75% of executives question their seniors' skills to drive growth

And 52% of executive respondents say their companies need to invest in more talent development efforts for their executives.

According to the latest executive survey by The Korn/Ferry Institute, 75 percent of corporate executives question whether their senior executive teams possess the appropriate mix of skills to generate growth for their companies in 2012 and seek out new global opportunities.

"As the global economy moves to more stable ground, it's increasingly important for organizations to consider how their leadership and talent strategies support their business strategies," says Ana Dutra, CEO of Korn/Ferry Leadership and Talent Consulting. "Do organizations have the right leaders in the right roles? Are they looking to the future and rigorously identifying and developing their next-generation leadership pipeline? These are strategic C-suite issues. Our survey shows there is significant work to be done in leadership-skills development."

In the survey, 52 percent of executive respondents say their companies need to acquire at least a modicum of new talent or invest in more talent development efforts for their executives. About 23 percent go further, saying that their companies need an overhaul in senior talent. The survey was conducted from January 27-March 5.

When asked if a lack of internal talent led their companies to postpone or abandon altogether any potential actions in the past two years, 73 percent responded yes, encompassing mergers and acquisitions (6 percent), geographic market expansion (11 percent), and product launches (6 percent), as well as multiple initiatives (32 percent).

When it comes to succession planning, nearly half (45 percent) report their companies are committed to building a robust internal talent pipeline and identifying high-potential talent deep into their organizations. But 37 percent believe there's neither rhyme nor reason to executive appointments and promotions.

Forty-five percent of the executives say their companies regularly identify areas of development as part of their performance review processes, and have deployed structured developmental programs for all employee levels. Another 40 percent say their companies identify developmental areas for employees, but report the follow-up is "weak and inconsistent."

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