Lincolnshire, Ill. — Nov. 3
IBM, General Mills and Procter & Gamble head the 2011 list of Global Top Companies for Leaders, the most comprehensive study of organizational leadership in the world. The study is conducted by Aon Hewitt, the global human resource consulting and outsourcing business of Aon Corp., in partnership with the RBL Group, a strategic HR and leadership advisory firm, and Fortune magazine.
This year’s winners were selected and ranked by a panel of independent judges based on criteria including strength of leadership practices and culture, examples of leader development on a global scale, alignment of business and leadership strategy, business performance and company reputation. The 2011 list is featured on CNNMoney.com and will appear in the Nov. 21 issue of Fortune.
The study identified a strong connection between business strategy and leadership strategy. All of the companies have articulated a clear business case for investing in leadership as a strategic imperative. Nearly 85 percent of companies say their leaders can explain how the investment in leadership affects financial performance, while only 54 percent of all other companies in the study can say the same.
In fact, 92 percent of companies say their stakeholders understand how their leadership strategy creates value, compared to just 78 percent of all other organizations in the study.
Measuring Makes a Difference for Top Companies
Top companies have metrics in place to evaluate the effectiveness of key leadership development programs, and to assess their ability to maintain a strong leadership pipeline. All of the companies evaluate their succession management programs, while just 48 percent of all other companies analyze the effectiveness of their succession efforts.
What’s more, 92 percent of the companies measure their leadership development processes, compared to 61 percent of the other companies, and 84 percent of the companies also assess their high potential programs, while only 49 percent of the rest do the same.
In terms of planning for the future, 92 percent of the companies measure the strength of their leadership pipeline, as well as their ability to retain leaders, while 60 percent of all other companies measure these two areas.
In addition, 92 percent of the companies evaluate their ability to retain high-potential/critical talent, compared to 69 percent of all other companies, and 92 percent of the companies also evaluate their ability to fill key positions with internal candidates, vs. 58 percent of all others.
Executive Teams at Top Companies Actively Involved in Leadership Practices
As leaders move up the ranks at the top companies, they continue to be involved in development programs. The study shows that all CEOs and senior management at top companies lead and participate in their organizations’ leadership development programs, vs. 62 percent of CEOs and 79 percent of senior management at all other companies.
Further, 92 percent of CEOs, along with all of senior management at top companies are involved in coaching/mentoring initiatives, compared to 61 percent of CEOs and 79 percent of senior managers at all other companies.
The list features the following companies:
• IBM
• General Mills Inc.
• The Procter & Gamble Co.
• Aditya Birla Management Corp.
• Colgate-Palmolive Co.
• Hindustan Unilever
• ICICI Bank Ltd.
• McDonald’s Corp.
• Whirlpool Corp.
• PepsiCo Inc
• General Electric Company
• Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria
• Natura Cosmeticos S.A
• Deere & Co.
• 3M Co.
• Eli Lilly and Co.
• McKinsey and Co.
• L’Oreal
• Unilever plc
• Siemens AG
• Intel Corp.
• China Vanke Co.Ltd.
• Wipro Ltd.
• Bharti Aritel
• Novartis AG
Source: Aon Corp.
