Business & Money | Tuesday 26 March, 2019 4:32 pm |

Investors are calling for a new kind of corporate leadership style to better prepare organizations to navigate uncertainty, disruption and transformation affecting virtually all sectors of the Saudi economy, according to results of the new Korn Ferry (NYSE: KFY) global research study.

The new “Self-Disruptive Leader” study surveyed 795 investors globally, including 50 Saudi investment analysts and asset managers, and the results were clear:

• 70% of investors believe Saudi companies need to deliver significant transformational change in the next 3 to 5 years to succeed in today’s rapidly changing economic environment.
• However, investors believe that only 32% of Saudi leaders demonstrate the level of agility and adaptability necessary to lead this kind of transformation.

“Business leaders in Saudi face the challenge of building entirely new sectors in large magnitude and sometimes with no precedence even globally. They have to lead organisations through privatisation, corporatisation, digitisation and the implementation of advanced technology and big data,” said George Karam, Managing Partner, Korn Ferry Advisory Middle East and Africa. “While specific challenges are highly situational, the common thread is that investors are placing greater emphasis on the CEO and their leadership team’s ability to disrupt individual leadership styles to adapt to and prepare their companies for success in the face of constant uncertainty.”

How pervasive is the need for change?

More than 80% of investors studied said that the Saudi companies they rate and invest in are facing disruptive pressure from their industry and competitors. To respond to that pressure, approximately 75% believe the need for transformation will make leadership more important to company performance over the next three years.

Also significant in the research is the perception of leader profiles as a key indicator for a company’s vision, innovation and future orientation, which is more important today than past financial performance. Investors say they are much more confident about the future success of a business if they have a CEO seen as a thought leader and visionary.

“Market disruption needs to be met with equal disruption of approach to leadership and investors today are doing a critical analysis of CEOs, Boards and senior leadership teams. They are more confident in organisations that aren’t only investing in disruptive technology to demonstrate future readiness but demonstrate both the ability and willingness to disrupt their own leadership styles,” said Jonathan Holmes, Managing Director and Regional Chair, Korn Ferry Middle East and Africa “Unfortunately, the majority of Saudi leaders are not viewed as demonstrating the necessary learning agility, social and emotional intelligence, and the ability to balance being both self-assured and humble – all traits required of today’s self-disruptive leader.”

According to The Self-Disruptive Leader study, a new model of future-ready leadership is required. Building on existing concepts of agile, digital and inclusive leadership, Self-Disruptive Leaders also possess a strong portfolio of future-oriented skills: the ADAPT dimensions* – which encompass the ability to anticipate, drive, accelerate, partner and trust. The Korn Ferry research report gauged investor perception on what leadership traits related to this new model are needed today specific to the success of Saudi business leaders:

• 80% see need for leaders who can continuously reinvent themselves and proactively drive change to navigate the uncertain business environment, 11% above the global average.
• 78% value leaders with the ability to openly and honestly assess others’ ideas even if they differ from their own, 10% over the global average.
• 70% want leaders who can follow through on ideas with effective implementation strategies, 7% over the global average.
• And 82% want to see leaders foster greater collaboration inside and outside between diverse groups with different experiences and skills, 17% above the global average.

While the Korn Ferry research clearly points to the value placed on executive leadership, investors looking at the Saudi market are putting greater emphasis than the global average on a company’s ability to develop the next generation of leaders as a mark of future success. 76% of Saudi investors believe the most successful leaders are those that cultivate leadership pipelines for the future with 72% looking at the Saudi middle management bench to produce the next group of self-disruptive leaders.

“There is optimism that young Saudi professionals have what it takes to lead future transformation. The challenge analysts see in Saudi, however, is a general lack of confidence in corporate leadership development programs.  Only 36% of investors believe existing Saudi leadership programs are future oriented and capable of producing the next generation of self-disruptive leaders,” said Niam Sinno, Associate Client Partner, Korn Ferry Saudi Arabia.