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LeadershipPractices:What’sProven.What’s“WorthLess.”DDI’sLeadershipDatabankshowswhichpracticesarereallythebest—andwhichonestoreviseorabandon.ByEvanSinar,Ph.D.,andRichardS.Wellins,Ph.D.AccordingtoourcalculationsbasedonarecentstudybyKennedyConsulting,organi-zationsspend$3,157,894perhouronleader-shipdevelopment.Butareweinvestingthosedollarswisely?It’safairquestion.Overasix-yearperiod,wemeasuredthequalityofleadershipinthousandsoforganizations.In2009,only37percentoforganizationsthoughttheyhadhigh-qualityleaders.Ahalf-dozenyearslater,thatnumberhadjumpedonlythreepercentagepoints.Evenmoreconcerning:DDI’sGlobalLeadershipForecast2014|2015showedthatonly15percentofourresearchsamplefelttheyhadareadybenchofleaderscapableofmeetingfuturebusinesschallenges.What'stheproblem?Wethinkitboilsdowntoonething:Wearen’tsurewhatworksandwhatdoesn’t.Supposed“bestpractices”arenotreallybestatall;theyarecommonpractices,morewidelyappliedthanproven.There’sanoft-quotedsayingaboutmarket-ing:Halfworks,wejustdon’tknowwhichhalf!Thesamecanbesaidaboutmakingbetterleaders.Thenagain,muchhaschangedinrecentyears.Withtheadventofanalytics,weareembracingnewtoolsandtechnologieswithgreaterconfidencethatwhatweareputtinginplacewillhavetheintendedimpact.Wearelearningnewskillstoserveachangingworkplaceandanever-acceleratingglobaleconomy.Wearehiringdatascientists,andwearemorecloselypartneringwithourCFOsandCTOs.Insum,oureffortscanbedefinedasgroundedlessinguessingandmoreinknowing.Thisguideisdesignedtohelpyoualongthejourneytowardaleadershipdevelop-mentfunctiondefinedbybigdataandresearch-supportedinsights.Hereare19leadership-relatedpracticesacrosseightcriticalareasthateitherareprovenor,ifnotworthless,are,well,worthlessthantheprac-ticesthataretrulyproven.TheyardstickfortherelativemeritsofeachpracticeisDDI’scomprehensiveandunmatchedLeadershipDatabank,whichincludesdataencompassingmorethan62,000leadersinthousandsoforganizationsacrossdozensofcountriesandindustries.The$3,157,894Question©DevelopmentDimensionsInternational,Inc.,2017.Allrightsreserved.©DevelopmentDimensionsInternational,Inc.,2017.Allrightsreserved.AboutDDI’sLeadershipDatabankLEADERSHIPPRACTICESTheprovenand“worthless”practicesdescribedinthisguidearebasedonmorethanadecadeofresearchintothefactorsthatdriveleadershipperformance.Theanalyticsforthedataincludedherecrossmultiplestudiesbringingtogetherdatafromover62,000leadersandHRprofessionalsfrommorethan2,400organizations.Eachofthesestudies(describedbelow)wasconductedbyDDI’sCenterforAnalyticsandBehavioralResearchinconjunctionwithourpartnerorganizations.WhileDDIdatascientistsledtheefforttoturnthiswealthofdataintousableinsights,wemustthanktheorganizationsthatcontributedtheirtimetocollectthedatainthefirstplace.Obviously,withouttheirsupportwewouldhavenothingtoshare.STUDYDATESAMPLEDESCRIPTIONGlobalLeadershipForecast2015•13,000+Leaders•1,500+HRProfessionals•2,000+Organizations25findingsabouthowready-nowlead-ersdrivefinancialsuccess,howtalentprogramsimpactleaderreadiness,andactionsformitigatingriskstoprogramsuccessHigh-ResolutionLeadership2016•15,000+LeadersfromfrontlinetoC-suite•300+OrganizationsAcollectionoffindingsthatreflectshowleadershipshapestoday'sbusinesslandscape,spanningeverythingfromhowleadersimpactfinancialgrowthandexecuteeconomicturnaroundtothewaysinwhichtheyrisetothetopDivergentViews/CommonGround2017•2,800+LeadersfromfrontlinetoC-suiteat14OrganizationsStudybasedonsurveysandinterviewswithMillennialleaders,non-Millennialleaders,andcurrentCEOstocomparetheirleadershipperspectivesProofThatDDI’sLeadershipDevelopmentPaysOff2017•18,000+Leadersand12,000+Observers•150+OrganizationsAggregationofimpactstudiesandanalysesontheeffectivenessofDDI’sInteractionManagement®leadershipdevelopmentprogram©DevelopmentDimensionsInternational,Inc.,2017.Allrightsreserved.4:PushingPast“Partner”toBecomean“Anticipator”Foratleastthepasttwodecades,HRhasbeencriticizedforplayinganadministrativeroleinsteadofastrategicone.Toseeifandhowthishaschanged,weaskedHRprofessionalstocategorizethemselvesintooneofthreeroles:Reactor,Partner,orAnticipator(seegraphic).WealsoaskedlinemanagerstocategorizetheroletheybelievetheirHRteammembersplay.AligningwiththeBusinessLEADERSHIPPRACTICESA2015issueofTDMagazineincludedanintriguing,albeitfar-fetched,shortarticletitled“TestingforaLeadershipGene.”Inthearticle,theauthorrevealedsomeearlyresearchthatcertainDNAstructuresfoundinchildrenmightpredictcertaintypesoflater-in-lifeleadershipability.Ifasingledropofbloodcantellusdozensofthingsaboutaperson’sfuture,whycan’titalsotellusabouttheabilitytolead?Weare,ofcourse,alongwayfromabloodtestreplacingotherwaystopredictleadershipsuccess,butitisonesmallindicationofthesinglebiggesttrendtransformingourprofession:Theinfusionoftalentanalyticsintoeverythingwedo,includingstrengtheningtheconnectionbetweenHRpracticesandtheneedsofthebusiness.HOWDOHRPROFESSIONALSCONTRIBUTETOBUSINESS?18%22%AnticipatorUsesdatatopredicttalent