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SINGAPORE, March 12, 2020 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

Only 15% of executives confident their companies’ top leadership will succeed

12 March 2020, Sydney: Only 15% of business executives worldwide have

confidence in their company’s own top leadership successfully to manage

disruption – including unexpected events like pandemics, technological

advances, shifting demographics and climate change, a global analysis from

the international executive search firm Odgers Berndtson reveals today.

This lack of confidence is striking since 95% of executives also believe that

managing disruption well is now critical for companies to succeed in turbulent

times. Odgers Berndtson concludes that successful companies will have to

"reinvent leadership" for the modern world.

"Business executives lack confidence in the ability of their top people to

drive future success. This is a crisis not just for those businesses, their

shareholders and employees, but also the wider economy," said Mark Braithwaite,

Managing Partner of Odgers Berndtson APAC.

'The added challenge for business leaders in Australia is that we are likely to

enter our first recession in over 30 years," said Tim Sleep, Managing Director

of Odgers Berndtson Australia. "Business leaders who know how to lead

organisations in a downturn and have the right qualities to succeed in the face

of accelerating future change will be in high demand as few will prove able to

win market share in more challenging business conditions.'

Using a methodology developed with Harvard Business Review Analytic Services,

the firm today launches The Odgers Berndtson Leadership Confidence Index. Using

data from almost 2,000 senior executives, managers and board members of

companies with sales from $50 million to $5 billion around the world, this gives

a first measure of confidence in the ability of top leaders to drive success in changing times.

The Index also identifies what qualities and attributes in top people companies

need most to thrive in changing times. In its report, Odgers Berndtson notes

that 88% of senior managers and executives expect disruption to increase over

the next five years, and almost as many (85%) say it has already had an impact

on their organisations.

The stakes are high. According to Harvard Business Review Analytic Services

(HBR-AS), 95% of senior executives around the world now believe managing

disruption well is not only vital to the success of their company but also

brings "discernible competitive edge". The longevity of top companies is

getting ever shorter, with some in the US for example, predicting half of the

current Fortune 500 companies will disappear over the next decade.

Only 16% of senior managers believe their company's top leadership has managed

disruption well to date, and only 15% are confident they will do well in

future. The majority (61%) are tentative but a quarter (24%) actively worried –

with similar results across all global regions.

This crisis of confidence appears most stark when it comes to individual roles

and leaders, notably chief executives. While 85% of respondents believe the CEO

has the most critical role to play, 40% express doubts that the person in the

top role will manage disruption well over the next five years.

"The uncomfortable truth for some CEOs is that a strong track record does not

equate to having the capabilities to deal with future disruption," Odgers Berndtson

notes in its report.

However, the Index shows confidence is also lacking in all C-suite roles –

including key top jobs such as finance, human resources and technology – and

that there are clear differences between the top 15% of leaders, who inspire

the most confidence, and the rest. "The more progressive leaders see only opportunity,"

Odgers Berndtson notes. "What is required is a healthy attitude towards change."

The Index also compares companies that score highly on confidence in their top leaders

with those that don't. Confident companies are the most positive about their leadership's

courage, vision, and curiosity, plus their ability to drive a sense of purpose.

"Successful companies will recognise that mindset as well as skillset is

critical in their leadership," Mr Sleep said. "Agility is key, both at the

organisational level and in the individual characteristics of leaders inspiring

confidence. Attributes of mindset are now very important if individuals are to

adapt and seize opportunities in the face of unprecedented disruption."

"What we are finding is that the leaders who are successfully thriving now are

much more collaborative with their colleagues, says Mark Braithwaite, Managing

Partner of Odgers Berndtson APAC, and author of "Leadership Disrupted", a book

published last year which explores how CEOs across APAC handle disruption. "If

leaders have the humility to accept that they don't know everything, they can

create a culture of innovation where they include a lot more people in thinking

through business problems, not expecting to be right every time."

Odgers Berndtson believes an evolution in leadership is required for companies

to thrive in a world of complexity and uncertainty, combining the drive,

adaptability and curiosity required for constant change, with the vision and

courage to lead change and resilience to stay the course. Leaders need a mindset

to cope with change, and the humility to move on from old command and control structures.

Notes

1. HBR-AS Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, The State of

Leadership: Is Disruption Creating a Crisis of Confidence? (2020)

2: Innosight

https://www.inc.com/ilan-mochari/innosight-sp-500-new-companies.html

Key Findings, Methodology and Notes overleaf

SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS:

Taken from The Odgers Berndtson Leadership Confidence Index 2020. Full report here

- 85% of global organisations have been impacted by disruptive change, and even

more (88%) expect this will increase over the next five years.

- 95% of senior global executives believe managing disruption is vital to the

success of their company and brings competitive edge.

- Only 16% of senior executives and managers worldwide have confidence in what

their top team has delivered to date.

- Only 15% of global leaders are inspiring confidence about succeeding through

disruption. 24% of respondents are actively worried about leaders' performance.

- Confident organisations are also the most positive about their leaders’

vision, courage and curiosity – scoring over 80%, against under 5% for the most

worried organisations.

- Confident organisations are better at overcoming common obstacles to managing

disruption well, which all face. 58% of worried organisations said resistance

to change was their biggest obstacle to managing disruption well, compared to

just 31% of confident organisations.

- Confidence in top bosses is low across all different geographic regions.

Between 14% and 17% of organisations across all parts of the world believe top

leaders have what it takes to succeed. The Index found North America had the

highest level (27%) of organisations actively worried about the ability of

their top leaders to manage well.

- There are major gaps between the importance attached by senior executives to

top leadership roles, and their confidence in the ability of those in them.

When it comes to CEOs, 85% believe they have a critical role, but 40% doubt the

current CEO will succeed in the next five years.

- Senior executives are least confident in their leadership team's abilities to

manage talent and drive change.

- Among those most worried about disruption, resistance to change is cited as

the biggest obstacle to managing disruption, followed by lack of vision from

their top leaders (respectively at 58% and 56%). The challenges are greatest

for organisations that are worried, and not managing well, because their top

leaders are less effective in these areas.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

For this study we defined disruption as the unsettling forces that can

impact an organisation's strategic direction and challenge its operational

capabilities, such as emerging technology, competition from unexpected

quarters, the impact of climate change, regulatory oversight, innovative

business models, rising customer expectations, and shifting demographics.

THE ODGERS BERNDTSON LEADERSHIP CONFIDENCE INDEX

Methodology

The Odgers Berndtson Leadership Confidence Index is believed to be the first

measure of confidence in global business leaders and their ability to manage

through disruption and drive success.

The methodology has been developed by Odgers Berndtson with Harvard Business

Review Analytic Services (HBR-AS). Our analysis is based on responses to a study of

1,890 senior executives, representing companies with revenues ranging from

$50 million to over $5 billion.

The Index provides a single measure of confidence in leadership's ability to succeed

through disruption by combining the responses to questions examining 44 attributes

and activities of leadership. The Index also measures confidence in leadership skills,

experiences, motivations and behaviours. Companies with high and low confidence

scores are compared to highlight those leadership activities and attributes that are found

to a much greater degree in organisations that feel positive about future success.

About Odgers Berndtson

Odgers Berndtson delivers executive search, assessment and development to

businesses and organisations varying in size, structure and maturity around the

world. The firm has specialist practices which focus on over 50 sectors,

commercial, public and not-for-profit, with over 250 Partners and their teams

in 29 countries. Across the Asia Pacific region, the firm has offices across

Australia, India, China, Japan and Singapore

Odgers Berndtson is the fastest growing retained Executive Search firm in

Australia, combining a deep understanding across industries and functions in

the local market with the knowledge and expertise of a truly global network

offering search, leadership assessment, and interim management capabilities.

www.odgersberndtson.com

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SOURCE: Odgers Berndtson