Trends in Leadership, Engagement and Culture

A couple of articles to think about:

A report on the use of management tools by Bain that is fascinating, though a bit dated. What a great summary of trends in management thinking. 

I was struck by their finding that 80% of global executives agree that “culture is as important as strategy for business success.” At first I was surprised—then I thought “I agree, culture is critical to success.” On the other hand, culture is developed and shaped by management and organizational practices.  A clear and communicable strategy will do a lot for culture and employee engagement. The survey question is based on a false distinction-- culture and strategy are part of the same organizational environment, in an employees eyes.
 
This morning’s Wall Street Journal article summarizes that more companies are prioritizing  leadership development. As before the recession, companies are concerned that they do not have a deep bench given expected retirements.