Inflexible global leaders are demotivating their workforces

 
April 4, 2013 - PRLog -- • Inflexible leaders are damaging performance in more than half of global organizations
• North American leaders are the most successful in creating positive work climates
• Asian firms are worst affected, with two thirds of leaders generating demotivating environments
• Eurozone crisis triggers reliance on ‘just do it’ style of leadership in Europe
• New research calls for captains of industry to embrace more leadership styles to drive high-performance cultures

Global business leaders are over-reliant on a single leadership style1, demotivating employees and holding back organizational performance as a result, according to new research from global management consultancy, Hay Group.

While good leadership is synonymous with flexibly tailoring the approach to suit the situation, one third (36 per cent) of leaders have mastered none or only one leadership style, compared to a quarter (26 per cent) who are able to adopt a range of four or more styles.

As a result, working environments across the world are suffering, with over half (55 per cent) of leaders creating demotivating climates. By contrast, just 19 per cent of leaders are fostering high-performance workplaces.

Leaders in EMEA are the least flexible, with only one in five (22 per cent) able to use the recommended four or more leadership styles. Consequently, almost three fifths (57 per cent) are creating demotivating climates.

In addition, two thirds (66 per cent) of Asian leaders create demotivating climates – the worst of any global region – where just one quarter (24 per cent) have mastered four or more leadership styles.

North American leaders create the most positive working environments – fewer than half (49 per cent) of employees state that the organizational climate is demotivating. However, there is still room for improvement.

Ruth Malloy, global managing director of leadership and talent at Hay Group, comments: “A leader’s behavior is the single biggest factor influencing what it is like to work in a team.

“Good leadership has the power to energize, engage and motivate staff to go the extra mile for their organization. Poor leadership will have the opposite effect, creating a demotivating atmosphere leading over time to high staff turnover and frequent absences.

“At a time when organizations across the world are looking to boost performance and get the best from their people, it is worrying to discover that so few leaders are creating the climates their people need to flourish.”

The study is based on an analysis of Hay Group’s Styles and Climate data, covering 95,000 leaders in over 2,200 organizations across the world.

Crisis-torn Europe relies on ‘just do it’ leadership

As the Eurozone crisis continues and economic uncertainty prevails, European leaders are falling back on a coercive style of leadership.

Characterized by a ‘just do it’ attitude, the coercive leader takes control, instructing and managing employees with a critical eye.

Once a rarely used style in the region, this is now a dominant approach for over one third (31 per cent) of leaders – compared to 23 per cent in North America and 24 per cent in the Pacific region.

It is therefore unsurprising that just 17 per cent of leaders in Europe are able to create a high-performance environment for their employees.

Ruth Malloy comments, “While effective in a crisis, an over-reliance on the coercive leadership style is unsustainable over the long term, eroding innovation and creativity.

“With an average of 56 per cent of European leaders creating demotivating working climates, there is an urgent need for organizations to help shake leaders out of this crisis mentality.

“Rather than falling back on the coercive style time and again, leaders should focus on developing a combination of authoritative, democratic, affiliative and coaching styles in order to help deliver long term business results.”

Stormy climate across Asia and Latin America

In the world’s emerging markets the coercive style remains the approach of choice, with around half of Asian and South American leaders (48 per cent and 60 per cent respectively) citing it as their dominant style.

Leaders are beginning to utilize democratic, coaching, affiliative and authoritative approaches, as globalization has impacted local leadership practices and market conditions have improved. However, just one quarter (24 per cent) of leaders in Asia and one third (37 per cent) in South America are able to utilize four or more styles.

This is reflected in their working environment, where a significant 66 per cent of leaders in Asia and 59 per cent in Latin America are producing demotivating climates.

Sunniest climate

North American organizations are outshining their neighbors, with one third (37 per cent) of leaders successfully creating an energizing or high performance climate.

With the authoritative style dominating (47 per cent of leaders use this style), Hay Group’s research shows North American leaders to be typically good at providing a clear long-term vision for their team.

However, despite more North American leaders delivering positive climates than elsewhere in the world, there is still a need for change. Almost half (49 per cent) are still creating demotivating climates.

It is a similar picture in the Pacific region. With just a quarter (23 per cent) of leaders in the region mastering four or more leadership styles, it is unsurprising that over half (52 per cent) of leaders are creating demotivating climates.

Ruth Malloy comments, “Every style has its place, and each can be effective in different circumstances. In the same way a golfer uses a range of clubs, leaders need to utilize multiple approaches, and be able to adjust them to each team member or business situation.

“The better leaders are at adapting their style, and the broader the range of styles they use, the more likely they are to create a high performance climate.”

Ends

Please note: this research should be credited to ‘global management consultancy, Hay Group’, and not ‘Hay’ or ‘Hays’, which are separate and unrelated organizations.

1 Research started at Harvard University backed up by years of Hay Group practice has shown that a manager can employ six leadership styles: coercive, authoritative, affiliative, democratic, pacesetting and coaching.

About the research

The study is based on analysis of Hay Group’s Styles and Climate data, covering 95,000 leaders in 2,200 organizations across the world.

Hay Group is a global consulting firm that works with leaders to turn strategies into reality. We develop talent, organize people to be more effective, and motivate them to perform at their best. With 85 offices in 49 countries, we work with over 7,000 clients across the world. Our clients are from the public and private sector, across every major industry, and represent diverse business challenges. Our focus is on making change happen and helping organizations realize their potential.
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