Now more than ever, there is a critical need to develop business leaders with a global mindset. China, for example, has the fastest-growing economy in the world and attracts many multinational companies. Yet, despite its population of 1.3 billion people, the demand for leadership and management talent far exceeds the supply of qualified candidates. Therefore, developing effective strategies for procuring the best talent, leadership and training are paramount.

“Many top managers in China’s mainland lack the experience and resources to build the leadership team they need. Much of their focus is on short-term development, as they are under pressure to keep pace with high growth rates and increased com-petition,” says Bharat Kannan, regional director for Aon Consulting Asia, based in Hong Kong.

In the United States, retirement among the nearly 80 million members of the baby boom generation will cut a huge swath across the leadership pool in the next decade. Additionally, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports fewer employees in the workforce to take their place—workers ages 45 to 54 will increase by only 5 percent between 2004 and 2014.

Organizations are already feeling the pinch of the leadership shortage. In Aon Consulting’s 2007 Benefits and Talent Survey, more than 40 percent of the 2,172 organizations surveyed reported that they are currently experiencing or anticipate soon experiencing a shortage of qualified leadership talent that will impede organizational performance. Sixty-two percent of organizations are preparing for the impeding shortage by developing the majority of their leadership talent internally.

Any organization that is growing at a reasonable pace must not only replace its leaders who leave or retire, but also add leadership talent to support or accelerate the pace of growth. “Organizations have to be acquiring and developing leaders at an accelerated pace to take on the growth and diversification needs of many businesses today,” says Kirk Rogg, Ph.D., senior vice president with Aon Consulting’s U.S.-based Talent Solutions Consulting practice.

the importance of Customized Leadership Training programs

Leadership Development Programs components cover the gamut, from cross-cultural role-play situations to web-based simulations. Regardless of format, training should be tailored to meet the business objectives of the organization and goals of the participating individuals. “What doesn’t work is superficially tailoring a packaged approach and dropping it into a country. The individual leadership needs of each person, geography, culture and business model all need to be taken into account,” says Rogg, who also is co-author of My Leadership Journey: Charting a Course to Leadership Wisdom. “The best programs are tailored to a specific organization’s business strategy so that future leaders develop the skills and experience needed to maximize growth of the company.”

For that reason, when experts help clients design leadership development programs, they first interview the organization’s leaders to learn the strategic agenda and short- and long-term goals.

Business simulations are often a core component of a powerful leadership development program. Cultural differences must be addressed in such simulations to provide an experience that has both global reach and relevancy to specific countries. “Solutions must be presented in a way that respects the culture but helps high-potential leaders transform their skills,” says Lorraine Stomski, Ph.D., senior vice president with Aon Consulting’s Talent Solutions Consulting practice, based in the United States.

Examples of what a customized leadership program entails

Horizons, one of Aon Consulting’s most successful leadership development programs, has been conducted in languages such as Japanese, Mandarin, Korean, German, Hindu and French and in locations including India, Tokyo, Barcelona, Warsaw, Amsterdam and Geneva.

The yearlong program brings together high-potential leaders—typically mid- to senior-level managers from a single multinational organization—to meet with a coach during a three-day workshop. With guidance from the coach, participants go through role-play exercises to tackle conflict resolution, communication, cross-cultural differences and other challenges pertinent to leadership development.