Apart

The need for Latin American leaders to help companies rebound from the global downturn and drive sustained growth is among the top issues for the region. Much of the focus in Latin America is similar to Asia Pacific's around developing the next generation of leaders through selection, assessment and development. The top five companies in the region were: Natura Cosmeticos (Brazil), Bancocombia (Colombia), WEG Equipamentos Eletricos (Brazil), CPFL Energia (Brazil) and Wal-Mart de Mexico (Mexico).

Top companies in Latin America have selection strategies tied to business strategy. One hundred percent of the top companies have a specific strategy for hiring from within, vs. 91 percent of others. Eighty percent of the top companies have a specific strategy for hiring outside of the company compared to 67 percent of the others. And 80 percent of the top companies in Latin America reported having a sufficient talent pipeline for the future, compared to 49 percent of other companies.

The top companies set clear expectations for their developing leaders. One hundred percent of top companies in Latin America have a common leadership competency model, compared to 76 percent of other companies. More importantly, they apply these competencies to select leaders from within the company compared to 39 percent of other Latin American companies.

Finally, the top companies here practice what we've called "leadership brand." One hundred percent of Latin America's top companies have a deliberate process to build reputation for strong leadership, vs. only 52 percent of other companies. This serves to attract top talent and ensures a steady supply of future leaders. It also includes an emphasis on values, ethics and contributing to the community at large.

In summary, this data supports the hypothesis that as the global economy shifts, so do the sources of strong leadership. It will be very interesting to repeat this analysis after the next round in 2011. I predict an even higher representation from the fastest growing regions of Asia and Latin America.

Provided by Harvard Business—Where Leaders Get Their Edge

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