Strong leadership still a stumbling block for many organizations

About 70 per cent don’t feel their organization is highly effective at building leadership capacity

Developing strong leadership within organizations is something that still needs work for many Canadian organizations. However, improving leadership capacity has become an important strategic priority.

Only 31 per cent of respondents feel their organizations are highly effective at building leadership capacity, according to a Canadian survey of 441 HR and business leaders.

Thirty-seven per cent of survey respondents said their organizational leaders were highly effective, while only 14 per cent of respondents said their organization’s leadership capacity to implement major change was excellent.

"The quality and effectiveness of leadership can have a profound impact on work cultures and organizational performance at all levels," said Donna Burnett Vachon, associate director, leadership and human resources research at the Conference Board of Canada.

"While Canadian organizations have made progress in improving their leadership capacity since our last study in 2001, there is still much work to be done."

Organizations with strong, high-performing leadership are 30 times more likely to excel in areas such as change readiness, employee engagement, and customer orientation, according to the Conference Board.

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