Top U.S. companies for leaders announced: findings
show top companies have more rigor around developing leaders, according
to Hewitt and HRPS.
At the Annual Global Conference and in a press release, HRPS and
Hewitt Associates announced the results of a study they cosponsored to
determine the top 20 companies for leaders. Based on information
gathered by Hewitt Associates via a survey, in-depth interviews, and
analysis of financial performance, a panel of world-renowned authors,
professors, business executives, and executive coaches selected the top
20 companies.
Elements setting these companies apart from over 350 other U.S.
companies:
* Possession of a leadership succession plan or emergency
succession plan.
* More rigor around developing future leaders.
* Active involvement of CEOs and accountability of company leaders
in the leadership development process. Using annual incentive pay to
motivate senior executives to develop future leaders put teeth in
leadership-development initiatives, according to Marc Effron of Hewitt
Associates.
* Promotion of the CEO from inside the company rather than outside
recruitment.
* Diversity as a formal part of their leadership development
strategy.
Ninety-five percent of the top 20 companies say their initiatives
attract quality leaders to their organizations, compared to 59 percent
of the other organizations. "The Top 20 Companies for Leaders
represent a cross section of industries and employee size," said
Walt Cleaver of HRPS. "[N]o matter what your company size or
business, an organization that offers quality leadership development
programs will attract stronger leaders and will increase their chances
for success in the long run."
Top 20 U.S. Companies for Leaders
1. 3M Company
2. General Electric Company
3. Johnson & Johnson
4. Dell Inc.
5. Liz Claiborne, Inc.
6. IBM
7. The Procter & Gamble Company
8. General Mills, Inc.
9. Medtronic, Inc.
10. American Express Company
11. Capital One Financial Corporation
12. Whirlpool Corporation
13. Colgate-Palmolive Company
14. Pitney Bowes Inc.
15. Pfizer Inc.
16. FedEx Corporation
17. Washington Group International, Inc.
18. The Home Depot, Inc.
19. Avery Dennison Corporation
20. Sonoco Products Company
Look for a followup article in our next issue of HRP.
COPYRIGHT 2005 Human Resource Planning
Society Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
Copyright 2005, Gale Group. All rights
reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.
NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.