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Succession Planning

Published March 2007

Executive Skills: Talent at All Levels

 

  Nancy Thomas, Scott Saslow and Pam Watkins

In the past, the road to the executive suite and the requirements for success as an executive were fairly clear-cut. Those days are long gone.

As both the economy and corporations undergo major change much more frequently, the role of the executive also changes, and the required background and experience are more varied. A fresh look at business challenges, the competencies required to lead organizations and how executive development professionals can groom top talent is paramount.

What is on the "Executive Agenda?"

The executive agenda has evolved quite dramatically over the past several years. The economy has emerged from the recession of the early 2000s, and the global barriers to making and selling products  are falling rapidly. Generally, operational efficiency has been supplanted with growth and innovation, as organizations need to increase profitability with top-line revenue growth and take advantage of new world markets that are now accessible.

According to "CEO Briefing: Corporate Priorities 2006," a report published in The Economist, several challenges to running a successful global company over the next three years have emerged that will directly affect talent management and serve as drivers of change in organizations overall.

•    Customers in Multiple Markets. New markets mean new product and service adaptations, changes in marketing approaches and flexible pricing models. Organizations have reams of customer behavior data from those in the more developed markets. For newly developing markets, there is no such history to examine. A lot of trial and error is required to understand customer interests.

•    Managing Remote Teams. In the West, managers have spent a few generations trying to figure out how to lead teams of individuals who typically sit within 30 feet of one another (and they still have a ways to go, by the way). Now add different cultures, languages and time zones; limited relationship building because of distance; and 10,000 miles separating workers and managers. That's a challenge.

•    Finding Talent Globally. The war for talent knows no boundaries. With technology and a fluid economy, talent is highly mobile. That's good if your organization has an attractive employee-value proposition, bad if it's only mediocre. Many organizations see executive talent as a competitive weapon — if it is managed strategically.

•    Focus on Competitive Advantage. Advances in technology and the emergence of developing economies such as China and India in the economic mix mean organizations, more than ever before, need to examine the value chain and focus on where they have a true unique advantage. The essence of strategy is choosing a path to winning — not simply operating effectively. That is now a "cost of entry" and another reason why there continues to be advances in offshoring and outsourcing.