Sixth Annual Hay Group Study Identifies Best Companies for Leadership

Hay Group, a global management consulting firm, today released its sixth annual Best Companies for Leadership Study and Top 20 list. The study ranks the best companies for leadership around the globe and examines how those companies develop current and future leaders. This year, General Electric topped the list, followed by Procter & Gamble, Intel Corporation, Siemens and Banco Santander.

According to Hay Group’s study, all of the Top 20 companies report that everyone at every level of the organization has the opportunity to develop and practice the capabilities needed to lead others, compared to less than 70 percent of all other companies in the study. In addition, 90 percent of the Top 20 companies report that people are expected to lead regardless of whether they have a formal position of authority, compared to only 59 percent of other companies.

“The Top 20 Best Companies for Leadership are at the forefront of a significant shift away from hierarchical organizational operating models,” said Rick Lash, Director in Hay Group's Leadership and Talent Practice and co-leader of the Best Companies for Leadership Study. “Leadership in the twenty-first century is about leading at all levels; not restricting it to title. As organizations become flatter, the best leaders are learning they must check their egos at the door and become increasingly sensitive to diversity, generational and geographical issues.”

Hay Group’s study also found that the shift in organizational culture away from top-down leadership extends beyond employees at headquarters. All of the Top 20 companies encourage local leaders to participate in decisions made at headquarters, compared to 72 percent of all other companies. Similarly, 95 percent of the Top 20 companies report that ideas coming from subsidiary leaders are just as likely to be implemented as those from headquarters, compared to 76 percent of all other companies.

“This year’s Top 20 is a group of companies that are moving quickly to improve their efficiency and competitive positioning by flattening their business structures and diversifying their workforces,” added Lash. “They are adapting development tools and reward structures to equip managers with the changing global leadership skills the business environment demands, and incentivizing leaders to use these capabilities effectively.”

Other major findings from Hay Group’s Best Companies for Leadership Study include:

Innovation is formally sought and disseminated through the organization				Top 20		All Other Companies
My company has a global steering committee that harvests local best practices and sets HR policies				90 percent		60 percent
Best practices for leadership development are collected from subsidiaries and then shared across this organization				90 percent		56 percent
Diversity is valued as a business asset				Top 20		All Other Companies
My company actively recruits cultural minorities				90 percent		48 percent
Cultural diversity has helped my organization to be more effective				95 percent		56 percent
My company has a high proportion of women in senior leadership				58 percent		40 percent
Effective leaders are increasingly collaborators				Top 20		All Other Companies
We have programs designed to develop leaders who can creatively bring together resources across different parts of this organization				100 percent		66 percent
Our leaders cannot avoid cooperating with each other across functions/silos				90 percent		69 percent
Our incentive system rewards collaboration across the business				90 percent		66 percent
Leadership development continues to be a priority				Top 20		All Other Companies
This organization actively manages a pool of successors for mission critical roles				100 percent		66 percent
There are a sufficient number of qualified internal candidates who are ready to assume open leadership positions at all levels in my organization				100 percent		55 percent
Work-life balance is encouraged				Top 20		All Other Companies
Helping employees achieve work-life balance is a priority for this company				95 percent		63 percent
My company has a 'family friendly' corporate culture to support employees raising children				95 percent		52 percent
It is easy for people to work from home in this organization				84 percent		43 percent

For more information and to see related content, please visit Hay Group’s Best Companies for Leadership microsite at http://bit.ly/gqxFuX, join the conversation on Twitter at http://twitter.com/hay_group, or discuss key leadership issues and questions on LinkedIn at http://linkd.in/ifkh3g.

About Hay Group’s Best Companies for Leadership Study

Hay Group has researched the Best Companies for Leadership since 2005. The 2010 survey included responses from 3769 individuals and 1827 organizations worldwide. The survey was based on the organization’s response to an online questionnaire and peer nominations. Respondents that completed the survey were from 96 countries, with 26.6% from North America, 23.4% from Europe, 3.6% from the Middle East, 19.7% from Asia, 23.7% from South America, 2.6% from the Pacific, and .5% from Africa. To see the Top 20 list from 2005 through 2010, please visit the Best Companies for Leadership microsite at http://bit.ly/gqxFuX.

About Hay Group

Hay Group is a global consulting firm that works with leaders to transform strategy into reality. We develop talent, organize people to be more effective, and motivate them to perform at their best. With 85 offices in 49 countries, we work with over 7,000 clients across the world. Our clients are from the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors, across every major industry and represent diverse business challenges. Our focus is on making change happen and helping people and organizations realize their potential.