Cultural Transformations

Chapter 2The Six Critical Steps to Transforming Your Culture

It All Starts with the CEO: Thinking Different and Thinking Big

In a breakthrough executive trends global research study (2011 and 2013) I conducted with my colleague, Bonnie Hagemann, we clearly confirmed that identifying and developing high potential and emerging leaders is and will continue to be one of the top issues facing CEOs. In most organizations in North America, Europe, and the Far East 40 to 70 percent of all executives will become eligible for retirement in the next five years. In other parts of the world like South America, Africa, and the Middle East, the demographics are different, yet the challenge is the same. Most organizations in these regions struggle to accurately identify and develop their future leaders.

In our increasingly knowledge-driven world economy, organizations are right to fear this imminent brain drain, suspecting that when executives leave the firm, business may follow. Conversely, potential and emerging leaders—those most likely to rise to fill those highest positions—account for alarmingly less than 8 to 10 percent of the talent pool. That's just in the United States. In other countries like Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Japan, and China (and in just about every country except India and various countries in Africa and South America) this issue is as pronounced as it is in the United States, if not more so. And so identifying, developing, and retaining such rare talent ...