Data & Analysis
As we frequently bring together the world’s most influential financial decision makers, we often gain insights into some of the strategic considerations shaping the investment world. These insights, largely taken from our proprietary member events, encompass wide swaths of the industry, from asset allocations to the human resources decisions that shape modern business.
Audience polling from the Asset Management Institute CHRO Roundtable in October 2024 revealed what human resource officers believe good senior leaders are made of.
The survey results highlight the perceived strengths of senior leaders, with a significant emphasis on business operations. According to the respondents, 63% view business operations as the strongest skill area for their senior leaders (see figure below). This suggests a strong capability in managing and optimizing organizational processes, ensuring efficiency, and driving operational success.
Strategic capability comes next, with 37% of respondents recognizing it as a key strength (see figure below). This suggests substantial aptitude among leaders for long-term planning and vision setting, likely tied to the types of investment products and services offered.
Interestingly, ‘people operations’ received no votes, pointing to a potential area for development. Effective people management, including talent acquisition, development, and retention, could be an area for improvement to enhance overall leadership effectiveness.
“Notably, and revealed in more detail during our next installment, HR professionals believed people operations to be the second most crucial area for their organization’s success behind strategic capabilities. Building upon the insights into leadership competencies, it’s noteworthy that while business operations are recognized as a strength among senior leaders, the emphasis on strategic capability as crucial for future success suggests a potential misalignment. This contrast highlights an opportunity for organizations to reassess and enhance their leadership development strategies to better align current capabilities with future objectives.”
These insights provide valuable feedback for organizations to bolster their leadership teams. As always, we will be keen to see how these sentiments develop at future CHRO Roundtables.
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