‘India Inc least prepared for challenges’

Though these ratings are higher than those in the global sample,they indicate a leadership quality gap. Only half of leaders in India are perceived as being of high quality,” talent management firm DDI said in its ‘Global Leadership Forecast 2011’.

The study,conducted in 74 countries,involving 1,897 HR professionals and 12,423 leaders,said leadership quality not only affects the bottom line but also helps in reducing the attrition level.

Organisations with higher quality leadership retained more employees than their competitors,and they also had more engaged and passionate leaders,it said.

To achieve high-quality leadership,companies need effective leadership development and talent management systems,the report said,adding more Indian organisations compared to their global counterparts are prioritising development for all their leaders.

“More organisations in India increased their leadership development budgets in 2011,compared to companies globally,and even more plan to ramp up spending in the coming year. This is because India has been less affected by recession and adding new leaders at a record pace.”

It further observed that Indian organisations have high expectations from their leaders,especially around speed to performance,meaning that there is just no time for them to take development slow and easy.