Does Your Company Care About You?

Chief Executive magazine publishes an annual list of the “40 Best Companies for Leaders.” The rankings are based on the investment that the company puts into developing its leaders. Perhaps the most important finding is that companies that invest in leadership development generate dramatically greater market value over time than companies with weak leader development programs.

Companies are rated on four criteria: (1) Having a formal leadership development process; (2) the CEO’s commitment to leadership development; (3) the percentage of leadership positions that are filled by internal candidates; (4) the number of other companies that recruit leaders from the company.

The top companies are no surprise: Procter & Gamble, IBM, GE, 3M, Southwest Airlines – all companies that are known for their leadership development programs. Here’s what Chief Executive says about top-ranked Procter & Gamble: “Quite simply, P & G executives are considered the Navy SEALs of management.” P & G has its own “college” for internal leader development, and has ongoing formal and informal leadership development programs.

The bottom line is this: Leadership matters, and caring for your employees also matters. Companies that care for and invest in their employees have greater financial success. How does your company measure up?

Here is the Chief Executive site.

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