Leadership is increasingly defined by an individual’s performance and ability to influence others, as opposed to his or her organizational title, a survey by the American Management Association found.
Additionally, the survey found that a rising number of companies are placing an emphasis on global leadership development (GLD) in order to prepare all categories of employees to perform effectively in a global marketplace.
The 2013 Global Leadership Development Survey was conducted by the American Management Association (AMA) in conjunction with the Institute for Corporate Productivity and Training magazine. The fourth annual survey included almost 1,200 senior business and human resources executives representing nearly 40 industries.
Among respondents, 39% said their organization defines a leader as an individual who can “influence a group“, regardless of direct report relationships.” Meanwhile, 14% of executives defined a leader as a top performer, whether or not the individual was responsible for managing others.
“The implication of this broader definition of leader is that companies need to redesign their processes for identifying who is a leader for developmental purposes,” the survey noted.
Other definitions of leader cited by survey respondents included: any employee with the title of manager (13%), director (9%) or vice president (6%); and anyone in charge of a group of employees or a function (17%).
Almost 40% of executives surveyed indicated that their organization offers training designed to boost employees’ capacity to interact with suppliers and customers in other nations. By comparison, 31% of respondents in the survey said their companies offered such GLD programs.
The survey identified two aptitudes as most important in terms of global leadership: problem-solving/critical thinking; and managing change. However, respondents also spotlighted four areas where GLD programs should place more focus: social networking; creativity; virtual technology; and innovation.
“Companies want to ensure that employees master the global skills and competencies required to work optimally with customers, suppliers, colleagues, and distributors from a wide variety of cultures anywhere in the world,” AMA Enterprise Senior Vice President Sandi Edwards said in a statement.
AMA Enterprise is a division of the American Management Association.
