Companies may finally be starting to realize the full burden of the recession, as years of operating with fewer resources has begun to overburden some business professionals.
That is according to a study by emotional intelligence service Six Seconds, which determined that leaders are increasingly seen as being more to blame for business woes – 58 percent of respondents mentioned leaders as being the top personnel-related problem this year, compared with only 51 percent in 2010. A separate question determined that nearly 30 percent of respondents viewed talent retention as the top issue this year.
A Paradigm Learning whitepaper – "Developing Critical Thinking in Today's Leaders: No Room for Old-School Leadership in the New Normal" – tackled leadership from another angle, finding that as businesses emerge from a deep recession, their leaders must be able to think critically and constantly reassess their organizations if they are to return to their former levels of success.
"Now, more than ever, business acumen is foundational to effective leadership," paper author Catherine Rezak said in a press release. "It is impossible to apply critical thinking skills to the business of making money without an understanding of the business drivers that connect day-to-day decisions and actions to key financial and strategic performance goals of the organization."
In order to find employees with these skills and retain the ones that already have them, many companies are turning to in-house training programs to teach managers skills related to accountability, big-picture thinking and analytical skills.
These skills may be especially important among companies recruiting for auditing positions and other vacancies related to financial management. Corporate recruiters and job search firms have the requisite experience to identify candidates with these unique qualities and help businesses expedite their financial professional search.
