Arlington, Va. — July 22

Government organizations are pursuing global leadership development programs, with significant focus on managing change as a priority competency, according to a recent study conducted by the American Management Association (AMA) in collaboration with the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) and Training magazine.

Lagging slightly behind their corporate counterparts, 22.3 percent of government respondents report their organization has a global leadership program in place, compared to 31.6 percent of the corporate respondents.

“Globalization is a significant influence on leadership development today,” said Sandi Edwards, senior vice president for AMA Enterprise. “We live in a global economy, and our government leaders more frequently are required to interact with other governments and communities around the world. This means that up-and-coming leaders require a broader skill set than in the past.”

When asked to select the competency that represents the most central focus of their global leadership development program, 38.5 percent chose managing change. The second most central focus was critical thinking/problem solving, at 15.4 percent. Many respondents (47.8 percent) thought their leadership development program is largely successful, with some areas that could be improved. Still, the leadership development programs garner less than 5 percent of the budget in 35 percent of the respondents’ organizations.

Other findings among the government respondents:

• Managing change, critical thinking/problem solving, and the ability to influence and build coalitions are the most widely taught competencies.

• Certain competencies, such as managerial agility, creativity and general business acumen, have proved more difficult for executives to master.

Source: AMA Enterprise