Robert Hargrove

Strategic thinking and inspiring leadership are in as biz digs out from the turmoil

At Masterful Coaching we take into account that you’re not going to get very far as a coach if you don’t have anyone to talk to. That’s why in the MC Certification Program we talk to you about your marketing efforts first and coaching methods second.

One good clue is to focus your marketing on companies that have a proven track record both in investing in leadership develop and in delivering bottom-line results.

I came across a 2010 report from the Hay Group recently that identified the top 20 companies for leadership development that you might find useful. For what it’s worth, I know for a fact that most of these companies use executive coaches. See study.

2009 TOP 20 BEST COMPANIES FOR LEADERSHIP

1. General Electric
2. Southwest Airlines
3. 3M Company
4. Procter & Gamble
5. Accenture
6. Wal-Mart
7. Nestle
8. Coca Cola
9. McDonald’s Corp
10. Infosys Technologies
11. IBM
12. Cisco
13. United Parcel Service
14. IKEA
15 ABB
16. Zappos
17. Hewlett-Packard
18. Goldman Sachs
19. Unilever
20. General Mills, Inc

Among the study findings: Strategic thinking and inspiring leadership are the most valued qualities in leaders this year, indicating that businesses are starting to dig out from the turmoil and are thinking more about their future long-term growth again.

Other areas were these companies excel compared to all respondents are:

- Actively manage a pool of successors for mission critical roles,

- People stay at the organization primarily for growth opportunities,

- Use corporate social responsibility to recruit employees,

- Have a high proportion of women in senior leadership, and

- Have a sufficient number of internal candidates ready to assume open leadership positions.

Note: The list was based on a survey of over 1000 companies world-wide, from 98 countries.