Poor relationships top cause of leader failure

Mismatch with culture also a problem: Survey

The top reason for a leader’s failure is her inability or unwillingness to build relationships and a team environment, according to global survey by Right Management.

“Failure to build a team or relationships was singled out by the most (40 per cent) survey respondents,” said Bram Lowsky, executive vice-president of Right Management. “Second was mismatch for the corporate culture cited by 26 per cent. Remarkably, not delivering acceptable results was named by just 11 per cent of respondents as among the main three causes for failure”

The survey of 1,439 CEOs and human resource professionals asked respondents to identify the predictors of leadership success:
•Fit with company values and culture (68 per cent)
•Interpersonal skills (66 per cent)
•Motivation to lead (62 per cent)
•Previous experiences (57 per cent)
•Lack of derailers (21 per cent)
•Educational background (11 per cent).

“What emerges from the survey analysis is that leadership success is increasingly dependent on getting along with others in the organization as well as with one’s own team,” said Lowsky. “A leader must be able to connect, build relationships and be flexible enough to adapt to the corporate culture.”

The findings tend to be consistent across the countries where the survey was conducted, he said. “What we’re learning from research over the past decade is that today’s organizations are increasingly similar, whether Asian, American or European.”

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