“42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.”
Steven Wright
Another addition of leadership and talent management “facts” from all over the world. Some intuitive and some not….what do you think?
1. According to a new study, the workplace is making U.S. men and women overweight. Researchers at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge analyzed data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics from the 1960s to 2008. They found that over the past five decades, physical activity during work has dramatically declined, causing men to burn an average of 142 fewer calories a day at work and women, 124. Overall, 34% of Americans over the age of 20 are classified as obese.
2. According to the August 2011 study by Bersin and Associates form 214 organizations on talent management revealed that only 11% of senior leaders coach their employees and only 15% discuss the importance of coaching and developmenting employees “very frequently.” The study concluded that managers lack the skills to coach their employees, and this presents the most severe challenge to effective management of employee performance.
3. According to a recent online survey of over 500 senior managers by the American Management Association, less than 10% of organizations identify future leaders (high potentials) in any systematic manner. The most common ways future leaders are identified are: Performance appraisal processes (69%), Contributions to the business (42%), Recommendations of senior leaders (35%), Input from peers (35%), Education (18%), and Don’t know (8%).
4. A world wide study of over 2,00 employees sponsored by WorldatWork/s Alliance for Work-Life Progress found that more than 50% of managers survey think the ideal employee is one that is available to meet business needs at any hour including nights and weekends (U.S., Germany, UK). Almost 30% believ that employees who use flexible arrangements are doomed not be promoted or advance very high in organizations.
5. A survey of 1,058 randomly selected HR professionals conducted by the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) and commissioned by the Drug and Alcohol Testing Association (DATIA) examines the use of drug testing programs by organizations. Poll results indicate that more than one-half of employers (57 percent) conduct drug tests on all job candidates. Most employers who use tests on job candidates have done so for seven years or more (69 percent) and 12% have used them for five to six years.
6. A recent study from 81 large national and multinatiuonal coporations asked the conditions influencing executive development and leadership (2011/2012 Trends in Executive Development: A Benchmark Report by Pearson TalentLens and Executive Development Associates Inc. (EDA): 55.7% lack of bench strength; 31.6% need for increasing collaboraiton across the organization; 24.1% the “next generation” of employees who have different interests, needs and values; 22.8% rapid growth and expansion of the organization; and 22.8% globalization.
The same survey also asked about critical skills required of executives and 34.6 percent cited critical thinking skills followed by leadership (28.2 percent), stretegy execution (20.5 percent) and leading the next generation (16.7 percent).
7. According to the 2011 Cisco Connected World Technology Report, found that 70% of the 2,800 colleage students and young professionals surveyed from 14 countries reported that workplace mobility and social media freedom were more important than salary. Additionally, 70% mentioned they prefer to be out of the office regularly and working remotely.
8. A recent survey to 600 respondents by presentation expert Dave Paradi revealed the most common PowerPoint complaints. These included: 74% presenters reading their own slides; 52% slides with full sentences instead of bullets; 48% text that is too small to read; 34% slides that are had to see due to the color choice; and 26% overly complex charts or diagrams.
9. According to a new social media survey by Select Minds (ROI of Social Media in the Enterprise” A Benchmarking Survey), 69% of the firms surveyed use social media for brand awareness, 68% for recruiting new talent, and 63% for marketing purposes. Respondents rated social media most effective as a communications platform (66% and least effective for “finding candidates to hire” (44%).
10. Can’t get along with others? It might predict leadership failure according to a new Right Management survey of over 1,400 CEOs frm more than 700 companies. The best predictors of leadership success included: fit with company values 68%, interpersonal skills 66%, motivation to lead 62%, previous experiences 57%, lack of derailers 21%, educational background 11% and other 4%.
11. A late 2011 survey of over 431 workers by Office Team revealed that than three-quarters (76 percent) of employees polled said they have no interest in having their manager’s position. In addition, nearly two-thirds (65 percent) believe they couldn’t do a better job than their boss. The most imporatnt ingredients for successful bosses included integrity, judgement, diplomacy, adaptability, communication skills, and the ability to positively influence others.
12. Did drinking at with colleagues over the last holidays shape how others view you? In a 2011 survey by Harris International on behalf of Caron Treament centers, 52% of the 870 employees surveyed said they saw someone under the influence of alcohol doign something dangerous or inappropriate (e.g., flirting with a boss). Fifty-six percent said a co-worker or friend suffered consequences when this inappropriate behavior appears in photos on the Internet.
Back to research some new talent development facts….Be well….
Ken Nowack
Kenneth Nowack, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist (PSY13758) and President & Chief Research Officer/Co-Founder of Envisia Learning, is a member of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations. Ken also serves as the Associate Editor of Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research. His recent book Clueless: Coaching People Who Just Don’t Get It is available for free for a limited time by signing up for free blog updates (Learn more at our website)
