Business Leaders Unprepared for Complex Management Positions

DDI’s newest published trend research, Leaders in Transitions: Progressing Along a Precarious Path, examined 618 individual contributor and manager transitions from multiple perspectives. Participants ranged in age from 25 to 61-or-over and 44 percent were females. High-potentials accounted for 41 percent of those surveyed.

From our results, we learned who helped transitioning leaders the most (and the least) during their transitions, what skills they needed and when and what they’d do differently given a second opportunity.

Key findings at a glance from the report include:

1. Transitions are more complex than ever and now they are also more frequent and circuitous.
2. Transitioning leaders continue to struggle with ambiguity more than any other challenge.
3. Transitions are not created equal; preparing for each level of leadership requires a unique mix of skills.
4. When leaders need coaching and clarity, the last person they ask is their boss.
5. More than any other aid, transitioning leaders want more structured development
6. High potentials are unsupported and overestimated in their abilities to figure out the unfamiliar.
7. Organizations overestimate the persuasive power of money and overlook the things leaders value most.
8. Without choice, quality feedback and clear expectations, transitioning leaders are more likely to quit.

Read the full report here: Leaders in Transitions: Progressing Along a Precarious Path.

For more information visit: www.ddiworld.com.