Leadership - A discussion of traits, characteristics, and current news of leaders.

Is your company developing leaders or just employing people?

Fortune Magazine recently published a list of companies that foster and encourage qualities that characterize leaders and demonstrate management depth in their organization. The research was conducted Hewitt Associates and its research partners Fortune and The RBL Group and open to “organizations of any type (public, private, or nonprofit) from any location, with revenues of any size.” That said, 10,000 companies from around the world were sent surveys. My guess is mostly very large businesses were contacted. From 563 respondents,

“A panel of judges, composed of authors, academics, and journalists, gathered in each region to select and rank the 2007 Top Companies for Leaders lists in Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and North America. The judges considered many variables in selecting and ranking the lists, including the survey and interview data, company reputation, leadership culture and values, and a proven track record.”

So the results are in! Should you care?

I say yes. This information and the companies identified can be studied and followed. Their best practices for developing leaders in a global economy have been shared. Perhaps not everything they do can apply to you or your company but I am confident there are leadership lessons and management and development practices than can be found.

Since leadership in today’s economy requires global thinking and understanding, it is fitting that the list produced by Fortune is global. Here is the global Top 10 Companies for Leaders.

1. General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), Fairfield, CT, U.S.
2. The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)  Cincinnati, OH, U.S.
3. Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK)  Espoo, Finland
4. Hindustan Unilever Limited (BOM:500696)  Mumbai, India
5. Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE:COF)  McLean, VA, U.S.
6. General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)  Minneapolis, MN, U.S.
7. McKinsey & Company (private) None*
8. International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) Armonk, NY, U.S.
9. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. (Public, MCE:BBVA) Bilbao, Spain
10. Infosys Technologies Limited (ADR) (NASDAQ:INFY) Bangalore, India