As many leaders in the government industry know, we live in an increasingly borderless world. Greater access to technology has removed many barriers to connecting people and resources. In order to understand how to effectively operate in this new, complex environment, IBM conducted a Global CHRO Study with nearly 600 face-to-face interviews with HR executives in 61 countries. 15% of those interviews were in the government industry. Through candid conversations, these HR leaders shared their successes, setbacks and surprises. Three essential themes emerged as the biggest opportunities for HR: cultivating creative leaders, mobilizing for greater speed and flexibility, and capitalizing on collective intelligence.
Despite the changes of boundaries in society creating additional complexities, many of the government respondents are making positive impacts for their organizations. However, there is room for improvement. 65% of government respondents think that developing future leaders is the most important workforce challenge that needs to be addressed in the next three years. Yet, 52% of these respondents said they have made no changes to their leadership development investments. It’s time to look beyond headquarters to identify and cultivate future leaders.
Fostering leaders who can creatively adapt in a changing, global environment is a big opportunity for the future of human resources, but knowing where to start can be challenging. Here are some tips:
- Be comfortable with distributed and virtual leadership approaches; create leaders who leverage informal power
- Accelerate the development of borderless leaders; be creative in combining global and local talent
- Design leadership development programs to generate innovative emerging business opportunities.
For more insights from the 2010 Global CHRO Study visit www.ibm.com/chrostudy. Also, follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/MPBarrientos for real-time updates about events and news relating to the Study.
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