Global Leadership Forecast 2018

25 Research Insights to
Fuel Your People Strategy
ASEAN

Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Actionable Intelligence for Leadership Imperatives
Global Leadership Forecast 2018—a three-way collaboration with Development Dimensions International (DDI), The
Conference Board, and EY—is the eighth Forecast since DDI began the stream of research in 1999. It’s also one of the most
expansive leadership research projects ever conducted. This report summarizes dozens of practical, evidence-based
recommendations for critical business issues. These range from digital transformation to gender and generational diversity to
the roles of purpose and culture in building an effective, sustainable leadership strategy for a digital age.
This research integrates data from 25,812 leaders and 2,547 HR professionals across 2,488 organizations across the globe. Not
only are these perspectives numerous, but they are also diverse and highly representative of the business context facing
global enterprises. The research, which spans more than 1,000 C-level executives and 10,000 high-potential employees,
includes 54 countries and 26 major industry sectors. Our full set of leader demographics is depicted below.

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

GLF Insights for ASEAN
As part of the larger Global Leadership Forecast 2018 study, this report highlights findings on the current state of leadershipand leadership practices in ASEAN. Based on survey responses from 9,805 leaders and 534 HR professionals, these results
provide actionable insights specifically for ASEAN’s leadership context and business market.
Throughout this report, findings are presented for both ASEAN as well as the global sample of leaders. Where the global
results are presented, they will be accompanied by the global icon [] to indicate findings are based on the global

sample of leaders or HR professionals. Unless accompanied by the global icon or otherwise noted, findings throughout thisreport can assumed to be specific to ASEAN. Response from both HR professionals as well as leaders have been adjusted
to more accurately reflect the ratio of leaders in each country to the ASEAN region.
Not all findings from the Global Leadership Forecast 2018 are specific to ASEAN and provided in this report. As such, pleaserefer to the global report for the full set of actionable insights. The global report can also be used as a comparative
benchmark for ASEAN-specific findings presented in this report. We are confident these results will provide new insights for
ASEAN’s leadership practices and hope the report will stimulate your own ideas about how to enhance your organization’s
leadership capabilities.

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

A Research-Driven Road Map for Leadership Acceleration
ASEAN insights from the Global Leadership Forecast 2018 center on 25 findings (listed in the Table of Contents on the facingpage) about the state, context, and future of leadership. The findings are clustered into six categories:
1.

Leaders at the Core—leadership and talent are top agenda items for CEOs, and the readiness gaps continue to besignificant.

2.

Digital & Data—how digital and data-rich business contexts accelerate the need to build the right capabilities to thrive.

3.

Growth & Potential—proven practices for aggressively developing leader talent and bench through a robust learningand growth engine.

4.

Leader Diversity—understanding and advancing gender and generational diversity in leaders to achieve the diversity
dividend.

5.

Cultural Drivers—the powerful forces that can propel—or if lacking, will cripple—rapid, disruptive change.

6.

The HR Opportunity—how HR can elevate and extend its influence on business outcomes to deliver on this strategic
agenda.

Each of the 25 findings shares a common format: We describe the context for the business issue, visualize the key data,
describe the key leadership implications, and provide specific guidance for converting research evidence torecommended actions of two types:
First, “Where to Start,” practical steps that organizations can take now to build, reinforce, or remedy theirfoundation for evidence-based leadership practices and systems, drawing on notable outcomes from theresearch. Typically, these are actions that many—but far from most—organizations have in place, but that areoften overlooked as key building blocks on which more advanced elements of leadership strategy rely. That is, though
they’re often common sense, they’re rarely common practice.
Second, “How to Excel + Differentiate.” The research’s wide-reaching scope includes hundreds of organizations
that are prototypes for rapid advancement toward one or more challenging leadership and business objectives:
digital transformation, gender diversity, high-potential management, people analytics, and instilling a sense of
purpose, among many others. This section of each finding shows how organizations can draw on proven, highimpact leadership practices to gain a sustained competitive advantage by harnessing their leaders’ potential at all levels
and from all backgrounds.

After the 25 findings, which are designed to be modular and self-contained so that they can be used individually,
we close Global Leadership Forecast 2018 with two integrative summaries:•

First, an integrated view of six leadership megatrends—core, overarching themes that we found emerging again andagain across the findings—that collectively chart a course for the trajectory of leadership and serve as broad guiding
principles for leadership-directed action.

•

Second, a leadership practices scoreboard showing the “in-place” frequency of 34 leadership practices in ASEAN andthe links from each to three critical outcomes: Leadership Program Quality (in the eyes of the leaders/learners who are
the “customers” for these programs), Leadership Bench Strength (supply of ready-now leaders to fill critical roles overthe next three years), and Financial Outcomes (an externally gathered composite of operating margin, EBITDA,
revenue growth, and return on equity).

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Table of Contents> Leaders at the CoreFor CEOs, It’s Still About Developing Leaders: Strategy Is Nothing Without Effective Leaders to Execute ................................ 4
Leader Capability Stalled Again: It’s Time to Close the Gaps .......................................................................................................... 6
Leadership Strategy: The Forgotten Foundation of Business Planning ............................................................................................. 8
Purpose-Driven Leadership: Inspiring and Leading in a Complex Environment .......................................................................... 10> Digital & Data
Digital-Era Leadership: Ready or Not, Digital Competence Is Already Differentiating Winners from Losers .......................... 12
Accelerating the Digital Journey: Changing Old Leadership Mindsets and Ways of Working ................................................. 14
Leading with Data-Driven Decisions: The Culture and Skills Driving Higher Returns on Data..................................................... 16
Why Technology Leaders Are Failing: The High Cost of Low-Chance Development ................................................................. 18> Growth & Potential
Rethinking Leadership Potential: Why Broader Is Better ................................................................................................................... 20
Meeting the Needs of the Modern Learner: Technology Gains Its Footing, but It’s a Slippery Slope ...................................... 22
Making the Most of High-Potential Talent: Avoiding a Mismatch Between What They Want and Get .................................. 24
Performance Management: Are Ratings Overrated for Growing Leaders? ................................................................................ 26
Want to Be a Leader? Get an Early Start ............................................................................................................................................ 28> Leader Diversity
The Rise of the Digital Natives: Are Millennials Ready to Lead? ...................................................................................................... 30
Generation X-Change: Don’t Underestimate the Powerful Influence of Gen X Leaders .......................................................... 32
Diversity Leaders: How Top Organizations Are Growing Strong with Women in Leadership ..................................................... 34> Cultural Drivers
Build a Coaching Culture: Want to Be a Better Leader? Ask a Peer or Employee ..................................................................... 36
Mentoring for Impact: How to Maximize a Critical Leadership Experience ................................................................................. 38
Collective Leadership: Leading for Value Across Organizational Boundaries ............................................................................. 40
It’s Time for Teams in Leadership: The Power of a Shared Leader Perspective ............................................................................ 42
Adjusted for Disruption: Top Drivers of Organizational Success through Complexity and Change ......................................... 44
No Engaged Workforce Without Engaged Leaders: To Raise Leader Engagement, We Need to Raise Up Leaders .......... 46> The HR Opportunity
HR’s New Role: Are They Up to the Challenge?

.......................................................................................................................... 48

HR Under Pressure: Falling Behind in the Race to Transform ............................................................................................................ 50
People Analytics: Reversal of Fortunes ................................................................................................................................................ 52
Leadership Megatrends and Payoffs ................................................................................................................................................... 54© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

For CEOs, It’s Still About
Developing Leaders
Strategy Is Nothing Without
Effective Leaders to ExecuteMore than 1,000 C-level executives, worldwide, identified the issues they expect to command their attention in the coming
year. Of the 28 challenges from which they could choose, their biggest concerns weren’t headline-worthy global issues likepolitical instability, climate change, terrorism, or a global recession. Rather, the top challenges vying for leaders’ action
focused on their own leaders. Developing “Next Gen” leaders and failure to attract/retain top talent were rated in the top
five by 64 percent and 60 percent of global respondents, respectively. In ASEAN, developing “Next Gen” leaders and failure
to attract/regain top talent were rated as key challenges by 66 percent and 50 percent, respectively. Leaders clearly
indicated that top talent and effective leaders will be needed to address the myriad current challenges and to position theirorganization for future success. The global Top 10 Challenges are shown below along with the percent of global and ASEAN
executives that rated each challenge in their top five.

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

These findings are consistent with The Conference Board’s 2017 CEO Challenge* study, which asks the same question of
global CEOs each year. In 2016 and 2017, these two challenges placed among the top five choices globally. Senior leaders are
acutely aware of the importance of focusing on strengthening human—and, specifically, leadership—capital.
Of those ASEAN leaders surveyed in Global Leadership Forecast 2018, only 43 percent believe their organization’s leadershipdevelopment program to be of high or very high quality, with 37 percent rating “leadership assessment” and 40 percent
rating “leadership performance management programs” to be of high or very high quality. Average program qualitytranslates into moderate confidence in leadership effectiveness. When asked to consider their own effectiveness in thecritical leadership skill of identifying and developing future talent, 63 percent of respondents rated themselves highly
effective or very highly effective, which leaves 37 percent of leaders (those who are only moderately effective, or even lessskilled) to shape the next generation. And with 61 percent never having been mentored, how do we expect that they’ll know
how to mentor others?

HR Paints a Bleak Picture
More than 2,500 HR professionals across the globe told us that identifying and developing future talent is the most criticalskill leaders will need in three years. In ASEAN, identifying and developing future talent was ranked as the number 1 skill
leaders will need in the next three years. A significant gap exists between the criticality of this leadership skill and leaders’own assessment of their ability to successfully master it. The net result would be a weakened leadership cadre. Only 45
percent of ASEAN HR professionals rated their organization’s bench strength—the supply to fill critical leadership positions
over the next three years—at any level of strength (slightly strong, strong, or very strong) and, on average, only 47 percent of
positions could be filled by an internal candidate immediately. Twenty-five percent believe their succession management
system and processes to be of low or very low effectiveness.
In terms of quality, HR professionals’ assessments of their organization’s leadership development program were lower thanthe leaders’. Responses do not signal a bright future:• Twenty percent have a weak or nonexistent relationship between annual strategic plans and their own plans to growleadership talent.
• Thirty-two percent do not have well-integrated and strategically aligned leadership development programs orprocesses.
• Seventy-two percent see their leadership career planning/pathing systems as only moderately effective or worse.
• Fifty-three percent do not believe their leaders have high-quality, effective development plans.
• Thirty-Three percent do not use information from assessments and simulations to make leadership hiring andpromotion decisions.
• Twenty-Four percent do not have a program to develop high potentials, and 33 percent of those do don’t measure theeffectiveness of the programs.
• Fifty-eight percent do not exercise negative consequences when leaders fail to develop leaders on their team.
• Forty percent do not know the up-to-date status of leadership talent capability across the organization.
* Mitchell, C., Ray, R.L., & van Ark, B. (2017, January), The Conference Board CEO Challenge® 2017: Leading Through Risk, Disruption andTransformation, New York, The Conference Board, https://www.conference-board.org

WHERE TO START•

With all stakeholders, begin with a candid assessment of allleadership development programs and processes at allleader levels.

•

Create a plan to integrate all efforts with the twin goals of
supporting leaders’ success now and building a solid pipelineof successful future leaders against the profile yourorganization will need.

•

HOW TO EXCEL + DIFFERENTIATECreate or update a leadership capability model that isembraced by senior leadership and aligned with theorganization’s strategic goals.

•

Ensure that leaders have the skills to identify and develop
top talent.

•

Review and enhance other talent management systems to
support the creation of a strong cadre of leaders.

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

5•

Systematically monitor progress and gather data to
determine the business impact leadership development
processes have on advancing the organization’s strategic
goals.

•

Articulate the impact in terms of the organization’s ability to
execute the strategy and create a plan to address
deficiencies.

•

Deepen the strength and quality of your leadership bench.

•

Partner with business leaders and the C-Suite to design,deliver, and assess the effectiveness of all leadership-related
actions. Enlist these individuals as coaches, mentors, andchampions.

•

Adapt performance management processes to hold leaders
accountable for successfully developing their teams,
particularly emerging leaders.
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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Leader Capability
Stalled Again
It’s Time to Close the Gaps“Everything is different from today on.” So, supposedly, said Austrian composer Joseph Haydn after hearing Beethoven’s
Symphony Number 3, the Eroica, more than two centuries ago. While many who first heard it were shocked, it changed thevery essence of classical music and went on to be one of the world’s most beloved symphonies. The quote aptly reflects
today’s leadership landscape. Never in the nearly 20 years we’ve been collecting data for the Global Leadership Forecast have
we seen the array of forces that are disrupting the essence of great leadership. “Competitive pressure to innovate and shakeup established markets is too powerful for companies and the people who lead them to ignore.”* And, never has the qualityof our leaders to guide us into uncertain futures been more critical.
> ASEAN Leadership Quality: Little Progress Six Years Running© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Leaders Ready for Today?
And What About Tomorrow?
We’ve followed perceptions of leadership capability
over the years that indicate organizations’ progress inbuilding stronger leadership capability. Are they
improving? Despite billions spent on leadershipdevelopment annually, the answer, yet again, is no!
As shown in the figure at left, there has been some
improvement in overall organizational leadership
quality as rated by 9,805 ASEAN leaders. The
percentage in the excellent/very good categories
increased from 38% in 2014 to 42% in 2017. And when
HR evaluates the quality of their organization’s
leaders, the number rises from 18% to 36%. However,the quality varies widely by leader level. For example,
leaders rated senior leadership quality considerably higher than the quality of those in first-level positions (48 versus 36
percent). While first-level leaders are less experienced in a leadership role, they’re likely to have the most profound impact
on their teams’ engagement and productivity.
We also took a forward view by asking HR to rate the strength of their current pipeline to meet their business needs over the
next three years. The results are equally discouraging. Just 26 percent considered their future bench to be very strong/strong
in Global Leadership Forecast 2011. That number dropped to 20 percent in this survey. A full 55 percent of HR respondents
rate their future leadership bench as slightly weak or worse. Again, these ratings vary considerably by industry.
The figure to the right lists some key countries/regions and industries in terms of leadership quality and the accompanying
rating of future bench strength. One thing is very clear: The current quality of leadership earned higher marks than benchstrength three years out. Given the seismic disruption in almost every industry, keeping ahead of the leader quality andquantity supply chain will be a considerable challenge.
Dearth of current quality and projected future bench strength can hinder your organization’s ability to fill critical positions
with ready-now internal leaders. On average, ASEAN respondents feel they can fill only 47 percent of their critical roles withstrong internal leaders, leaving them to search outside for often-costlier, higher-risk external candidates.
At the end of the day, we need to ask ourselves if these numbers have any real impact. It turns out that companies in the top
third of financial performers are twice as likely to have high-quality leaders than those in the bottom third. This is adifference that can easily translate into millions of dollars for any single company.
* Hoque, F. (2015, November), 5 Habits of Truly Disruptive Leaders, Fast Company. https://www.fastcompany.com/3052725/5-habits-of-trulydisruptive-leaders

WHERE TO STARTHOW TO EXCEL + DIFFERENTIATE

Analyze the strengths and gaps in your leadership benchagainst your business goals. This will enable you to bettertarget your limited resources while having the greatest
impact on your business.

•

Consider a more systematic approach to developing a longterm leadership strategy connected to your business plan.

•

Integration of talent systems is key. For example, superior
development will not compensate for poor hiring systems.

•

Keep your eye on disruptions to your business and how theyaffect your success profiles. The requirements for leadershipexcellence are changing constantly.

••

Become a champion at using predictive analytics to
improve the quality of hiring and promotion decisions.

A majority of organizations still do a poor job of measuring
the impact of their leadership development efforts.
Improvements will never come unless you know what aworthwhile investment is and is not!

•© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Leadership Strategy

The Forgotten Foundation of Business Planning
Only 20 Percent of ASEAN CEOs Have the Leadership Talent to Execute Their Strategy
The data in Global Leadership Forecast 2018 shows that organizations with effective leadership talent outperform their peers.
Yet very few organizations manage this high-value asset in an integrated, cohesive way. Even after spending more than $50
billion annually* on developing their leaders, many companies still don’t have the bench strength to meet their futurebusiness goals. And despite the spending, investments are often fragmented and see a lack of returns. Leadership models
and development programs abound; few tie to business goals. Worse yet, there’s scant evidence that they actually work.
What’s needed is a coherent, integrated leadership strategy. A well-crafted blueprint ensures that companies have the righttalent, at the right cost, and with the right capabilities to deliver today and into the future. Yet, we found only 33 percent of
HR professionals in ASEAN feel their organizations have an effective leadership strategy. Companies that do have suchstrategies in place report better returns on their investment in talent. They consistently feature deeper leader benchstrength and stronger leaders at all levels.
> ASEAN Preparedness to Meet Key Business Challenges with an Effective and Ineffective Leadership Strategy© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

What Differentiates Organizations with Effective Leadership Strategies?
The advantages of having a leadership strategy in place are enormous, beginning with leader preparedness to meet businesschallenges. The graphic at the far left shows the leader-readiness advantages of an effective leadership strategy.

So, What’s in an Effective Leadership Strategy?
Senior line managers define “leadership strategy” as having a supply of capable leaders to meet both their short- and (everchanging) long-term business needs. A sound leadership strategy consists of the four elements defined below. We looked at
the effectiveness ratings for each element, comparing organizations that report having a leadership strategy in place withthose that do not.
• Defines the competencies required for success. We see a much higher level of effectiveness of this basic practice inorganizations with a leadership strategy versus those with no strategy (91 percent versus 60 percent).
• Models supply and demand as part of the strategic planning process. Organizations with an effective leadershipstrategy are 4.9 times more likely to adeptly forecast future leadership demand than those without.
• Ensures that all core leadership processes align and are consistently reinforcing the appropriate
skills/capabilities/mindsets. All major talent systems are more effective in organizations with stronger leadershipstrategies. For example, when there is a leadership strategy in place, 70 percent of organizations report having effective
development programs in place versus 27 percent in those organizations with no strategy. The same magnitude ofdifference applies to succession management (60 percent versus 19 percent). These systems comprise the foundation
for delivering a steady flow of leaders through the pipeline.
• Measures the impact of leadership spending on performance and potential. Companies with effective leadershipstrategies are 8.1 times more likely to gather business-impact measures on their talent initiatives.

What Are the Performance Benefits?
We found that an investment in formulating and executing an effective leadership strategy can have a significant impact inseveral other areas:• Working with the business to articulate a leadership strategy improves HR’s strategic impact. Organizations with aleadership strategy are 3 times more likely to rate their HR teams as strategic advisors.
• Of organizations with effective strategies, 52 percent have overall high leadership quality versus 24 percent with lesseffective strategies.
• Future bench strength, a critical lead outcome measure, is much stronger with an effective strategy (34 percent
versus a dismal 8 percent).
• Stronger ability to fill critical open positions with internal candidates (58 percent versus 41 percent). The cost of evena few senior positions remaining open far exceeds the investment required to put a sound strategy in place.

Should HR Be Involved in Strategic Planning?
Leadership strategy should never stand alone from an organization’s strategic plans, yet only 41 percent of HR professionals
are involved in strategic planning from its inception. This diminishes the role they can, and should, play in connecting thebusiness to required leadership capability.
* Kellerman, B. (2012), The End of Leadership, New York, HarperCollins.

WHERE TO START•••HOW TO EXCEL + DIFFERENTIATE

Translate your strategic plans into leadership and talent
implications. Assess risks and areas where poor leadershipcapability will impede execution.
Focus on execution. Like any other strategy, leadershipstrategy often fails more due to lack of execution thanintegrity. Make sure to align all components of successful
execution: rewards, metrics, resources, and skills.
Look carefully at deploying initiatives across the enterprise.
Ensure the most efficient and effective deployment of yourlimited resources.

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

•

•

•

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Use robust predictive analytics to pinpoint the likely gaps inyour leadership supply chain. This will help you focus yourefforts.
Orchestrate all components of your leadership strategy. They
do not stand alone. Forecasting demand is worthless withoutaccompanying initiatives to close the gaps.
Prove the return on your leadership investment. Unlike every
other function, HR typically fails to seriously evaluate (andthus justify) the impact of their spend on organizational
performance.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Purpose-Driven Leadership
Inspiring and Leading in a Complex Environment

Purpose is an aspirational reason for being that inspires and provides a call to action for an organization, its partners,
stakeholders, and society as a whole. EY Beacon Institute research* has consistently shown that purpose enables
organizations to perform well in times of volatility. The research joins a growing body of evidence demonstrating that astrong and active purpose raises employee engagement and acts as a unifier, makes customers more loyal and committed toworking with you, and helps to frame effective decision making in an environment of uncertainty. Global Leadership
Forecast 2018 finds that getting purpose right builds organizational resilience and, crucially, improves long-term financial
performance as seen in the figure below. We found that the real benefits come when leaders walk the talk by behaving in amanner that exemplifies their organization’s purpose.
> Impact of Purpose on Financial Performance© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Why Make Purpose Your Guide?
Of 1,500 global C-Suite executives surveyed, 84 percent say their business operates in an increasingly disrupted
environment. In this world, purpose is a North Star—a fixed point to help navigate through change and uncertainty.
To understand the impact of purpose, we identified three types of organizations:• Those without a purpose.
• Those with a purpose statement.
• Purposeful organizations where leaders bring the stated purpose to life through behaviors.
We found clear evidence that companies in this third category are earning a significant performance premium.

Why Isn’t Just Having a Purpose Statement Enough?
Companies with only a purpose statement realize considerable performance improvements across many outcome measures.
However, we discovered that purposeful organizations (those with active leadership support) get even stronger financial
performance in the short and long term—and are better equipped to deal with the fast-changing, competitive environment.

More Benefits of Being a Purposeful Organization
The advantages to being purposeful are many:• Engagement. Purpose is a key driver of employee engagement. In previous research*, 96 percent of leaders said that
purpose is important to their job satisfaction. In Global Leadership Forecast 2018, we found that having a purpose
statement not only has a positive effect on engagement overall, but 27 percent more ASEAN leaders get meaning fromwork and energy levels are 41 percent higher.
• This effect is amplified in purposeful organizations, where engagement levels are 67 percent higher and employees’
intent to stay is 26 percent higher.
• Culture. Companies with a purpose statement boast a stronger culture of collectiveness than those without, and theeffect is 33 percent greater in purposeful organizations, which also report 30 percent greater levels of psychologicalsafety. The culture is savvy but not fearful; optimistic without being naïve. Radical candor thrives, and people acrossthe enterprise can robustly tackle pressing issues.
• Agility. Having employee and stakeholder buy-in enables a purposeful organization to respond more quickly andeffectively when opportunities arise or danger threatens (32 percent higher than non-purposeful organizations).
• Resilience. Purposeful companies enjoy higher levels of trust and loyalty, making them more resilient when the goinggets tough. They’re also better able to retain customers, employees, and shareholders during the often-painfultransition periods that comprise the new 21st century normal.
• Vision. Serving all stakeholders and aspiring to improve society enables a broader vision—a bigger game to play—
making organizations more likely to spot unexpected opportunities and new risks.
• Learning environment. While many companies understand that having a stated purpose is important, they struggle
to weave it into day-to-day business. We found that purposeful organizations build leaders’ skills in inspiring, adapting,and team leadership. They do this by focusing on experiences, coaching, and mentoring. Leaders learn from leaders,
and they coach and develop their people.
* EY Beacon Institute. (2017), How Can Purpose Reveal a Path Through Disruption?, London.

WHERE TO START•••HOW TO EXCEL + DIFFERENTIATE

Articulate a clear purpose for your organization. Focus onanswering the why questions. We all know what ourorganizations do. Purpose is about asking why we exist in thefirst place, what our employees and stakeholders careabout, and what resonates with customers.
Use purpose as a lens for everything you do. Let purpose
guide the solutions you offer, how you treat your customers,
and how you engage your workforce.
Communicate success stories to all constituents. Stories
perpetuate purpose. Each time people repeat them,
purpose entwines more closely with day-to-day business.

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

•

•

•

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Integrate purpose into the company’s DNA. Reinforce
purpose through the day-to-day customer and employee
experience. Treat purpose as a commitment to stakeholders
and publicly update on its progress.
Focus on leaders. Help them develop their own “why.” Work
with all leaders to articulate their own purpose as it relates tothe overarching purpose for the business. Then, help them dothe same for their teams and employees.
Develop key skills. Purpose-driven leaders form teams, inspire,and motivate in a fast-changing world. They develop
psychological safety and agility.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Digital-Era Leadership

Ready or Not, Digital Competence Is AlreadyDifferentiating Winners from Losers
The work world continues its metamorphosis as organizations increasingly leverage technology to modernize their businessstrategies. As the pace of change intensifies, many companies just cannot compete; 50 percent of the 2006 Fortune 500
companies no longer exist. Competition rains in from every direction. Looking ahead, technologies such as robotics andartificial intelligence (AI) are projected to affect two billion jobs over the next decade.* These trends represent both a threat
and an opportunity. Organizations with digitally savvy leaders, the pioneers, are outperforming those organizations withless digitally capable leaders, the laggards. As our work world becomes increasingly digital, that performance gap will onlygrow.

How Digital-Ready Are Leaders?
Global Leadership Forecast 2018 shows digital-era leaders focus their attention across five clusters made up of 16
competencies (see figure below). Averaging across all competencies, only 23 percent of leaders in ASEAN consideredthemselves effective in all five areas.
The right column of the figure shows leaders’ ratings of their own effectiveness. They’ve reported relative strengths in
traditional leadership skills. However, digital capabilities is where ASEAN leaders have gaps.
> Traditional Leadership Competencies vs. a New Set of Critical Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Where Should You Focus?

> The digital leadership performance premiumNot every competency has the same impact on an organization’s
digital performance. The middle column of the figure at left
shows the six competencies that were found to have the greatest
impact on performance. Of these six most critical skills, leaders
are relatively strong in five areas, weaker in one (Drive Digital).

Those organizations with the strongest digital leadership capabilities (thepioneers) are outperforming those with the weakest capabilities (the laggards)• Lead with digitization. Organizations need leaders who
understand the impact digital tech can have on theirbusinesses. They sense what is and isn’t possible and, more
important, sense what will be possible. They look tostandardize and automate processes to generate new
insights they can leverage for differentiated capabilities. Thisis a relatively weak area for leaders.
• Adaptability is a must. Digital leaders must be able toadapt to constant change or fall behind. They need to belearning every day, not getting caught up in “traditions.” This is a relative leadership strength.
• Execution. It’s one thing to anticipate change. But it takes another set of skills altogether to turn new ideas into
reality. This also is a strength.
• Hyper-collaboration is about working relentlessly to break down silos. It’s getting people working together to solve
customers’ and the organization’s issues. Again, this is a relative leadership strength.
• Identify and develop new talent. Leaders need to spot and rapidly bring on board the digitally savvy talent of
tomorrow. Leaders do relatively well in this area.
• A 360 view. Leaders must be able to spot patterns and bring thinking together from multiple perspectives. This is a real
strength for the region.

What Does This Mean for Performance and Potential?
Across the global sample, we found that the pioneers, digitally savvy leaders, are more prepared than the laggards to meet
emerging business challenges. Most notably, they’re better at anticipating and responding to the competitive environment,
navigating through complexity, and using data and analytics to guide their decision making.
In the figure above, we also demonstrated a significant relationship between global leaders’ digital readiness and theirorganization’s financial performance. Looking to the near future, every organization will need to embrace new technologies
if they are to flourish. And, those with the most capable digital-ready leaders will continue to stay ahead of the curve. In
another section titled “Accelerating the Digital Journey,” we focus on how to ramp up organizational and leadership digital
capability.
* Frey, T. (2012, February), 2 Billion Jobs to Disappear by 2030, http://www.futuristspeaker.com/business-trends/2-billion-jobs-to-disappear-by-2030/

WHERE TO START
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HOW TO EXCEL + DIFFERENTIATE

Start by identifying critical leadership roles and assess
readiness of your talent to embrace and pioneer digitaltransformation.
Rethink your competency framework to include emergent
knowledge and skills to focus leader development. Manycompanies going through unprecedented change have notreexamined their competency models.
Develop digital accelerator leadership-immersion programs.
This is an excellent approach to building both technicalknow-how and leadership capability.
Move beyond simply “doing digital” via discrete technology
implementations to “being digital,” an embedded leadershipmindset and way of working.

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Some of your current leadership bench will be unable toacquire a new mindset. They may need to be replaced withmore digitally capable leaders.
Lead for the future of the organization. Nurture and develop
leaders as much as those running the legacy business. New
leaders will not only require a technical mindset, but also theimagination and vision of how technology can enable theirorganization’s competitive position.
Foster a digital ecosystem for leaders to thrive. This includes
new approaches to learning, rewards, use of space, andelimination of hierarchies. Place great digitally ready leaders
in a traditional culture, and they will surely fail.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Accelerating theDigital Journey
Changing Old Leadership Mindsets
and Ways of Working
In our section, “Digital-Era Leadership,” we put forth a new model of leadership and demonstrated that leaders who are
more digitally capable exert a positive impact on their organization’s performance. We also showed that this new-era digitalleadership requires a full and complex range of skills, including interpersonal, analytic, and technical. To thrive in this newera, most organizations will need to build new skills and capabilities; they’ll also need to overcome old mindsets and ways ofworking. This won’t be achieved by the delivery of formal training and learning alone. The workplace must become thelearning environment. To assure this transition, everyone in the organization will need to be learning every day.
> Meeting New Workplace Challenges© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

How Do Organizations Accelerate
Their Digital Journey?

> Impact for Organizations in a High Stateof Digital Maturity

We explored dozens of organizational operating environmentsthat elevate the bar from simply “doing digital” to truly “being
digital.” Three emerge as critical:• New learning cultures. Building digital-era leadershipcapability requires a workplace where everyone learns everyday. There’s a heavy emphasis on experiential development.
Highly capable digital-ready leaders, the pioneers, actively
manage their own growth and development. ASEAN leaders
are generally willing to take on stretch assignments to build
new skills and seek input from others to grow themselves.
However, compared to their peers who aren’t as skilled,
digitally-ready leaders were more likely to provide input togrow the business (71 versus 52 percent).
Getting the culture right delivers more able, confident leaders.
The figure at left shows the differences in leaders’ confidence
to face these challenges. Pioneers (digitally adept leaders) aresignificantly more confident than the digital laggards inhandling every challenge. They are 5.9 times more confident operating in a digital environment, and 5.4 times more
likely to anticipate and react to change.
• New working environment. Today’s high-performing operating environments are purpose-driven and team-based,with shallower hierarchies. They enable workforce mobility and deliver a consumer-grade technology experience tointernal workers, aligning modern performance and rewards practices to the right behaviors.
• Developing the right environment drives engagement, productivity, and learning. Digital-ready leaders in ASEAN are
more likely to respond that they are “definitely engaged” at work (60 versus 42 percent). They’re also more likely to see
their organization as embracing or even rewarding failure in pursuit of innovation (60 versus 31 percent). Additionally,
80 percent of digital-ready leaders feel a strong sense of accountability for effectively leading their people, compared toonly 59 percent for leaders who are not ready.
• New role of HR. Building digital organizations requires a reset of talent and leadership infrastructures. The HR
function must transform to become nimbler, data-driven, tech-savvy, and tied to the evolving business needs.
• Yet, HR is one of the least effective functions. In ASEAN, only 19 percent of HR professionals report being very
prepared to operate in a digital environment. This is quite ironic: How can digitally-challenged HR leaders take thepoint on modernizing the way talent will need to be developed, engaged, and deployed in the future?
Analysis of the global data reveals a considerable payoff for accelerated digital transformation. The figure above examines
five elements essential to operating in a highly digital workplace. Digitally mature organizations (those farther along in theirdigital transformation) have stronger overall cultures than their less-mature counterparts—by a factor of 10.5. As we
mentioned above, they’re more likely to encourage and reward experimentation and far more focused on future possibilities,
not past constraints. And, they’re nearly seven times more likely to lead with agility. Finally, data-driven decisions are used
more heavily.

WHERE TO START•••HOW TO EXCEL + DIFFERENTIATE

Examine every aspect of your talent management system.
Make sure it’s building capable, future-ready digital leaders.
Ensure that you’re reinforcing a culture where people
continuously grow and learn. The workplace, not theclassroom, has become the primary learning environment.
Invest resources to build HR leaders’ skills in using digitaltechnologies and predictive analytics. As they become more
adept, they’ll embrace the new way of working.

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Measure and work on your organization’s learning culture.
Take an integrated approach to building a future workplace.
Use rewards, workforce mobility, and technology experiences
and leverage physical space and structure to drive
collaboration and innovation.
Stop talking and start transforming. You need to standshoulder-to-shoulder, starting with HR as custodians of yourorganization’s assets.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Leading with Data-Driven
Decisions
The Culture and Skills Driving
Higher Returns on Data
Nearly seven years after the first “Big Data” articles appeared in major business publications, many organizations struggle tocounter Big Data’s substantial costs with newly unlocked value. A 2017 study* found that fewer than half of senior Fortune
1000 decision makers see measurable returns from Big Data. In Global Leadership Forecast 2018, across the global sample ofdata, companies whose leaders are well prepared to use data to guide decisions are 8.7 times more likely to have closely
integrated talent and business strategies, 7.4 times more likely to have a strong bench of future leaders, and 2.1 times more
likely to have grown aggressively over the past three years, compared to organizations whose leaders are ill-prepared for adata-rich business context. But these are the outcomes, not the drivers. What is the leadership context—the culture andskills—that makes these returns not only possible, but probable?
> The Cultural Factors that Make Data-Savvy Organizations Unique© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Traits of a Data-Driven Enterprise
We identified the five cultural factors (shown in thegraphic at left) in which data-savvy organizations
most exceed organizations where leaders struggle
with data:
1. Strength of company culture. Data-savvy
companies build the shared mental models vitalfor cultural strength by actively measuring andreacting to customer and employee viewpoints.
2. Experimentation mindset. Data provides theconfidence to launch and gauge the success ofexperiments and to objectively learn fromfailures.
3. Digital technology influence. Technology is aprime source for new volumes and varieties of
data; digital advancement parallels being datasavvy.
4. Focus on future vision. Data informs
trajectories and trends via prescriptive andpredictive analytics.
5. Organizational agility. Agile organizations are
fueled by rapid data acquisition and action.
Yet, the need to be data-driven isn’t limited to a particular style of leadership: whether EQ or IQ is more important, whether
leaders have an execution or an engagement focus, or whether leaders derive power from personal versus position-based
influence.

The Skills of Data-Savvy Leaders
In addition to rating their preparedness to use data in making decisions, leaders also rated their confidence in
16 skills. The figure at right orders skills based on their link with data-savvy (a longer bar equals a stronger link). The
statistics presented to the left of each skill represent the percentage of effective leaders in ASEAN.
Not surprisingly, leading with digitization (using technology to manage the workforce) heads the list of skills linked to datasavvy leadership. Also, in the top five are leading virtual teams and digital literacy (personal technology expertise). Notably,
these are also the skills with the lowest percentages where only 1 in 2 ASEAN leaders rate themselves effective.
To underscore the fact that being data-savvy isn’t only about being digital, two management skills also made the top five:
driving execution and integration (combining information from multiple sources). This confirmation of the importance ofmanagerial capabilities parallels 2017 research from MIT Sloan**.
* Bean, R. (2017), How Companies Say They’re Using Big Data, Harvard Business Review.
** Bughin, J., & Hazan, E. (2017), Five management strategies for getting the most from AI, MIT Sloan Management Review.

WHERE TO START•••HOW TO EXCEL + DIFFERENTIATE

Use data to create a common culture. Strong cultures aren’t
formed by accident; they’re fostered carefully andmonitored by aggressively using data to understand how
employees and customers view the company and thenreacting accordingly.
Build digital skills. Digital acumen at both a personal level(understanding new technologies oneself) and a leadershiplevel (using technologies to lead others in different, moreeffective ways) is key for successful data-driven decisions.
But don’t neglect the execution element. Leaders who excel
at using data effectively also integrate it from multiple
sources and know how to convert the data’s strategic
insights into operational plans.

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Don’t overlook empathy, connectivity, and collaboration.
Few leaders see the connection between interpersonal skills
and ability to use data effectively for business decisions. This isa prime opportunity to strengthen awareness of these links
and to factor in the human implications of data.
Implement Agile project management techniques. Agile
methodologies provide the cadence, mindset, andopportunity to flow high volumes, varieties, and velocities ofdata into actionable use.
Prepare for AI. Efficient and ethical artificial intelligence
applications, already in the strategic plans for manyorganizations, will require a critical mass of leaders whoseskills span digital, management, and interpersonal domains.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Why Technology
Leaders Are Failing
The High Cost of Low-Chance Development
Technology companies are known for being leading-edge and driving innovative ways to meet customer demands. Thisventure can overtake—and overshadow—their focus on growing internal customers. As a result, technology organizations
face unique leadership challenges, including lower engagement and retention, fueled by an accelerating competition for
talent. Among the more than 2,400 organizations participating in Global Leadership Forecast 2018, tech companies acrossthe globe reported the lowest success rates for their leaders (61 percent). This means that about two of every five technology
leadership assignments are considered failures, a rate that is 20 percent higher than that of other industries. What’s causing
such a high failure rate? According to global data gathered from 1,086 technology leaders and 107 HR professionals, techcompanies are falling behind in four key development practices that not only drive higher success rates, but also affect otherleader outcomes, including higher engagement and retention.
> How Technology Industry Leadership Is Falling Behind Other Industries

Note: Insufficient ASEAN data for analysis.
© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Four Practices that Leave Technology Behind
1. Unclear Career Management
Globally, only 64 percent of leaders in technology said they understand their career path within their organization—14
percent fewer than those in other industries. This is a critical area for improvement, given that establishing clear career
paths not only boosts leaders’ success rates, but also consistently drives their engagement and retention. In technology
organizations the potential upside is great, as tech leaders show 17 percent lower engagement and are twice as likely to turnover as leaders in other industries.

2. No Plan for Development
In addition to lacking a clear career path, only one-third of tech leaders surveyed worldwide have an up-to-datedevelopment plan—32 percent fewer than other industries. Having a current plan in place guides leaders to track andmeasure their development progress. It also makes them accountable for their own development. Without this guidance andaccountability, development is left to chance.

3. Development Is Too DIY
In tech organizations, leadership development is more DIY and out of alignment with what leaders want in other industries.
The three types of learning sought most by technology leaders around the world—external coaching (74 percent), formal
development (60 percent), and short-term developmental assignments (50 percent)—are provided least often by theircompanies in comparison to those in other industries. Instead, tech companies reported a higher reliance on internalcoaching and self-study, which only 34 percent of leaders said they wanted.

4. Development Is Out of Discussion
Worldwide, Thirty-two percent more tech leaders reported that they never meet with their manager to have performance
discussions. For those who did meet, the discussions focused more on current performance than development. In fact, techleaders spent the least time talking about personal development in their performance discussions overall—on average, 23
percent less than leaders in other industries.
According to technology HR professionals, they also are more likely to have eliminated performance ratings. Nearly twice as
many technology companies than other industries (31 versus 17 percent) reported that they’ve stopped using performance
management ratings. This might be leading them to abandon valuable development discussions altogether, to the detrimentof overall quality. Tech leaders rated their performance management programs significantly lower than other industries,
with only 27 percent of leaders identifying their performance management program as high quality. That figure contrasts to
36 percent of leaders in other industries across the globe.

Lower Investment, Higher Risk
In addition to lagging in these four practices, technology organizations are investing far less time and money on leadershipdevelopment. On average, tech companies worldwide spend 15 percent less on first-level leadership development thanorganizations in other industries. Spending is more equal for senior-level and high-potential leadership development,
though it still runs 6 percent behind other industries. Even more critical than the gap in dollars spent is the shortage ofhours invested in developing leaders. On average, technology leaders spend only 25 hours in structured development eachyear, 10 percent less than leaders in other industries.

WHERE TO START•••HOW TO EXCEL + DIFFERENTIATE

Step up your focus on development. Communicate more
frequently about it and seek feedback on your efforts. Onceleaders start thinking and talking about it, the frequency ofdevelopment discussions will increase.
Diagnose individual and group development needs. Assess
leaders to identify their development needs, then centerplans on improving in those areas. Leverage aggregate data
to determine the greatest group gaps that can inform future
leader selection and promotion.
Redefine the business of development plans. Given thatdevelopment targets are business goals, hold leaders
accountable for meeting them. Require leaders to complete
and act on their development.

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Invest in more blended learning. Establish an online librarythat supports what leaders are learning via more traditional,
structured coaching and development initiatives. Providing a
mix of methods enables a broader basis of development.
Leverage, but don’t limit leaders to, on-demand externallearning content.
Drive retention with clearer paths to advancement. Ensurethat leaders have a clear understanding of how they’ll growto increase their development focus and retention. Leaders
who aren’t sure about their advancement path will be more
likely to seek career growth elsewhere.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Rethinking Leadership
Potential
Why Broader Is Better
Identifying and preparing future leaders is a quintessential “top of the house” issue. Our research drew on responses fromnearly 1,000 senior-level leaders across the globe to identify the issues demanding their greatest attention for the coming
year. Their top two concerns are deeply integrated with proactive talent strategy and high-potential management:
developing “Next Gen” leaders and failure to attract/retain top talent. To provide context, senior leaders chose these issues
more than twice as often as slowing economic growth in emerging markets, labor relations, and global recession. Thisintense focus also cascades into cost and time investments: On average, companies worldwide spend $4,000 and 39 hours
per high-potential leader, per year for development activities. For organizations with 1,000 high-potential leaders, thistranslates to an annual investment of more than $4 million and 4,800 person-days. In ASEAN, companies spend an averageof $4,550 and 48 hours per high-potential leader – translating into an annual investment of $4,550,000 and 6,000 persondays for every 1,000 high-potential leaders. Clearly, the stakes are high for a data-driven evaluation of high-potential
programs’ effectiveness.
> Top 10 Practices for Boosting High-Potential Leader Success Rates© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Mixed Results on Potential’s Progress
It’s important to start by recognizing the signs of positive movement for high-potential programs between 2014 and now: In
ASEAN high-potential success rates are up slightly from 63 to 64 percent, and high-potential programs are more genderdiverse, again a slight boost from 29 to 31 percent women. The next layer of data, however, reveals problem signs for potential
efforts. Despite 76 percent of organizations having high-potential programs, 58 percent rated them as less than highly effective.
Outcome links are also unraveling: Globally, relationships between high-potential programs and leadership outcomes are 19
percent weaker now than in 2014.
And perhaps most alarming, looking at the most important reason these programs exist—to address CEOs’ top concern bybuilding a strong pipeline of future-ready leaders—progress is nonexistent at best and retreating at worst. Currently only 20
percent of organizations in ASEAN feel they have a strong bench (up slightly from 16 percent in 2014), and only 47 percent ofcritical roles can be filled rapidly by internal candidates (down from 50 percent).

The Perils of a Top-Down, Top-Only View
To gauge why few organizations succeed in cultivating potential, we looked at one of the first decisions made when creating ahigh-potential program: how deeply to extend it. Nearly half of ASEAN organizations (49 percent) limit their potential focus tosenior-most levels.
Globally, organizations that opt to extend their development of high-potential talent below senior levels are 4.2 times more
likely to outperform those that don’t on a financial composite of revenue growth, operating margin, EBITDA, and return on
equity.

Can Bigger Pools Drive Better Outcomes?
The conventional wisdom that high-potential efforts need to be restricted to an exclusive few simply isn’t supported by the
research. ASEAN companies designate 46 percent of their leaders as high potential, up from 36 percent in 2014, and larger
pools tend to be more effective. Yet, just stocking the pool with more leaders isn’t the key to success. Use of analytics, peer
and mentor-driven coaching, long-term developmental assignments, and personalized learning propel organizations tooutperform companies with a narrowly constrained view of potential. Larger pool sizes alone aren’t the answer; rather, a fullreshaping of a company’s orientation toward potential is required.

Best Practices Aren’t Just About the Pool
Turning to the practices themselves, the graphic at left shows the top 10 practices linked to higher success rates for highpotentials around the world. Most companies don’t use them all; in fact, just 18 percent of companies, worldwide, use all,and over a third use half or fewer. Note that not even half of the practices driving success are specific to high potentials.
Instead, they deal with core themes of development, diagnosis, and objectivity for all, representing an inclusive, systematic
view of potential.

Driving Returns on Potential Investments
As noted earlier, high-potential programs and individuals require outsized investments. When pairing these financial figureswith an average success rate of 64 percent for high-potential leaders in ASEAN, it translates to wasted expense (for the 36
percent not successful) of about $1,638,000 and 2160 person-days. By employing proven practices, organizations candramatically boost return on their investment in potential.
WHERE TO START
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Broaden the potential pool. It’s neither sufficient nor
financially responsible to limit the high-potential view to theorganization’s top level.
Target diversity, not just numbers. When companies expand
their view of potential, they increase gender diversity forleaders at all levels.
Don’t invite more without building objectivity. Bigger pools
are more likely to be data-driven, boosting inclusivity alongwith head counts.
Create a culture of coaching. Companies with more successful
pools use peer coaching and external mentors heavily.
Use scalable tools for deeper diagnosis. It’s rare that thesame tools used with a senior leader-only view will beappropriate for a full-pipeline talent review; introduce newtools accordingly.

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Hours over money. Hours spent on high-potential
development has a 68 percent stronger relationship toleadership and business outcomes than money spent,including a significant link to the financial composite that
doesn’t exist for money spent.
Prioritize immersive, personalized learning. Formal learningthat incorporates personalization to the high-potential learner
and well-planned developmental assignments increases
success rates.
Strengthen your analytics backbone. High-potential successrates rise with benchmarking, forecasting, results metrics, anddata visualization in place.
Track return on the potential investment. High-impact
practices can yield high returns, but only when integrated,sustained, and monitored.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Meeting the Needsof the Modern LearnerTechnology Gains Its Footing,but It’s a Slippery Slope
The scope and variety of learning methods continue a rapid advance at a pace that is only likely to accelerate as pressure
mounts to adjust and revitalize learning in academic institutions and graduates flow into the workforce. Fueled by demand
from incoming “digital natives” and funded by tuition increases, educational institutions are often at the leading edge oflearning transformation. In the workplace it’s daunting to respond to these pressures and decide among the vast range oflearning methods and approaches. HR professionals face particularly difficult choices about synchronizing complementary
modalities, how to appropriately blend technology-centric and high-touch (formal training, coaching) learning, and how toapply learning back in the workplace. Although organizations want to meet the needs of all modern learners, the choices andtradeoffs are complex and becoming even more so. In this research, we took stock of the leadership learning landscape,factoring in company usage and leader preferences to recommend an evidence-based path forward for learning design.
> How Much Leaders Want—and Are Getting—19 Learning Methods for Developing ASEAN Leaders© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Meeting Modern Learners’ Needs
To understand where learning needs to go, we started with the needs of learners themselves. We saw high consistency
across generations. The three features ASEAN learners prefer most include (in this order):1. Formal workshops, training courses, and seminars.
2. Personalized learning experiences.
3. Coaching from external mentors.
While this is what learners want, what they actually get can be far different. In the graphic at left, we juxtaposed learner
preferences with company use for 19 learning types and methods, to yield three categories:
Leaders Want More than They’re Getting (5 types)—This category includes personalized learning experiences, coachingfrom external mentors, on-demand learning, social networking, and mobile device-based learning. It spotlights leaders’thirst for external perspectives on their challenges—many of which aren’t unique to their own company—as well as
immersive development and personalized “anytime, anywhere” learning.
Leaders Get More than They’re Wanting (7)— Methods include short-term development assignments, coaching from thecurrent manager, micro-learning, coaching from peers, self-study, books/articles, and coaching from employees.
Surprisingly, many leaders would prefer a bit less manager coaching, perhaps because many managers aren’t very good at it.
Leaders also have reservations about “on-the-job learning” morphing into “on-your-own” learning through self-study andbooks/articles.
About Right (7)—Formal workshops/training courses/seminars, externally and internally developed content, long-term
assignments, computer- and game-based learning, and podcasts. This category includes game-based learning, a rarely usedtechnology. Leaders might not have seen this method enough yet to gauge its value.

Technology Alone Isn’t Enough…
Despite its immense attention and expense, our data shows that technology isn’t having a notable impact on leadership or
business outcomes above and beyond coaching (from managers, peers, external mentors, and employees). Nor is it
surpassing high-touch methods such as formal learning and development assignments.

…But Adds Value When It’s Need-Matched
Technology’s role becomes clearer, however, when viewed as an accelerator of learning impact. Globally, the link between
learning programs and leader quality is 46 percent stronger when technology is used heavily. It also improves back-to-thejob application, raising it from 55 percent with minimal technology use to 63 percent with extensive use.
The future of technology in learning will be driven by companies using it to address the unmet needs of the modern learner
identified in the “Leaders Want More than They’re Getting” cluster. It’s not about implementing technology for its own sake,particularly not to enable the self-study forms of learning that many leaders shun. When technology is designed andimplemented to match a need, it generates value for on-demand, personalized, and mobile learning, and to connect leaderswith external mentors. Technology works best when giving “always on” learners the tools and access they need to constantly
seek opportunities to grow themselves and others.
WHERE TO START•••HOW TO EXCEL + DIFFERENTIATE

Pursue learning personalization. This was by far the dominantfeature defining what leaders want most. Technology’s
potential here is immense to bring personalization to largescale learning. This includes new techniques such as machinelearning and natural language processing to rapidly distill
information into personalized recommendations.
Restore the value of manager coaching. Leaders’ opinions ofmanager coaching—comparing needs with wants—aredecidedly neutral, but don’t have to be. Reinforce managers’
coaching skills to push this form of learning back to a “wantmore” state.
Understand the learning problems technology will solve.
Don’t invest further in learning technology until you’re certain
you understand the problems it will solve and needs it willmeet. This is the key to stronger technology impact and ROI.

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Shift away from self-service. Technology driven or not, learners
want much less self-study learning. Make learner enablement
about on-demand rather than assignment, and tailored to aleader’s own development plan rather than generic.
Experiment with game-based learning. Though few companies
are putting these approaches in place, they are more soughtafter by Millennial leaders than other generations.
Extend learning beyond the classroom. Learning reinforced
through prompts and practice—often, but not only, throughtechnology tools—better “sticks” once the leader is back on thejob.
Appoint a Learning Experience Manager. Only 37 percent ofcompanies have this role in place, but those that do are 5.5
times more likely to have highly effective leadershipdevelopment systems.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Making the Most ofHigh-Potential Talent
Avoiding a Mismatch Between What
They Want and Get
Globally, 0rganizations spend more money developing high potentials than any other group of leaders, including the seniorteam. High-potential leaders also spend more hours per year in formal leadership training than any other leadership group.
In ASEAN, companies annually spend an average of $4,550 and 48 hours per high-potential leader. Given the money andtime expended, how can organizations ensure that they’re reaping benefits of cultivating these would-be high performers?
Knowing what high-potential leaders want from their development experiences can shape a company’s strategy and lead topositive outcomes. ASEAN high-potential leaders prefer formal workshops and training courses the most. Fortunately, thisis the type of learning that’s also provided most frequently by organizations. On the other hand, leaders are thirsty for more
external and practical exposure, such as coaching from external mentors, and developmental assignments – few of which,are readily provided by organizations.
> Mismatch Between Leadership Development Offerings and What High-Potential Leaders Desire© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Identifying High Potentials
Many organizations are caught in the same dilemma: how to
identify high potentials, how to develop them as leaders, andwhen to promote them. The benefits to having them are
obvious, but how can organizations maximize theircontribution and keep them engaged?
Simply identifying high potentials within the organization iscorrelated with positive business results. Companies that know
who their high potentials are have greater bench strength, andleaders who have been notified of their high-potential status are
more engaged and more likely to commit energy to growth anddevelopment opportunities. In ASEAN, turnover amongst highpotentials and the general leadership population is the same at
13 percent per year.
Many organizations are seeing this benefit. About 76 percent of
ASEAN companies we surveyed identify high potentials, and of
those organizations, almost 60 percent inform them of their
special status. While HR professionals mostly agree that theiridentification methods are unbiased (82 percent), theirevaluation methods are sound (83 percent), and that theirprogram is targeted to specific needs of this group (78 percent),
about 19 percent of leader respondents disagree with each of these statements (see figure above). Even more worrisome, afull 22 percent of respondents note that their organization’s process for identifying high potentials is inconsistent.

Are High Potentials Getting the Learning They Want Most?
In some cases, high potentials get the desired learning, but not often enough. In ASEAN long-term developmental
assignments rank as the number 4 most-desired learning method, and 59 percent of them have completed at least one
international assignment. About half (62 percent) have had a formal mentor. That said, 38 percent of leaders not identified
as high potential also have had a formal mentor, and 41 percent of those individuals have completed an international
assignment.
Considering this small difference, not much more is being done for high potentials, who strongly desire such experiences.
Additionally, though coaching from external mentors ranks number 2 on list of desired developmental experiences for highpotentials, it ranks number 9 in terms of what companies actually provide. Using books and articles is a commonly provided
developmental activity, but it ranks low on the list of the types of learning high potentials want at number 9. Organizations
can provide more targeted learning opportunities for high potentials by increasing coaching and developmental assignments
for them.
Among several key activities to identify and manage high potential, most HR professionals agree that their organization
evaluates high-potential performance but measuring effectiveness of programs is a weakness (see figure above).

WHERE TO START•••HOW TO EXCEL + DIFFERENTIATE

Consistently identify high potentials. You can do this via clear
evaluation criteria around competencies and expectations.
Evaluate high potentials’ success. Measure the success ofhigh-potential development programs to ensure thatofferings satisfy these leaders’ learning needs andpreferences.
Evaluate selection and promotion processes for bias andconsistency. This was an area of perceived weakness by HR
leaders in our study. If it’s a concern in your organization,
work with leaders to ensure that consistent, quantitative
measures of leader success are applied across theorganization.

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
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Give high potentials the tailored learning experiences they
crave. This means external coaching, short-term and special
projects, or rotational-placement programs. Someexperiences can be provided at low cost.
Provide simulations of major events or decisions. Theseexperiences allow leaders to practice reacting to realistic
scenarios. Networking events to expose high potentials to seniorleaders and mentoring programs can have significant impact aswell. Designing these experiences may require greater creativity
and thoughtfulness than typical development programs, butthey can lead to greater returns.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Performance Management
Are Ratings Overrated for Growing Leaders?

Several years into the “performance management revolution,”* debate continues on how best to approach the core, yet
deceptively nuanced, managerial activity of holding performance discussions with employees. Many organizations have
overhauled (in some cases, multiple times) their approaches to these conversations, oscillating across a matrix of how often(frequency of performance management meetings and revisions) and how development-centric (proportion of discussion
time devoted to personal development versus administrative oversight). While a trend is gradually taking shape toward
performance management that is more frequent, less formal, and centered around future growth, research is limited about
which approaches work best. Our research addresses these topics with a global sample pairing organizational practices withleaders who are both engaging and participating in (with their own managers) performance management discussions.
> Advantages of Development-Focused Performance Management© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Top Three Performance Management Practices
We started with a foundational question: What practices produce better performance management? Globally, we found in
those that tend to drive effectiveness:
1. Performance management is fair and transparent at all levels (31 percent increase in effectiveness).
2. Performance management discussions focus heavily on development planning (25 percent increase).
3. Performance management discussions occur continually, rather than yearly (24 percent increase).
The global data shows that performance management works best when fair, focused on development, and frequent. Whilethese findings might not be surprising, it’s notable that only 47 percent of ASEAN companies consistently have all threepractices in place with their leaders. That is, just because it’s logical doesn’t mean it’s being done.
Stepping outside the core performance management program, we looked at how this system relates to the broader context
of aligning and reinforcing leader performance. Worldwide, high-caliber performance management occurs simultaneouslywith several other practices: leaders exhibit and receive feedback on key skills, leaders regularly review development plans,
and the organization has up-to-date knowledge of leadership talent capability (essential for analytics and workforce
planning).

What’s the Impact of Dropping Ratings?
One of the most controversial, discussed (though rarely researched), and disruptive trends in performance management isthe elimination of ratings. We found that 20 percent of companies worldwide and 13 percent of ASEAN companies havedone so. This shift was particularly common in rapidly changing markets: China and India, and the professional services
and technology industries. Is this a sign of progressive action or of a retreat from solid practice?
When ratings are eliminated, the impact on performance management effectiveness is relatively slight—just a 7 percent
boost was observed across the globe. However, it was linked to a sizeable increase in leader quality and bench strength aswell as two forms of gender diversity. Companies that drop ratings have more women leaders as high potentials and atsenior levels. Removing ratings appears to reduce diversity-limiting bias.

Double-Down on Development
After finding that both development focus and discussion frequency were driving factors of performance management
effectiveness, we dug deeper to gauge which matters most. For organizations advising their leaders, what should
they recommend?
What leaders talk about matters far more than how often, shown in the graphic at left. Engagement levels for those whose
performance is being managed surge when at least 75 percent of the discussion centers on development (only 30 percent of
ASEAN leaders get this currently). The primacy of focus over frequency is so strong that it’s better to have a 75 percent
focused-development conversation once a year than a 25 percent development conversation weekly. While this certainly
isn’t recommended—frequency is important for many other reasons given the pace and agility of business—it showsdevelopment’s dominance.
The benefits of a development focus for performance management are no less powerful for leaders and organizations. For
leaders, it’s strongly linked to career path clarity, satisfaction with advancement, and strongly counteracts turnover
intentions. For organizations, it’s linked to higher leader preparation to face business challenges of customer change, digitalbusiness, and using data to guide decisions.
* Capelli, P., & Tavis, A. (2016, October), The Performance Management Revolution, Harvard Business Review.

WHERE TO START
•

•

•

•

HOW TO EXCEL + DIFFERENTIATE

Establish process fairness and transparency. Clearlycommunicate the factors used in ratings, updating as
needed when expectations change.
Center the discussion agenda on development. Though it’srarely possible to focus solely on development, prioritize ithighest (ideally, 75+ percent) to maximize outcomes.
Target a quarterly cadence. More frequent in-depth
performance management discussions are linked to higher
engagement; however, these advantages decrease beyond
every three months.
Gauge satisfaction with career pathing and advancement.
The more often managers meet with and revise leaders’performance plans, the more positively they view career
progression.

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Eliminate ratings only after recognizing the effects andplanning to fill the information gap. Dropping ratings is linked
to higher leader quality, bench strength, and gender
diversity. Companies that take this step keep emphasis on
talent status and often repurpose to development the timeonce spent discussing ratings.
Match the frequency of performance discussions to the paceof business. When discussions are held more often,
companies experiment more, are more agile, and havebetter adopted digital technologies.
Coach managers to drive engagement through development
discussions. Solid (and often-reinforced) manager skills are vitalto repeatedly plan and conduct personalized, growth-focused
discussions.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Want to Be a Leader?
Get an Early Start

For the past few decades, we’ve talked about the degree to which experiences shape leadership behavior. In Global
Leadership Forecast 2014|2015, we showed the specific types of job experiences that shape leadership behavior. Experiencesthat impact a leader’s career can occur well before a promotion to leadership or before that person enters the workforce.
This finding examines earlier life experiences, an area not previously addressed in our research.

The Earlier, the Better
The figure below shows the frequency of seven experiences and motivations from leaders. An early motivation to lead plays
a significant role in a person’s decision to pursue a leadership position. Slightly more than 74 percent of ASEAN leaders
surveyed had leadership ambitions early in their life or working careers. Two additional early life experiences may especiallyinfluence the motivation to lead:• Parents as working leader role models. 45 percent of leaders had parents who held leadership jobs.
• An elected or early volunteer leadership position. Nearly 67 percent of leaders held such a position (for example, clubpresident or sports team captain) long before they entered the workforce.
> Percentage of ASEAN Leaders Who Had Experience and Motivation© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

These findings are supported by a recently completed study with
The Conference Board, DDI, and RW2 Enterprises on Millennial
leaders* that involved interviewing leaders at all levels in several
Fortune 500 companies about experiences that shaped them. One
leader cited her parents’ role in providing lessons in how people
should be treated, and noted how this helped mold her character.
Another respondent recalled a leadership position in school
government.

> Early Experiences and Motivations with theGreatest Impact

Parents as leaders seem to have a stronger influence on theirchildren becoming leaders than does either having a formal
mentor or being a mentor. That said, mentorship nonethelesscontinues to provide considerable value to developing leaders.
The lower percentage (16 percent) of involvement in family-run
business might well trace to lack of opportunity rather than thevalue of the experience itself.
Finally, international assignments can occur anytime during aleader’s work life. Just over 33 percent of leaders completed atleast one international assignment. This is a surprising gap given
the rising number of multinationals.
Globally, there was a small gender difference for two of the earlyexperience values. Female leaders were more likely than maleleaders to have had parents in a leadership role. Males, on theother hand, had more of an opportunity to serve in a pre-career
leadership role. Perhaps gender role modeling becomes more critical for females in a male-dominated leadership work
environment. And, opportunities to lead may be less available to females before they enter the workforce.

Does It Make a Difference?
The figure above shows the global links between previous experiences, motivations, and outcome variables, with a check
mark indicating a positive relationship. We looked at leadership engagement and retention, leadership self-confidence (aleader’s perception of his or her own abilities versus those of peers), number of promotions, and designation as a highpotential individual. Both leadership self-confidence and high-potential status have strong relationships.
We also asked all leaders if they felt prepared to deal with nine challenges associated with working in a complex working
environment. Examples of survey items included operating in a digital environment, anticipating/reacting to speed ofchange, and acting decisively without clear direction. While not universal across all items, leaders across the globe are better
prepared to perform in today’s complex work environment when they’ve had some of the pre-career experiences.
* Ray, R.L., Sinar, E., Wellins, R., Wright, E., Popiela, A., Ye, A., & Paese, M. (2017, January), Divergent Views/Common Ground: The Leadership
Perspectives of C-Suite Executives and Millennial Leaders, New York, The Conference Board.

WHERE TO START••HOW TO EXCEL + DIFFERENTIATE

Consider previous experiences as you make leadershipselection and placement decisions.
Motivation to lead is essential and often a reason many newleaders are happy to return to a role as individual contributor.
Instruments and interview methods exist that accurately
assess motivation to lead.

•

•

•

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
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Seek opportunities to place employees in informal leadershipexperiences before they apply for or are asked to fill a formal
leadership role.
Explore the use of biodata to get a better read on an
individual’s probability of success as a leader. Artificial
intelligence (AI) soon will play a larger role in examining
prework and work variables in predicting leadership success.
Like marketing, IT, or any other profession, think of leadershipas a profession. Never underestimate the impact andinfluence you can have on your children or the younger
generation in encouraging them to consider leadership roles
inside and outside the work place.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

The Rise of theDigital Natives
Are Millennials Ready to Lead?
Millennials are digital natives. They grew up in a digital environment and seem to embrace technology in all aspects of theirlives. Although we often take for granted that this generation will lead us in digitization, are Millennials really up to thechallenge? Perhaps not as much as we would hope. When comparing preparedness to meet nine critical business challenges(such as navigating through complexity, chaos, and confusion; and acting decisively without always having clear direction),
Millennials—the generation born between 1982 and 2000—generally agree with their Baby Boomer and Generation X
counterparts about the challenges for which they feel most and least prepared, as shown in the figure below.
> As a Leader, How Prepared Are You to Meet the Following Business Challenges for Your Organization?

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Are Millennials Ready to Lead with Digitization?
Millennials feel slightly more prepared to operate within a highly
digital business environment than do Baby Boomers and Gen
Xers, but all generations could use more development in thisarea. Even for Millennials, it ranks fourth from the bottom. Given
that Millennials grew up with technology, we might think thatthese digital skills would be second nature. However, it seems
that they need additional preparation and training to really excel
at leading in the digital space.
In addition, Millennials rated themselves as slightly more
effective at digital literacy and leading with digitization skills
than members of Gen X and Baby Boomers did (see graphic atright). Millennials are less confident in their effectiveness at
leading virtual teams, perhaps because they lack overall
experience in leading teams.
Again, although Millennials rated themselves as more effective
than their older counterparts at some digital skills, these skills
were rated low across all generations. Organizations will need tostep up to prepare leaders to keep pace with rapidly evolving
technology advancements. They would be wise to arrange
additional training or to revamp hiring and collaboration
strategies to flow digital experts into more functions.

Differences Due to Generation or Life Stage?
In 2017, The Conference Board and DDI collaborated on the research report Divergent Views/Common Ground: The
Leadership Perspectives of C-Suite Executives and Millennial Leaders.* In that report, we found that much of the difference
we often attribute to generation is more closely related to career or life stage. Millennial preferences are not largely different
from those of previous generations at similar points in their careers.
We found this to be true in Global Leadership Forecast 2018 as well. As leaders climb the management ladder, they rate theireffectiveness at mastering leadership skills higher. Higher-level leaders, regardless of generation, are more effective atconnecting ideas, driving execution, and aligning toward common objectives. But there are some generational differences aswell. Millennial leaders across the globe:• Rate their intellectual curiosity higher than other generations.
• Are more likely to seek feedback and input from colleagues and mentors.
• Are more likely to want “stretch” assignments.
* Ray, R.L., et al.(2017, January), Divergent Views/Common Ground: The Leadership Perspectives of C-Suite Executives and Millennial Leaders, New
York, The Conference Board.

WHERE TO START••HOW TO EXCEL + DIFFERENTIATE

Build programs that leverage Millennial strengths. Millennial
strength in digitization and comfort with using data to guidebusiness decisions can enhance digital skills across theorganization.
Take advantage of Millennials’ digital ability. One way to do
this is through reverse mentoring programs. Millennials canshare digital literacy and social media savvy, while moreexperienced employees can share their organizational
knowledge to ensure that it’s not lost.

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Define your company’s current digital capabilities. Consider
the digital skills leaders of all generations will need to movethe organization forward. Then, articulate your digitalstrategy to the organization so that leaders can improvetheir own skills as needed.
Ensure that your leaders are equipped to lead withdigitization. Create a task force of Millennials to involve
them as part of the strategy development. If additional
expertise is needed, evaluate options for building or
acquiring it.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Generation X-Change

Don’t Underestimate the Powerful Influenceof Gen X Leaders
As companies grapple with how to transform and innovate better and faster, the population of leaders guiding thesedecisions is changing dramatically. Most popular discussions about the next generational shift has centered on the mass ofBaby Boomers retiring or the eager ascension of Millennials into leadership. Often overlooked is the next generation toleadership, Generation X, which is leading the way in a time of great change with technology advancement, how jobs areautomated and created, and how businesses are designed and transformed. Born between 1965 and 1981 and with an averageof 20 years’ experience in the workplace, members of “Gen X” are primed to take on nearly every important leadership rolein organizations. They already hold 58 percent of leadership roles and will continue to grow into more senior positions. Yet,
little is commonly known about what defines the Gen X leadership experience and style. It’s time for that to change.
> Four Key Findings on How Generation X Leaders from Stand Out© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

The Early Technology Adopters
Although Millennials are most recognized for having grown up with technology, Gen Xers were early technology adoptersand gamers who use social media more habitually than any other generation*. This has translated to their leadership skill
set. According to data from 9805 ASEAN leaders, ratings from Generation X show they are just as confident in their digitalleadership capability as Millennials, with slightly more than half of Gen X and Millennial leaders rating themselves as highlyor very highly effective (57 percent and 60 percent, respectively). This Gen X digital savvy is balanced by strength in moreconventional leadership skills such as driving execution and building talent, which are areas in which Millennials rated
themselves lower than both Baby Boomer and Gen X leaders.

Slower to Ascend, But Loyal
Perhaps part of the reason that Generation X has flown under the radar in the rise to leadership is that it happened slowly.
Baby Boomers occupied higher-level leadership roles longer in their careers and held off for later retirement. Meanwhile,
Millennials surged into the workforce eagerly, and although this younger generation has often been unfairly labeled as
impatient and promotion-needy, perceptions have an impact.
Gen X may have become the “middle child” in career advancement, as leaders from this generation have the slowest
promotion rate (see figure at left). Compared to leaders from the other generations, Gen X leaders received, on average, just
1.5 promotions in the last five years with their company, versus an average of 1.6 for Millennials and 2.5 for Baby Boomers.
Considering the number of years in the workforce compared to Millennials, Gen X leaders are advancing at the same pace as
Millennials.

Driving Growth Through External Learning
Although most Gen X leaders aren’t looking outside for a new job, they are seeking more external development andcoaching than any other generation. In fact, leaders from this generational cohort are much more likely than either
Millennial or Baby Boomer leaders to prefer external coaching over internal coaching. Most notably, 67 percent of Gen X
leaders said they would like more external coaching, compared to only 51 percent who said they want more coaching fromtheir managers—a 16 percent difference.
Gen Xers also reported that they want more externally developed (62 percent) than internally developed (57 percent)material to support their leadership development, whereas about equal numbers of Millennials (63 percent and 60 percent,respectively) and Baby Boomers (54 percent and 57 percent, respectively) reported wanting more of both types of material.
This is a strong indication that not only do Gen Xers see new opportunity in outside learning, but also that organizations
that can successfully employ more external learning may be able to extend their capabilities into new areas and lines ofbusiness with this next generation of leaders.
* 2016 Nielsen Social Media Report, http://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/corporate/us/en/reports-downloads/2017-reports/2016-nielsen-socialmedia-report.pdf

WHERE TO START•••HOW TO EXCEL + DIFFERENTIATE

Build tech capability with the right tools. Gen X leaders havea unique perspective on how to work with, develop, andleverage new technologies. Provide them, and all leaders,with the tools and support needed to leverage technology
for greater business impact.
Provide leaders with more external guidance. Encouragelooking outside the organization for coaching anddevelopment guidance, especially as leaders face new andmore complex business challenges for which they may nothave internal mentors.
Don’t promote generational stereotypes. Avoid catering
programs to any single generation or group so that you don’talienate others. Seek cross-generational feedback to
improve outcomes for everyone.

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Encourage leaders to challenge the status quo. Gen Xers
are taking the lead at a time when change is regular anddesirable. Provide them the freedom and encouragement
to try out new approaches and challenge old ones toencourage innovation and growth.
Leverage technology to support traditional development.
The large majority of leaders, regardless of generation, said
they want more traditional learning. Technology can be a
powerful enabler of that development. Gen X and Millennial
leaders will especially benefit from additional technologybased development tools they can access and control on
their own when needed.

www.ddiworld.com/glf2018

Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Diversity Leaders

How Top Organizations Are Growing Strong
with Women in Leadership
Worldwide forecasts call for women to effect significant, increased economic and financial impact in the next decade, bothas consumers and investors. Organizations have much to gain by engaging and leveraging female perspectives within theirworkforces, and there’s plenty of room to grow as women still comprise a minority within leadership circles. According todemographic data gleaned from more than 2,400 organizations around the globe, women currently inhabit less than onethird (29 percent) of all leadership roles, with the large majority being in first-level management positions. In ASEAN, 36
percent of leadership roles are currently occupied by women. Our global research reveals that companies that have reached
an above-average level of gender diversity overall (at least 30 percent) and at the senior-level (more than 20 percent),
outperform diversity laggards in key leadership and business outcomes. What can we learn from these diversity leaders, andwhat are they doing differently? The graphic below depicts key practices that enable a stronger pipeline of women at eachleadership level.
> Practices that Support Having a Stronger Representation of Women by Leadership Level© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Don’t Single Out Women, Or Anyone> Impact of Greater Gender Diversity

Worldwide, our research shows that companies achieving astronger balance of gender diversity sustain an advantage beyond
the numbers. Their leadership strategy relies not on meeting any
single demographic target alone, but in integrating diverse
perspectives into people, product, and business decision making
companywide. Beyond succeeding with diversity-enabling practices
identified in the graphic, they stand out in two key ways:• Inclusion is embedded within their culture. Leaders from
more gender-diverse companies indicated that maintaining
multiple and diverse perspectives is critical to achieving
success. They were twice as likely as their low-diversity
counterparts to report that their leaders work together tocreate new solutions and opportunities, and that multiple
perspectives determine success. They also reported a higher
level of collaboration across organizational boundaries.
Leaders from more gender-diverse organizations were 1.5
times more likely to work across organizational boundaries
and create synergies in their efforts.
• Their leaders operate with different mindsets, not skill
sets. On average, leaders from more diverse organizations
weren’t particularly more skilled in any single leadership area.
Rather, they were more likely to demonstrate a strong focus
on personal development. This development mindset isenabled by organizational practices that emphasize highquality development planning and more regular conversations on personal development.

Succeed with an Inclusive ApproachThis collaborative, integrated approach to growing leadership diversity translates to beneficial people and businessoutcomes (see graphic at right). Diversity-leading organizations, worldwide, were rated by their leaders as:• Having higher-quality leadership.
• Being faster-growing and more agile than their more homogenous counterparts.
• More likely to experiment and embrace failure in pursuit of different and innovative approaches.
Their successes also translated to an impact on the bottom line. Organizations with greater gender-diversity were 1.4 times
more likely to have sustained, profitable growth.

WHERE TO STARTHOW TO EXCEL + DIFFERENTIATE•

Seek the best recruiting sources. Continuously evaluate thedifferent channels leveraged for recruitment, and seek new
ones. You can’t grow diversity if you’re not creating new
ways of getting new perspectives into the building.

•

Reframe diversity goals. Not all diversity is easy—or possible—
to measure. It’s important to consider and value the potential
impact of any different backgrounds and experiences thatleaders can bring.

•

Hire and promote for diversity. Leverage valid, reliable dataon employee capabilities and personalities to guide hiringand promotion decisions.

••Seek out and encourage under-leveraged talent. Encourage
leaders to seek different perspectives for new projects andreward teams that harness inclusion of multiple perspectives
to generate new ideas and solutions.

Encourage knowledge-sharing through mentorship. Provide
new and early leaders with mentors from outside their ownfunctional areas to encourage learning and exchange ofdiverse ideas.

•

Continue to grow diversity. Provide high-performing womenwith stretch assignments to continue building their skills andcross-functional knowledge.

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Build a Coaching Culture
Want to Be a Better Leader?
Ask a Peer or Employee

Many organizations are fostering a coaching culture to reap benefits beyond senior-leadership levels. They’ve expanded
their focus to developing leaders at all levels and integrating coaching behaviors and expectations into everyday
conversations and formal talent management processes. In such a culture, learning can come from a variety of sources:
peers, managers, employees, and external coaches. When everyone in the company can be a coach, everyone benefits.
Leaders often underestimate what they can learn from their peers and employees on their teams. Global Leadership Forecast
2018 challenges notions of where learning can and should come from. For example, when organizations use peer andemployee coaching, leaders are more likely to feel strongly engaged and accountable to the company and their team thanwhen there is no coaching.
> When Everyone in the Company Can Be a Coach, Everyone Benefits© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Promoting Shared Leadership
Coaching by managers, employees, peers, or external mentors promotes in leaders a stronger sense of shared leadership.
This includes working with others across silos, collaborating to enhance organizational effectiveness, acting as custodians ofcompany purpose, and supporting critical activities that align with that purpose.
A coaching culture emphasizes the skills of seeking and listening versus telling someone what to do. When asked for their
input, peers and employees feel free to challenge and provoke thinking or offer solutions that might not have been
considered. Given the chaotic and fast-changing business environment, having leaders at all levels of the organization (notjust those at the very top) coaching each other can provide greater agility to solve problems across the enterprise. A
coaching culture creates space for these conversations and daily coaching moments between leaders and teams, as well as
between colleagues and peers.
A point of disconnect found in the study highlights that while ASEAN leaders—including high potentials—want morecoaching from external mentors (ranked number 2 on a list of 10 learning types), organizations aren’t providing this methodof learning (ranked at number 9 of 10). This is an area of opportunity that companies can leverage to support engagement
and retention.

What Is the Value of Coaching to Organizations?
Measuring and proving the benefit of coaching are not simple tasks, as it can be difficult to isolate its effects from otheractivities. The Conference Board’s recent study, Global Executive Coaching Survey 2016*, finds that organizations tend toevaluate coaching efforts with different approaches. Some of these include formal and informal conversations with key
stakeholders, monitoring coaching deliverables, assessment of satisfaction by those who were coached, and assessment of
behavioral change by managers.
While demonstrating the impact of coaching on business performance remains a challenge, Global Leadership Forecast 2018
finds specific areas of leadership impact that organizations will find valuable. Global data reveals organizations that use
coaching:• By direct managers and external mentors show greater leadership bench strength, promote more leaders from within,
and are more likely to have a pipeline of talent to fill roles immediately.
• In any form (from external coaches, managers, peers, or employees) cultivate leaders who have a greater understandingof their future leadership career paths and greater satisfaction with their advancement.
• With an external mentor experience lower leader turnover (more so than with coaching from managers).
* Lui Abel, A., Ray, R.L., & Nair, S. (September 2016), Global Executive Coaching Survey 2016, New York, The Conference Board,
https://www.conference-board.org

WHERE TO STARTHOW TO EXCEL + DIFFERENTIATE•

Initiate and build a coaching culture by embedding
coaching elements into talent management processes(training programs, performance management processes,
development plans).

•

Enhance your coaching culture by designing personal andcustomized coaching solutions. These can be targeted typesof coaching (development-focused, transition, career, onboarding, team or group, and inclusion coaching).

•

Develop leaders at all levels to be coaches. Enhance seniorleader communication around the value of coaching andcreate incentives and rewards to reinforce coaching
behaviors.

•

Use analytics to measure and communicate the impact ofcoaching. This can be a game-changer.

•

Many organizations use internal coaches (formal executive
coaches who are also employees) whose understanding ofcorporate dynamics and cultural norms allows them to guideleaders in navigating change and integrate teams to boost
performance. Internal coaching can scale efforts in building
a coaching culture and supporting a larger pool of leaderslower in the hierarchy.

•

Coaching often can be included in leadership cohort
programs as a strong complement to other learning
activities.

•

By including (and rewarding) coaching behaviors in
performance expectations, every leader at any level candemonstrate the skills with peers, managers, and teams.

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Mentoring for Impact

How to Maximize a Critical Leadership Experience
For many reasons, mentoring is one of new leaders’ most sought-after development experiences. Not only does it enable
them to gain broader, deeper perspective and knowledge of their business, but it also allows leaders to network and connect
with people outside their immediate functional groups. And its benefits extend beyond the individual being mentored.
Organizations that operationalize mentoring gain connections between new leaders and mentors, keep practical experienceand wisdom in house, and break down silos between functional groups. Yet, despite the potential impact, less than half oforganizations in ASEAN (45 percent) have a formal mentoring program for their leaders. What distinguishes the successfulorganizations, and what is the impact of engaging more leaders in formal mentoring relationships? The graphic below
depicts some of the benefits and sheds light on why more organizations and leaders should engage in mentoring.
> Organizational Benefits of Having a Formal Mentoring Culture© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Seven Findings on the State of Mentoring
We explored the state of mentoring across the full set of 2,488 organizations that participated in Global Leadership Forecast
2018. We found that few factors differentiate the organizations that offer formal mentoring beyond the benefits they andtheir leaders are receiving (see graphic at left). Here are the top seven findings about mentoring from leaders andorganizations across the globe:
1. Most leaders have had no mentor. Only 40 percent of the leaders in ASEAN have had a formal mentor.
2. Fewer early leaders have access to mentors. The majority (61 percent) of first-level leaders in ASEAN have not had aformal mentor. This represents a wasted opportunity, given the proven payoff.
3. More Millennials have had mentors (but not in ASEAN). In the global findings, organizations are giving
Millennials more mentoring opportunities compared to their longer-tenured counterparts (about half of Millennials
have had a formal mentor compared to 2-in-5 for Gen X and Baby Boomers). However, in ASEAN, only 39% ofMillennials and Gen Xers have had a formal mentor compared to 41% for Baby Boomers.
4. Mentoring is gender neutral to a point. Just as many men and women have had mentors (40 percent and 40
percent, respectively) and have mentored others (58 percent and 56 percent, respectively). Among leaders in higherlevel and senior-executive roles across the globe, more women have had mentors than men, indicating that this is a
critical experience for women to advance their careers.
5. Not all senior leaders are mentoring. Although nearly half (44 percent) of senior leaders have had mentors, a large
portion are not passing on their experience or knowledge to junior members in their organizations. Approximately onethird (34 percent) of senior leaders reported they have not formally mentored anyone.
6. Few organizations offer formal mentoring for their leaders. Less than half of organizations surveyed (45 percent)provide formal mentoring.
7. More financially successful organizations offer mentoring. Globally, 54 percent of organizations in the top thirdfor financial performance have formalized mentoring programs, compared to only 33 percent of organizations in thebottom third.

Broader Knowledge Networks
When designed to cross organizational boundaries, mentoring programs can facilitate an exchange of knowledge andexperience that informs younger employees. These programs also put mentors in touch with other parts of the organization,
elevating knowledge transfer between disparate sections. In fact, organizations that encourage mentoring are alreadybenefitting more widely from these guided interactions. Across the more than 25,000 leaders in our global study, those fromorganizations with formal mentoring programs were 1.7 times more likely to feel well prepared for capturing organizational
knowledge before it’s lost than were leaders from organizations without formal mentoring.

WHERE TO START•

Encourage formal and informal mentoring. Although formal
mentoring programs should establish and foster guided
connections and interactions between junior and seniorleaders, it’s also valuable to encourage leaders and nonleaders to seek informal mentorships, especially in the reverse
with senior leaders seeking out their junior colleagues to gain
new perspectives.

•

Develop mentoring contracts. Mentoring is a valuable
investment of a leader’s time to share knowledge andexperience. Provide mentors and their charges with
examples of how to clearly communicate expectations forthe mentoring relationship, and also set guidelines inadvance for the mentorship.

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

HOW TO EXCEL + DIFFERENTIATE

39•

Build mentoring networks. Organizations can go only so far inconnecting and establishing mentorships. Foster peer
learning by establishing mentoring networks, so that when
there isn’t formal guidance on a specific question or need,leaders can seek the help and support of others throughout
the organization.

•

Make mentoring a retention strategy. Leverage mentoring
connections to foster retention. Be purposeful about
matching mentors to junior leaders who are at greater risk ofturnover.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Collective Leadership

Leading for Value Across Organizational Boundaries
In the 21st century, operating environments and models will become increasingly complex across new geographies andproduct/service lines with shorter half-lives than in the past. Navigating this complexity will require leaders to work
together more seamlessly across boundaries within and—with greater frequency these days—outside (for example withpartners and alliances) the organization. Collaboration is fast becoming a premium capability. In Global Leadership Forecast
2018 we’ve identified what organizations with strong collective leadership have in common. Their leaders work together
effectively, create value horizontally, form multidisciplinary teams, and constantly bring diverse perspectives together towork on their toughest issues. These organizations display strong—even turbocharged—confidence in their ability toconquer many of the challenges facing the business world today. Of course, collective leadership is not always appropriate;
there are times when more directive leadership is required.
> Leader Capability to Meet Business Challenges in High Versus Low Collective Leadership Organizations© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

What Is the Impact of Collective Leadership?
Organizations with strong collective leadership (see figure at left) make better-informed decisions. They use data to guidetheir decision making, and they excel at bringing in multiple perspectives from across the organization. Collective
leadership organizations are also more confident in responding to the competitive environment and acting on customer
needs. The collaboration process enables them to bring a breadth of insight and experience, which, in turn, improves the
rigor of debate.

Is Collective Leadership Always the Answer?
Globally, collective leadership organizations are found to have less of an advantage for acting decisively or effectively
navigating complexity, chaos, or ambiguity.
When the environment demands decisive action, companies need to shift from collective to directive leadership. Thisrequires adaptive leaders who can read the situation and use authority when required.

Collective Leadership Organizations Develop Stronger, More Engaged LeadersFinding the right leaders and building bench strength poses an increasingly daunting challenge in today’s business world.
Asked what keeps them awake at night, CEOs frequently tell us: “Do I have the leaders I need to deliver our strategy?”
In ASEAN, collective leadership is equated with:• More than six times higher likelihood of a strong leader bench (51 percent versus 8 percent).
• Sixty seven percent decrease in leaders at high risk of leaving (9 percent versus 15 percent).
• Sixty two percent increase of “definitely engaged” leaders (81 percent versus 50 percent).
The global data shows that constant learning is in the DNA of collective leadership organizations. Leaders give more
feedback to each other, as well as seek it more often. There’s a culture of learning that cuts across boundaries as leaders
work together toward a common cause: to develop each other as they go.
This translates to engagement and commitment. Leaders bring more energy and find a greater sense of purpose in theirroles (twice the levels of other organizations). They’re part of a wider team, which raises their engagement and reduces their
desire to leave by 10 percent versus organizations that don’t have collective leadership.

So, What Underpins Collective Leadership?
Collective leadership cultures are safe. Across the globe, people in collective leadership cultures feel safer to bring up toughissues—by more than twice the levels within the other organizations. Psychological safety is a main feature of people’s ability towork collectively and collaboratively. People are unafraid to admit a mistake, ask a question, or offer a new idea, confident thatthey won’t be embarrassed or punished.
Development becomes a team sport. Leaders in collective leadership organizations face challenging conversations andget more opportunities to provide feedback to senior leaders. They are more likely to prioritize creating chances fordevelopment and advancement for all.
Experiential practices support collective leadership. Our global data reveals organizations that score high in collective
leadership use experiential learning to develop leaders. They’re three times more likely to adopt coaching/mentoring fortheir leaders and five times more likely to use stretch assignments to build critical skills and to reinforce the culture.
WHERE TO STARTHOW TO EXCEL + DIFFERENTIATE•Create leadership teams that cut across boundaries andbecome models of collective leadership. Give them real
challenges to get the experience of working collectively.

•

Map out the leadership capabilities required to manage thecomplexity that can undermine the benefits fromcollaborative leadership/culture.

•

Build skills that enable leaders to work collectively. Work on
game-changers like hyper-collaboration, inspiring others,
and leading in a virtual world.

•

Build teaming capability at scale. Support the effective
design and development of teams across the organization.

••

Make your leaders aware of what it takes to establish a safe
environment. Do they welcome divergent views? Do they
understand that getting it wrong is an opportunity to learn?

Deepen empathy for the enterprise. Can all of your leaders“stand in the shoes” of their peers? Do they understand theimportance of making decisions that go beyond the interestof their function?

•

Accelerate team performance by helping members
understand styles, leveraging differences to their advantage.

•

Give leaders skin in the collective game. Reinforce,recognize, and reward collective leadership behaviors
through formal and informal incentives.

•

Create a purpose-driven organization where all leaders andtheir teams drive towards common goals.

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

It’s Time for Teamsin Leadership
The Power of a Shared Leader Perspective
Mounting pressures—complexity of work such that no one person has all the knowledge needed to solve problems, trends
toward multidisciplinary work groups, and the rise of agile project management approaches—are renewing attention on theunique and critical value of team-based work. Our research shows that these expectations aren’t limited to individual
contributors, but are also shaping the future of leadership. Based on data from more than 2,500 HR professionals, three ofthe top six skills viewed as most critical within three years are closely associated with team effectiveness:• “360-degree thinking” to act on input coming from multiple sources and perspectives.
• “Hyper-collaboration” requiring leaders to work cooperatively with others.
• “Leading virtual and remote teams.”
Collectively, these forces raise the stakes for leaders’ willingness to work as a team, and for companies to respond in kind byenabling a culture of shared leadership.
> How Senior Leadership Teams Are Stronger with a Shared Perspective© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

True Leadership Teams: Still a Rarity
For many organizations, shared leadership is an aspiration, not yet a reality. In ASEAN, only a slight majority (64 percent) ofleaders feel either that they and their peers are engaged in mutual influence and shared sense-making, or that leaders truly
collaborate to enhance the company’s effectiveness (68 percent).
Other signs of cooperative leadership are even weaker. For example, only 14 percent of ASEAN companies extensively
employ coaching from peer leaders as a learning method. Overall, many companies show questionable readiness to adopt
and take advantage of a team concept for their leaders.

The Risks of Top-Level Misalignment
It’s important to understand the consequences of a talent approach that doesn’t build commonality across leadership teams
and that fails to see leaders as a group needing to be unified by common mindsets and mental models guiding theirdecisions. At the senior-most company ranks, these risks are particularly severe: They can lead to entire business units
drifting away from a core strategy and senior leaders who cascade a discrepant set of operating and leadership principles
through their entire reporting structure.
In this research, we looked across data from multiple members of more than 60 senior leadership teams across the globe (CSuite and executive VP-level leaders within the same company) to gauge the impact on leadership and business outcomes ofleaders with widely varying responses. We found three areas where a lack of senior team calibration—as shown by morevariation across leader responses—was most damaging:• Energy and development passion: Vigor and energy on the job; looking for opportunities every day to develop
employees. Organizations suffer when senior leaders differ in their willingness to continually push themselves andothers to grow.
• Future-focused leader skills: Identifying and developing future talent, leading through digitization (that is,leveraging technology to manage the workforce more effectively). Companies where senior leaders are inconsistent insuch skills see worse talent and business outcomes.
• Views on company culture: Degree to which the organization is sluggish or agile, whether the company focuses moreon current challenges or future vision. When senior leaders aren’t well-grounded on where the company stands now (orwhere it needs to head) on these key cultural factors, positive outcomes are much rarer.
Globally, organizations with well-calibrated senior leadership teams have higher bench strength (ability to immediately andconfidently fill critical leadership roles). They have leaders who react more decisively to change and are better able to act on
shifting customer needs and perspectives. These effects of a shared leadership mindset are shown in the graphic at left.

Alignment Isn’t Constant Agreement
This research isn’t about seeking full agreement and a lack of healthy debate among leadership teams. Some forms oftension certainly can be functional*. However, a lack of seni0r leader alignment on key cornerstones of passion, talent
growth, and cultural readiness for the future notably weakens a company’s ability to build a robust leadership pipeline andto respond adeptly and with agility to market and customer challenges.
* Leonard, O., Wiita, N., & Milane, C. (2017, September 18), The Best Senior Teams Thrive on Disagreement, Harvard Business Review.

WHERE TO START•

Build shared mental models about leadership. Create andsocialize shared frameworks for roles and expectations.

•

HOW TO EXCEL + DIFFERENTIATE•

Hire and promote for team profiles. Seek valid, reliable data
about leader personalities and skills to guide decisions aboutteam composition.

Don’t confuse alignment with agreement. Differences inperspective are valuable; differences in fundamental viewsof oneself or key business challenges are much more
destructive for talent and agility outcomes.

••

Experiment with agile methodologies. Agile project
management, once solely used for technology organizations,deeply incorporates and can build momentum for teambased approaches.

Use objective diagnostics to discern and act on team-level
patterns and dynamics. Go beyond standard org chart or“heat map” views for dynamic, interactive views of how
leaders will work together as a team.

••

Address misalignment in critical facets early. Don’t let
misalignment in passion, skills, and culture fester until they
appear in their most damaging form at senior levels.

•

Target unifying purpose through team chartering. Arm leaderswith techniques to ground new teams in a common vision.

Develop leaders in cohorts. Cohort-based developmentbuilds commonality in how leaders approach their roles as
employee growth champions and advocates, and in theirskills to identify talent and leverage technology to manage
the workforce, providing a safe forum for open discussion of
the company’s culture.

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Adjusted for Disruption

Top Drivers of Organizational Success ThroughComplexity and Change
Exponential technology and market change are motivating organizations and their leaders to continually rethink, redesign,refocus, and readjust. Within this complex environment, what might have made businesses successful in the past can’t
necessarily be counted on for the future. As a result, more organizations are looking to optimize their capability to sense
customer and market needs, shift stakeholder mindsets, and adjust their activities. Our global research indicates thatorganizations rated as more agile by their leaders differentiate themselves in key leadership practices that drive more
informed, frequent adjustments. Paired with leader capability to sense and act on needed changes, these companies are
better prepared to anticipate trends, respond to competitive forces, and adjust to changing customer needs.
> Organizational Practices that Drive Organizational Agility—and Better Shift-Making© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Sense, Act, Shift, Repeat> The Impact of Organizational Focus on
Internal Customers

Organizational agility requires understanding and anticipationof how the market environment will change, so that its leaders
can maneuver successfully and rapidly. Our research showsthat more-agile organizations have leaders who are better
positioned to meet this challenge. Globally, their leaders are
3.2 times more prepared to anticipate and react to the natureand speed of change, and 1.2 times more capable ofresponding to the competitive environment.
These organizations enable practices that improve theirleaders’ capability to sense and respond to change (see figure
at left). Specifically, they excel in three areas:• Informing decisions through data and analytics.
More-agile organizations in ASEAN leverage data andanalytics to fuel their sensing capability, with 95 percentof their leaders indicating that they’re prepared to use
data to guide business decisions. This contrasts to only
76 percent at low-agility organizations. They were also
2.3 times more likely to leverage data to make strategic
talent decisions.
• Integrating multiple and diverse perspectives todrive successful change efforts. ASEAN leaders in
more-agile organizations are 2 times more likely thantheir low-agility counterparts to collaborate and rely on
diverse perspectives to create new solutions andopportunities, and 1.9 times more likely to use multiple
perspectives to gauge success.
• Encouraging rapid development of new and improved capabilities. Twice as many leaders at more-agileorganizations in ASEAN indicated that failure is embraced or rewarded in pursuit of innovative or different approaches(58 versus 22 percent, respectively).

Adjusted for Continuous Leader Improvement
You can’t consistently anticipate how to succeed with your customers without understanding their needs and growing withthem. Our research on over 2,400 organizations across the globe found that those that excel in their focus on externalcustomers—who are more agile and more likely to sense, act, and shift around those needs—have been just as effective with
their internal customers. As shown in the figure above, their efforts pay off in leadership outcomes that will help ensure
continued success as they readjust efforts.

WHERE TO START•

Drive first for speed. Encourage leaders to seek rapid
deployment and feedback for new prototypes so that theygather the information needed to quickly make decisions
and adjust.

•Identify data blind spots. Inventory data sources anddetermine if there are gaps in the information needed tosense for and make decisions.

•

HOW TO EXCEL + DIFFERENTIATECreate cross-functional, shared goals. Set common goals
across different parts of your organization to encourageinterdepartmental cooperation and collaboration. This will
help identify and remove information silos and barriers that
can impede change efforts.

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

45•

Think big, act small. Rapid deployment of new and improved
capabilities requires quick communication and decision
making, which can be enabled by a smaller group.
Organizations that ranked highest in agility were smaller insize and less likely to have grown in complexity due tomergers and acquisitions.

•

Aim to “adjust,” not “adapt.” Organizations that are more
successful have adopted a mindset of tinkering andadjusting. Adapting generally implies change that happens
over time, whereas adjusting can be instantaneous.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

No Engaged Workforce
Without Engaged Leaders
To Raise Leader Engagement,
We Need to Raise Up Leaders
The direct link between engagement and bottom-line results is clear to the leaders we surveyed. When asked how they will
drive better business performance, ASEAN respondents said they would focus on enhancing organizational talent (72percent), building a high-performance culture (75 percent), and engaging employees (72 percent). In aggregate, 93 percentof leaders told us they are engaged, and 89 percent want to stay on with their organization to make an impact. Thesefindings are encouraging, as leaders continue to wield the greatest single impact on workplace engagement. But thefindings, summarized in the figure below, also reveal important areas where they need support—particularly in careerdevelopment, a key driver of employee engagement. The fact that 43 percent of leaders believe they will need to move on toadvance their career is a wake-up call.
> Organizational Practices that Drive Organizational Agility—and Better Shift-Making in ASEAN© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

HR professionals in ASEAN indicated that only 68 percent of the leadership development programs they supervised wereconnected to business priorities. Only 48 percent of HR leaders report that their leaders have high-quality, effective
development plans, while only 53 percent report that their leaders have regular reviews of that plan with their manager andonly 59 percent deliver sequenced leadership development programs – versus independent events. No wonder many areunclear about their leadership path and feel they must leave the organization if they are to advance! In ASEAN, intent toleave has increased for 14 percent of respondents, but decreased for 45 percent, with 41 percent unchanged. Millennial
leaders are slightly more inclined to leave than leaders in other generations (19 percent compared to 14 percent for
Generation X and 10 percent for Baby Boomers). HR responses revealed that attrition for high potentials was the same (13percent) for all leaders.

To Raise Employee Engagement Levels, HR Needs to Step Up
HR needs to do a better job of supporting these leaders because disengagement is infectious. And a toxic culture can takeyears to rebuild. Engagement—and in turn, retention—doesn’t happen by accident. It takes concerted organizational effort,a motivated leader, and employees who take responsibility for their own engagement. Globally, there is a link between
collaborative cultures and higher retention.
Leaders at all levels need support. A full 61 percent of leaders in ASEAN have never had a mentor (though 58 percent mentor
others) and, perhaps more disturbing in a global work world, 68 percent of ASEAN leaders have never had an international
assignment.
Here’s good news: When rating their eﬀectiveness in using inspiration (motivating increased employee energy and eﬀort)
and empathy (deepening relationships with others by perceiving and acting on their emotions), most leaders said they wereat least moderately eﬀective in using both skills (95 percent and 94 percent, respectively), which are hallmarks of anengaging leader. Critically, they want to lead—74 percent see it as a leader’s role as custodian of the organization’s purpose
to a great or very great extent. About three-quarters (77 percent) of these leaders support critical activities aligned withpurpose. Well over half (80 percent) of the ASEAN companies have articulated vision, mission, and purpose statements;
conversely, only 63 percent have an employee value proposition. Here, leaders can play a crucial role in making theconnection between the job an employee does and the organization’s vision, mission, and purpose—a significant
engagement driver.
The findings in this study corroborate engagement-related research at The Conference Board*. The 12 behaviors mastered byhighly engaging leaders include:
Provides a strong sense of meaning and direction by:
1. Developing a compelling vision of what people canaccomplish.
2. Communicating in a way that brings people along.
3. Setting a clear strategic direction for direct reports.

Builds a high-performance environment by:
7. Setting high standards.
8. Creating a sense of urgency.
9. Empowering employees.
Unlocks employees’ full potential by:
10. Building relationships one person at a time.
11. Providing clear and consistent rewards/recognition.
12. Driving development and growth.

Brings out collective brilliance by:
4. Building trust and acting with integrity.
5. Challenging the status quo and inspiring creativity.
6. Fostering a culture of collaboration.

* Ray, R.L., Hyland, P., Pressman, A., Dye, D.A., & Kaplan, J. (2016, February), DNA of Engagement: How Organizations Build and Sustain Highly
Engaging Leaders, New York, The Conference Board, https://www.conference-board.org

WHERE TO START•

Build engaging leaders. Forge a robust leadershipdevelopment program that will develop, retain, andempower leaders at all levels.

•

Ensure that the basics are in place: job descriptions,behavioral anchors, custom development plans, on-demandand formal training programs, experiential learning
opportunities, and continuous feedback.

HOW TO EXCEL + DIFFERENTIATE•

Build an engaging culture. Start with the senior-most
executive leaders becoming champions for change. Like
everything else, the tone starts
at the top.

•

Embed messages about the business case for engagement
into all communications. Monitor progress and celebrate
successful milestones.

•

Align strategic projects with leadership development efforts
to ensure that leaders are exposed early on to real-world
challenges.

•

Leverage your engaged leaders by asking them to mentor
other leaders, participate in development initiatives, andcoach their peers.

•

Communicate the path for leaders as well as the skills tomaster along the way. Set up a mentoring program andteach managers how to coach so that their now-enhanced
engagement is contagious.

•

Reward and celebrate your highly engaging leaders; they
are the factory for your leadership cadre.

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

HR’s New Role

Are They Up to the Challenge?
In Global Leadership Forecast 2014|2015, we put forth the concept of a new role for HR, moving from the overused term of“partner” to “anticipator.” Only a small number of HR professionals, worldwide, considered themselves Anticipators. Even
fewer leaders thought their HR colleagues fell into this category. Not more than six months after the release of the Forecast,
Harvard Business Review devoted an entire issue to the role of HR. The provocative title of the lead article? “Why We Love
to Hate HR and What HR Can Do About It.”* The opening salvo of this piece summarizes the state of HR: Recent complaints
about the HR function have touched a nerve in a large, sympathetic audience. The most vocal critics say that HR managers
focus too much on “administrivia” and lack vision and strategic insight. Let’s take a deeper dive into HR’s changing andevidence-based actions to build their competence and credibility.
> Shifting Perceptions of HR’s Role over the Past Three Years in ASEAN© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

HR Professionals: A New Role

> Eight Practices that Anticipators Do More
Effectively Than Partners

We defined three categories for HR professionals:• Reactor: Sets and ensures compliance with policies;
responds to business needs; installs basic initiatives tomanage talent.
• Partner: Works toward mutual goals with line managers;
shares information with the business about talent issue
gaps; provides HR solutions.
• Anticipator: Uses analytics to forecast talent needs;
provides insights and solutions to ensure high-quality
supply of talent; links talent planning to business planning.
Every HR professional must perform some tasks in each role.
However, while over the past decade HR professionals havefocused on their function’s operating models, policies, andsystems, they now must refocus on how to manage talentstrategically. HR must make the transition to the Anticipator’srole, and that hasn’t happened.
Fewer than one in five ASEAN HR professionals (18 percent)consider themselves Anticipators, almost the same percentagethat consider themselves to be Reactors (19 percent). And again,
business leaders are less likely to place HR professionals in the
Anticipator role. In both 2014 and 2018, ASEAN business leaders
were 2.1 times as likely as HR professionals to use the Reactor
label.

Making a Difference
So how can HR professionals make progress?
Based on data from over 2,400 organizations across the globe, we looked for talent practices that differentiate the three
categories of HR professionals. While dozens of practices set Reactors apart from Anticipators and Partners combined, we
wanted to focus on those practices that statistically separate Partners from Anticipators. These are shown in the figure
above.
Too often there’s a weak link between strategic and HR planning. In fact, only 28 percent of global HR respondents feel that
this connection is tight and starts early in the planning process. Throughout Global Leadership Forecast 2018, we’vehighlighted the importance of predictive analytics, which are the Anticipator’s lifeblood. And, for the first time, thetechnology is in place to better advance analytics. Analytics are essential to maximizing your investments toward improving
leadership quality and supply.
* Capelli, P. (2015, July), Why We Love to Hate HR and What HR Can Do About It, Harvard Business Review, www.hbr.org/2015/07/why-we-loveto-hate-hr-and-what-hr-can-do-about-it

WHERE TO START•

Take a step back and gauge. Which of the three roles bestreflects HR in your organization? Don’t forget to seek input
from line managers.

•

Move toward the Anticipator role by improving HR capability inthe eight evidence-based practices described in the figure.

•

Ensure that HR is well represented in your company’s
strategic planning process.

•Step up to greater accountability by providing businessleaders with the support and tools they need to bolster
engagement, employees’ sense of purpose, and growth.

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

HOW TO EXCEL + DIFFERENTIATE

49•

Ensure that you’re building stronger predictive analytic teamcapability.

•

Consider more rotation of respected line leaders within andout of the HR function.

•

Step up to greater accountability. HR’s role is to createbusiness value through talent. They own this imperative.

•

Deploy smart HR technologies to enable leadership effectivenesswhile freeing up HR professionals’ time to concentrate on the
more value-added tasks their businesses require.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

HR Under Pressure

Falling Behind in the Race to Transform
The future of work is not tomorrow. It is now, and the implications for our workforces are profound. New career paths,
evolving organizational structures and business models, analytics, and digital disruption are trends every HR professional
faces. Never has the role of HR leadership been more important in making this transformation happen. Business leaders nolonger need to be convinced how important talent is. In a recent article, “The CEO’s Guide to Competing Through HR,”* theauthors conclude that HR needs to step out of its traditional silo and embrace a strategic role, using talent to drive value
rather than just responding passively to the needs of the business. While HR leadership should be in an enviable position, in
reality it’s losing the race. Their organizations are changing faster than they are, putting them even farther behind. We’ve
devoted two findings to HR leadership. The section “HR’s New Role: Are They Up to the Challenge?” identifies the evidencebased practices that drive better HR performance. Here, we address the changes HR leaders are experiencing and how
prepared they are to meet key workplace challenges relative to leaders in other roles.
> How ASEAN HR Leaders’ Jobs and Attitudes Have Changed over the Past Three Years© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

HR in the Pressure Cooker> HR Leaders Versus Other Leaders on Key
Challenges

For ASEAN, 534 HR professionals completed the HRspecific version of Global Leadership Forecast 2018, alongwith 9805 leaders who responded to the leader version.
Additionally, eight percent of the leader population were in
HR, giving us another rich source of data.
We started by asking HR professionals how their jobs andattitudes have changed over the past three years (see figure
at left).
HR professionals reported a considerable increase for every
experience or challenge. In fact, only two items rated
relatively low: intention to leave current job and working
across countries/culture. Most notable, by far, is the impact
of digital disruption on the HR role in the form of anincreased need to up their game in applying both HRtechnology (80 percent) and analytic skills (75 percent).
Pressure to demonstrate financial impact, also requiring keen
analytic skills, was on the rise at 68 percent. Near the top ofincreases was the need to become a trusted senior advisor
with 72 percent reporting increased pressures. As we saw inthe section “HR’s New Role,” perceiving a need to change is
far different than making one. For HR professionals, 22
percent are thinking more about leaving their organization.
However, on a more positive note, 75 percent felt moreengaged.

The graphic above is based on the global sample of HR leaders’ responses to the leader survey. They were asked to rate how
well prepared they felt for each of seven items characterizing the ever-changing work environment (volatility, uncertainty,
complexity, and ambiguity). The number depicted in the graphic represents the difference between the “very effective”
responses of leaders who are in an HR role versus all other leaders. In every case, HR leaders felt less prepared than theirpeers in other leadership roles. These responses are concerning. The work world is experiencing considerable upheaval, yet
only one in five HR leaders, on average, felt very prepared to handle the challenges on the graphic.
Worse yet, the biggest differences are in their perceived effectiveness to operate in a digital environment and use analytics,
despite the increased pressure they’re feeling to do so. For example, more than 37 percent of leaders worldwide felt very
prepared for a digital workplace. Not an impressive number. By comparison, only 16 percent of HR leaders felt the same way.
Consider this: The digital age will exert a more profound impact on our workforce in about one-tenth of the time of any
other massive economic shift. Yet, those HR leaders who should be taking charge to prepare tomorrow’s leaders are farther
behind than those they’ll need to support.
* Bafars, F., Ellsworth, D., & Gandhi, N. (2017, July), The CEO’s Guide to Competing Through HR, McKinsey Quarterly.

WHERE TO START•

Focus on building capability in business acumen, advanced
analytics, and new HR technologies. Elsewhere in this report,
you’ll see that the areas where HR leaders are feelingpressured correspond to areas where their performance isperceived to be lacking.

•We suspect that HR leaders may be under-investing in theirown learning as they strive to meet the growing learningneeds of leaders in other functions. In reality, HR should befirst in line for increased resources and in a continual learningmode.

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

HOW TO EXCEL + DIFFERENTIATE

51•

As “owners” of leadership development, one of HR’s chiefroles is to prepare leaders for digital transformation. Yet, HR
leaders are less prepared than leaders in other functions.
Building HR’s digital leadership skills is essential not only todevelop others, but also to manage impending radical
changes in HR technologies.

•

HR professionals often label themselves as the enablers oftalent development, while line managers are the real owners.
HR leaders need to take primary ownership for ensuring that
their organizations have the talent in place to meet current
and future business challenges.

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

People Analytics
Mixed Findings

Pressure on the HR function to adopt and excel in people analytics—defined as “the systematic identification andqualification of the people drivers of business outcomes, with the purpose of making better decisions”*—has been intense
for several years. Analytics are viewed as a prime route to greater strategic influence, and the thirst for deeper analytics
know-how has spawned a five-fold spike in interest over the past five years. Hundreds of articles have been written in HR
publications, dozens of conferences dedicated, and entire academic programs in HR analytics offered at universities such as
Cornell, Texas A&M, and New York University. With this steady drumbeat of exhortation and energy, surely HR has grown
its proficiency in analytics methods since Global Leadership Forecast 2014|2015, right? This current Forecast took a detailed
view of analytics progress and practices across more than 2,500 global organizations to ask: What’s the status? What’s
emerging? and What works to drive HR—and the enterprise—forward?
The figure below presents the state of people analytics practices. The top two rows [] present the percent of ASEAN
organizations succeeding in each analytics practice along with the associated three-year success trend. The bottom tworows [] show the impact of each analytics practice in terms of an organization’s leader bench strength and financial
performance based on the global data set of over 2,400 companies.
> People Analytics Practices: Success, Trends, and Impact= Global Report Data

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
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= Region Report Data

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A Pleasant Surprise (or Mixed Results)
Contrary to global trends where success rates declined (between 2 and five percent) over the past three years for every typeof analytics practice shown in the figure at left; ASEAN organizations yielded improvements since 2014, albeit slight andwith some variability across countries where improvements came predominantly from the Philippines.
The struggle was less for more traditional types of analytics (internal benchmarking and gathering efficiency, reactions, or
results metrics) compared to emerging forms of analytics, such as creating growth-centric leadership planning models, using“what if” scenarios to forecast future talent needs, and data visualization and storytelling to compel the audience. On
average, 27 percent of ASEAN companies were succeeding in the former, while 22 percent were successful in the latter.
Despite modest success rates and 75 percent of HR professionals in ASEAN reporting an increase in their analytics skills anddata-driven decision making, this clearly isn’t enough to keep pace.

Highest-Impact Analytics Practices
Though success rates are similar across analytics types, distinctions between them become clearer when linking toleadership and business outcomes. By doing so, we can show which forms of effective analytics outperform the others. The
graphic at left shows the link between various types of analytics and two critical outcomes: bench strength (the ability to
rapidly fill critical roles with qualified internal candidates) and a financial composite of revenue growth, operating margin,
EBITDA, and return on equity.
Every type of analytics showed a notable link with one or both outcomes, led by benchmarking internally, creating
leadership-planning models, and using data visualization/storytelling techniques. On average, companies excelling in theseanalytics were 6.5 times more likely to have high bench strength and 3.1 times more likely to outperform peers financially.

It’s Not Just About the Numbers
It’s easy to make the mistake that analytics are just about the numbers. But analytics also drive and exemplify objectivity andfairness. Companies strong in people analytics have more gender diversity in leadership (especially high-potential pools), a
stronger culture of promotion from within, and higher leader success rates.
The bottom line: More analytical practices are more diverse practices, and they reinforce strong “grow your own” cultures. When
analytics are in place, so are objective decision-making tools, systematic processes, and a bias-free, up-to-date status of talent.

Analytics as Accelerator
Analytics accelerate HR professionals deploying them: Across the globe, those succeeding with advanced analytics are 6.3 times
more likely to have new advancement opportunities and are 3.6 times more likely to have a stronger reputation with seniorbusiness leaders.
And analytics accelerate talent practices, making good ones even better. Companies that create leadership planning models,gather results metrics, and are adept at data visualization and storytelling see a higher return on their talent investments
than those that neglect or struggle with these practices.
* van den Heuvel, S., & Bondarouk, T. (2017), The Rise (and Fall?) of HR Analytics: A Study Into the Future Application, Value, Structure, andSystem Support, Journal of Organizational Effectiveness, 4, 157–178.

WHERE TO STARTHOW TO EXCEL + DIFFERENTIATE•

Confirm business questions. Analytics that fail to start withbusiness (not just HR) questions will be challenging to execute
and, often, wholly unpersuasive to stakeholders.

•

Build skills in visualization and storytelling. These are powerfulways to communicate data; such messages are morememorable and persuasive than numbers or text.

•

Get your data house in order. Spend time planning your data
foundation to avoid misinformed or impossible analytics.

••

Align effort toward highest-impact methods. Internalbenchmarking, leadership planning, andvisualization/storytelling had the strongest outcome links in our
research.

Recognize analytics as change management. Numbers mean
nothing if they don’t drive action; pair analytics with interactive
data views to build engagement about a practical pathforward.

•Map talent scenarios to business strategies. Sophisticated, highimpact workforce planning matches talent needs to growth
projections, ensuring that talent is where it’s needed and when.

•

Build internal and external networks. Seek partnerships with
data-minded individuals across functions, local interest groups,
and internal analytics centers of excellence.

••

Staff for data savvy. Analytics is a team sport; develop and hire
not just for abilities in data science, but also business acumen,visualization, and ethics.
Adopt proven methods such as key driver analysis, text analytics,
survival analysis, decision trees, and scenario planning.

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
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Leadership Megatrends and Payoffs
The research summarized in this report shows the powerful and pervasive—yet rarely fulfilled—impact of leadership
practices on organizations striving to meet their business challenges, now and in the future. We’ve delved into over twodozen findings focused on how these enterprise-level objectives are achieved. Each finding includes precise, practical
recommendations for learning from top-performing companies and for listening to and maximizing the potential ofleaders themselves. Now, it’s time to take a step back: first, to see the overarching trends emerging from the research as
consistent guiding principles flowing broadly into all aspects of leader talent management; and second, for an
integrated look at the links between practices and payoffs as fuel for assembling a comprehensive leadership strategy.

Six Leadership Megatrends from Global Leadership
Forecast 2018
Digital Reshapes the Workforce: Across nearly every facet of the research, we saw the influence of digital readiness.
Digitally advanced organizations and leaders are already outperforming their less technologically savvy peers, who risk
being left behind, permanently.
Data’s Power Extends Beyond the Numbers: We expected to see data as an increasingly valuable commodity for people
and business decisions. But we didn’t anticipate the heavy influence data and analytics have on business’ human side:
inclusivity, agility, and fairness.
Culture Looms Crucial: Leadership strategies will fail without solid cultural cornerstones—clearly grasped and enlivened
purpose, peer coaching, experimentation, psychological safety, and fully incorporated, diverse gender and generationalviews.
DIY Is DOA: Leaders who stand (and learn) alone—not given access to or eschewing coaching from peers and mentors,
and failing to adopt a collective, shared, and team-centric view of leadership—may survive in the workplace, but theysurely won’t thrive.
The Potential Pool Swells to a Lake: Organizations taking a broad view of potential—expanding their reach to activate
and accelerate leadership talent—prove more financially successful, feature stronger top leaders, and employ more
women at every leader level.
HR Navigates a Challenging Road Ahead: HR’s reputation as an Anticipator has taken a hit along with its declining rates
of analytics success. Also, HR’s own digital readiness is lacking. If this isn’t addressed soon, HR’s ability to drive digitaladvancement will be crippled.

Leadership Practices Scoreboard
Across 2,400+ organizations, which practices have the strongest payoffs for leadership and financial performance? The
table on the facing page shows 34 leadership practices across four categories. The percentage of organizations using
the practice is indicated along with the impact that each practice had on three outcomes from the research: Program
Quality (aggregate leader-rated quality of assessment, development, and performance management programs); Bench
Strength (supply of capable leaders for critical leadership roles within the next three years); and the organization’s
Financial Performance (composite of operating margin, EBITDA, revenue growth, and return on equity).
Key
No circle = nominal impact© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

= moderate impact

54= strong impact

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Global Leadership Forecast 2018

Leadership Practices Scoreboard
Links to Outcomes Based on Global Data Set
Percentage of ASEAN Organizations Using Each Practice
Program
Quality

Leadership PracticeBenchStrength

Financial
Performance

Percentage
Using

Talent Management
Leadership development programs begin with a diagnosis of leader strengths/weaknesses.

73%

Leadership competencies serve as the foundation for multiple leadership talent management
systems.
Talent review processes have a reputation for being fair and objective.
Competencies required for success in key leadership positions are clearly defined.
Information from assessments and simulations is used to guide leader development plans.

76%
77%
72%
68%

Information from assessments and simulations is used to make leadership hiring and promotion

67%

decisions.
Individual leadership initiatives, programs, and processes are well integrated and aligned to key
business priorities.

68%

Systematic processes (e.g., strategic talent planning) are used to identify the quantity and qualityof leadership required to drive future business success.
We know the up-to-date status of our leadership talent capability across the organization.

65%
60%

We use a formal process for identifying employees who could become global/multinational

50%
56%
45%

leaders.
We use formal programs to ensure smooth leadership transitions at all levels.
Formal mentoring programs are available for leaders.
Performance Management
We have a fair and transparent performance management system at all levels.
Performance management discussions occur ongoing rather than just once a year.
Performance management discussions include a heavy focus on personal development planning.
Ratings have been eliminated from our performance management process.

79%
72%
61%
13%

Development
Leaders practice and receive feedback on key skills with their managers.
Leaders are offered a library or learning system from which they can choose on-demand courses.
Leaders receive development personalized specifically for them rather than as part of a cohort.
Leaders regularly review their development plan with their managers.
Leadership development modules are positioned with leaders as a planned sequence rather thanas independent events.

72%
47%
54%
53%
59%

We have a dedicated learning experience manager (someone who designs and sequences
personalized, engaging learning for leaders).
Our leaders have high-quality, effective development plans.
Managers who fail to develop their leaders receive negative consequences as a result.

45%
48%
42%

High Potential

We measure the effectiveness of programs for developing high-potential leaders.

89%
78%
82%
83%
84%
78%
64%
60%
67%

The identities of leaders labeled as high-potential are well-known within the organization.

59%

High-potential leaders’ performance in developmental assignments is carefully evaluated.
Developmental activity for high-potential leaders is targeted toward their specific development needs.
Our process for identifying high potentials is unbiased and nonpolitical.
We collect objective assessment data on high potentials’ capabilities, potential, and readiness.
Managers are held accountable for supporting high-potential leaders.
The process for identifying high potentials is consistent across the organization.
We have a mentoring/coaching program specifically for high-potential leaders.
High-potential leaders are told and aware of their special status.

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Appendix: Demographics
Organization Characteristics© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
Board Inc., EYGM Limited, 2018. All rights reserved.

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Leader Characteristics

HR Benchmarks
We asked HR participants to provide general information about the makeup and turnover and success rates of their leaders.
The figure below provides median benchmarks from organizations across the globe. The bars represent the general range of
responses received from HR respondents (between the 10th and 90th percentiles); the green dots indicate the average of allorganizations; and the yellow stars indicate how leading organizations (represented by those with the highest leader quality
and bench strength) responded on average.

© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
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About DDI
With 1,100 associates strong worldwide, we work side by side with clients to build a sustainable pipeline of leaders to meetbusiness needs—today and in the years ahead. Because, like you, we believe better leaders lead to a better future, we havededicated ourselves to the science and practice of leadership for nearly five decades. Our solutions draw from our four areasof leadership expertise: Strategy | Selection | Development | Succession Management.
We’ve worked with clients to define and achieve great leadership at every level, from aspiring leaders all the way to the CSuite. Our promise remains constant: Together, we can co-create a solution that is unique to your organization and aimed
squarely at meeting your business goals. To learn more about DDI, join us at www.ddiworld.com

About The Conference Board
Founded in 1916, The Conference Board is a global, independent business membership and research association working in
the public interest. Our agenda is simple: to help leaders navigate the biggest issues impacting business and better serve
society. We believe in innovative approaches that make you think—and act—differently. And everything we do reflects the
input of our members and their real-world challenges.
We do this by delivering business insights. We connect senior executives across industries and geographies to share ideas,
and our experts create fact-based research and consensus-driven policy statements to help leaders address their mostimportant business issues.
Because we are independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit, our work is trusted. If you learned it at The Conference Board, you
can count on it. To learn more about The Conference Board, visit us at conference-board.org

About EY’s People Advisory Services
EY’s People Advisory Services believes a better working world is helping our clients harness their people agenda—the rightpeople, with the right capabilities, in the right place, for the right cost, doing the right things.
We work globally and collaborate to bring clients professional teams to address complex issues relating to organizationtransformation, end-to-end employee life cycles, effective talent deployment and mobility, gaining value from evolving andvirtual workforces, and the changing role of HR in support of business strategy. Our EY professionals ask better questions
and work with clients to create holistic, innovative answers that deliver quality results.

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About the Global Authors
Evan Sinar, Ph.D., is DDI’s Chief Scientist and Vice President. He designs and executes analytics linking
leadership programs to business outcomes and produces actionable insights about talent trends and people
practices, including leading DDI’s Global Leadership Forecast and High-Resolution Leadership research
programs. He is a top influencer for analytics, data visualization, and people science, frequently authoring onthese topics for major conferences and publications. His work has been featured in Chief Learning Officer,
Training Magazine, and numerous other publications. Evan holds a Ph.D. in industrial and organizational psychology and is
a Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
Richard S. Wellins, Ph.D., is a leading expert on teams and leadership. He recently completed a 35-year careerat DDI, where he was head of global research and marketing. He currently serves as a senior research associatefor HR.com, DDI, and EY. Rich received his Ph.D. from American University. He has authored six books,
including the recent Your First Leadership Job. He speaks at major conferences around the world and has
published more than 50 articles. His work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Fortune, and the BBC.
Adam L. Canwell, a Partner, People Advisory Services, Ernst & Young and a global leader of EY’s leadershipoffering based in Melbourne, Australia. He has more than 20 years’ experience in providing people advisory
services to clients. He has delivered transformation programs across multiple product and service industries –working with FTSE 100 (or their equivalent) organizations. Adam has an MSc in coaching and consulting forchange from HEC at Oxford University and an M.A. (Oxon) Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford
University.
Rebecca L. Ray, Ph.D., serves as the executive vice president, knowledge organization, for The Conference
Board. She oversees the research planning and dissemination process for all three practices areas (Corporate
Leadership, Economics and Business Development, and Human Capital) and is responsible for defining the
research agenda that drives the company’s business planning process. She is responsible for continuing
integration of The Conference Board’s research and engagement efforts. Rebecca is author of numerous articles
and books, including her coauthored works Measuring Leadership Development (McGraw-Hill) and Measuring the Success of
Employee Engagement (ATD).
Stephanie Neal, M.A., is a consultant in DDI’s Leadership Reach Center. She conducts research to explore
workplace and leadership trends, including topics focused on executive leadership and gender diversity.
Stephanie is the author of “Your Next CEO Should Be a Social CEO” and a coauthor of Ready-Now Leaders:
Cultivating Women in Leadership to Meet Tomorrow’s Business Challenges and Women as Mentors: Does She or
Doesn’t She? A Global Study of Businesswomen and Mentoring.
Amy Lui Abel, Ph.D., is managing director of Human Capital at The Conference Board. She leads research
efforts focusing on human capital analytics, leadership development, labor markets, strategic workforce
planning, talent management, diversity and inclusion, human resources, and employee engagement. Amy has
been published in People & Strategy Journal, The SAGE Handbook of Workplace Learning, Human Resource
Development Quarterly, and ATD’s TD magazine.
Amanda Popiela is a researcher for Human Capital at The Conference Board. She conducts research in avariety of areas, including talent management, employee engagement, and diversity & inclusion. Her recent
reports include Mental Health and Well-Being in the Workplace and Divergent Views/Common Ground: The
Leadership Perspectives of C-Suite and Millennial Leaders.

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Joe Dettmann, Ph.D., a Partner/Principal, People Advisory Services, Ernst & Young LLP and a North
American leader of EY’s leadership offering. He has a Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology and has
spent his career as a human capital and talent management consultant. At EY, Joe has been instrumental in the
Future Work Now transformation offering and helps clients design for the future of work and optimize their
human capital by activating modern talent strategies. As part of that, he has been the architect of EY’s Futureof Work Readiness Index technology and has led the development of EY’s Digital Leadership offering.
Liz Collins, M.S., is a Senior Manager in People Advisory Services, Ernst & Young LLP. She has a Masters inorganizational psychology from Columbia University and has spent her career working with clients to develop
data supported workforce strategies in tandem with the client’s talent management programs, people key risk
programs, and organizational and leadership development activities. Liz works primarily with Financial
Services clients across Banking, Capital Markets and Insurance.
Louise Rolland is Executive Director, People Advisory Services, Ernst & Young. She came from academia, andher work focuses on all aspects of workforce and talent strategy. As a labor demographer, she has led aninternationally focused research agenda to investigate the impact of demographic change and global labor
trends on business. She is a thought leader and pragmatic strategist who works closely with clients ondesigning practical responses to the changing world of work and the implications for leaders and their people.
Tony Cotton is a Senior Manager, People Advisory Services, Ernst & Young LLP. He is an organizational
psychologist and psychometrician with over 30 years’ experience. He has conducted workplace research inAustralia, Canada, and the UK. Tony has worked directly with senior leadership groups in organizations acrossa range of sizes and functions providing high level workplace research and statistical analysis of workforce
survey data. For five years, Tony was responsible for the design and analysis of one of the largest workplacesurveys in the Southern hemisphere.

About the ASEAN Authors
Suchada Chuensuksawadi is the Vice President for DDI’s ASEAN and Korea operations and is responsible forthe creation and implementation of the region's business strategy, financial performance, and overall
operations. Accomplished on a broad range of leadership and talent management practices, Suchada provides
counsel to a diverse range of organizations and industries, identifying needs and proposing solutions primarily
in the areas of leadership development, succession management, and talent acquisition.

Belinda Sy is a Principal Consultant for DDI Philippines, and the Regional Assessment Lead for ASEAN andKorea. She counsels clients on succession management interventions, which include the design andimplementation of assessment solutions, feedback and development coaching sessions, and conduct ofstrategic talent reviews. Bel also trains in-house assessors and feedback providers for the region and serves asmeasurement mentor. She holds two masters’ in psychology from the Ateneo de Manila University and New
York University.

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Sponsors
Association for Talent Development
The Association for Talent Development (ATD, formerly ASTD), is the world’s largest association dedicated tothose who develop organizational talent. These professionals take the knowledge, skills, and abilities of others
and help them achieve their full potential. ATD’s members come from more than 120 countries and work inpublic and private organizations in every industry sector. ATD supports the work of local professionals in more than 125
chapters, international strategic partners, and global member networks. Visit www.td.org

CNBC
CNBC, First in Business Worldwide, is the recognized world leader in business news and financial information,
providing the latest real-time market information, unrivaled coverage of breaking news, in-depth analysis andinterviews with business leaders and political figures from around the world. CNBC has a distribution of
approximately 409 million households worldwide. Visit www.cnbc.com for more information.

HR Certification InstituteFor more than 40 years, top executives have put their trust in fully accredited HR Certification Institute®
(HRCI®) credentials when making hiring and promotion decisions. As a result, more than 500,000 HR
professionals worldwide have strengthened and advanced their careers and strategic value by meeting
HRCI’s rigorous certification standards. Visit HRCI at www.hrci.org

HRoot
HRoot is a leading human resources media and Internet company in China, with brands and services
such as www.HRoot.com, Human Capital Management magazine, Overclass, Society for HR
Executives, and more. More than 20,000 people have attended HRoot’s offline events each year, while
its publications have a readership of 30,000. HRoot serves more than 20,000 customers now, including more than95 percent of the Fortune 500 companies in China. Visit www.HRoot.com

Human Resource Excellence Centre
Human Resource Excellence Centre (HREC) is China’s upmarket, professional, and influential
membership-based organization for HR professionals. By the end 2017, more than 3,500 companies hadjoined HREC as corporate members. HREC member services include events, magazines, survey reports,
public and in-house training, corporate visits, etc. HREC is a premier resource for leading HR professionals in China toachieve organizational goals and boost individual growth.

Manufacturing Leadership Council
Founded in 2008, the Manufacturing Leadership Council’s vision is to create and inspire a global
community of manufacturing executives who believe in the proposition that manufacturing is thefundamental driver of economic and social prosperity, and that its growth will lead to a better
future and a higher standard of living for all people. The MLC’s mission is to inspire manufacturing executives to achievetransformational growth for themselves, their companies, and for the industry at large through enlightened leadership.

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Acknowledgments
This study was a true global effort between three partners. The authors would like to acknowledge the invaluable
contributions of the following people:
Executive Stakeholder Team
Evan Sinar, Gina Dickson, Richard Wellins, Rebecca Ray, Amy Liu Abel, Sayed Sadjady, Adam Canwell
Project Management Team
Beth Gillen, Amanda Popiela, Liz Collins
Research Advisors
Mike Kemp, Sarah Mogan, Kirsten Jaeger, Frank Steemers, Ben Cheng
Graphic Design
Janet Wiard, Kelli Passalacqua
Cover Design
Susan Ryan
Editorial
Bill Proudfoot, Mike Gillen
Project Contributors
Ashley Heinrichs, Elizaveta Belfer, James Court, Daphne Luchtenberg
WebMark Hamilton, Stacy Infantozzi, Joe McBride, Keri Hritz
Global Participant Recruitment
Sinem Bahceli, Lucero Barbosa Martinez, Stella Chang, Elizabeth Chivers, Michelle Emanuele, Alex Fasken, Priscilla Giglio,
Frisca Harmala, Chiqui Ho, Julie Hogan, Yumi Ikeda, Sirin Kont, Sofía López de Aréchaga, Christal Martin, Gayatri Patankar,
Amy Reed, Charna van der Merwe, Sarah Zhu© Development Dimensions International, Inc., The Conference
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About

About

About

DDI

The Conference Board

EY

We work side by side with people who arerelentless about identifying and developing
leaders who perform and will leave anenduring legacy. Because better leaderslead to a better future, we’ve been
obsessed with the science and practice ofleadership for nearly five decades. We help
clients uniquely define and achieve great
leadership at every level of theirorganization, from aspiring leaders all theway to the C-Suite. Our promise remains:
Together, we can co-create a solution
that’s aligned with your business context
and aimed squarely at your business goals.

The Conference Board is a global,
independent business membership andresearch association working in the public
interest. Our mission is unique: To provide
the world’s leading organizations with thepractical knowledge they need to improvetheir performance and better serve society.
The Conference Board is a non-advocacy,
not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) taxexempt status in the United States.
www.conference-board.org

EY is a global leader in assurance, tax,
transaction and advisory services. The
insights and quality services we deliver help
build trust and confidence in the capital
markets and in economies the world over.
We develop outstanding leaders who team
to deliver on our promises to all of our
stakeholders. In so doing, we play a criticalrole in building a better working world forour people, for our clients and for ourcommunities.

> Strategy> Selection> Development> Succession Management
www.ddiworld.com

EY refers to the global organization, andmay refer to one or more, of the member
firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, eachof which is a separate legal entity. Ernst &Young Global Limited, a UK company
limited by guarantee, does not provide
services to clients. For more information
about our organization, please visit
ey.com.

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