News release
Coercive style of leadership threatens to erode innovation in
Indian workplace
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New research calls for captains of industry to embrace more leadership styles to
drive high-performance cultures
Research finds that a majority of global leaders are creating demotivating workplace
climates and damaging performance
Asian firms are the worst affected, with two thirds of leaders generating demotivating
climates for their employees
Almost 2 in every 3 leaders in India found to be using the ‘coercive’ style of
leadership that may lead to erosion of innovation
North American leaders are the most successful in creating positive work climates
New Delhi / Mumbai, April 4, 2012: Global business leaders are over-reliant on a single
leadership style1, demotivating employees and holding back organizational performance as a
result, according to new research from global management consultancy, Hay Group.
The study is based on an analysis of Hay Group’s Styles and Climate data, covering 95,000
leaders in over 2,200 organizations across the world.
The study finds that while good leadership is synonymous with flexibly tailoring the approach
to suit the situation, one third (36 per cent) of leaders have mastered none or only one
leadership style, compared to a quarter (26 per cent) who are able to adopt a range of four or
more styles.
As a result, working environments across the world are suffering, with over half (55 per cent)
of leaders creating demotivating climates. By contrast, just 19 per cent of leaders are fostering
high-performance workplaces.
Leaders in EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) are the least flexible, with only one
in five (22 per cent) able to use the recommended four or more leadership styles.
Consequently, almost three fifths (57 per cent) are creating demotivating climates.
In addition, two thirds (66 per cent) of Asian leaders create demotivating climates – the worst
of any global region – where just one quarter (24 per cent) have mastered four or more
leadership styles. A majority of Asian leaders (48 per cent) have been found to be using the
‘coercive’ style of leadership.
North American leaders create the most positive working environments – fewer than half (49
per cent) of employees state that the organizational climate is demotivating. However, there is
still room for improvement.
Ruth Malloy, global managing director of leadership and talent at Hay Group, comments:
“A leader’s behavior is the single biggest factor influencing what it is like to work in a team.
Good leadership has the power to energize, engage and motivate staff to go the extra mile for
their organization. Poor leadership will have the opposite effect, creating a demotivating
atmosphere leading over time to high staff turnover and frequent absences.”
News release
“At a time when organizations across the world are looking to boost performance and get the
best from their people, it is worrying to discover that so few leaders are creating the climates
their people need to flourish.”
Mohinish Sinha, leadership and talent practice leader at Hay Group India, adds, “The
leadership style in place directly affects the way people feel about working for an
organization – by creating what we call a ‘climate’. So the more leaders can improve the
climate they create, the higher the performance of their team will be.”
Stormy climate across Asia and Latin America
In the world’s emerging markets the ‘coercive’ style remains the approach of choice, with
around half of Asian and South American leaders (48 per cent and 60 per cent respectively)
citing it as their dominant style. On the other hand, ‘pacesetting’ leadership style remains the
most scarcely used in both regions.
Leaders are beginning to utilize ‘democratic’, ‘coaching’, ‘affiliative’, and ‘authoritative’
approaches, as globalization has impacted local leadership practices and market conditions
have improved. However, just one quarter (24 per cent) of leaders in Asia and one third (37
per cent) in South America are presently able to utilize four or more styles.
This is reflected in their working environment, where a significant 66 per cent of leaders in
Asia and 59 per cent in Latin America are producing demotivating climates.
Indian leaders responsible for creating demotivating climates
Compared to the global average of 55, leaders in India are far from the ideal workplace
environment, with 70 per cent of leaders found creating a demotivating climate for their
employees. Both Brazil and China were found to have performed better in this aspect. The
research also showed that 2 in every 3 Indian leaders (62 per cent) opt for the ‘coercive’
leadership style, compared to just 37 per cent globally.
Mohinish Sinha comments, “While the ‘coercive’ leadership style works well in a crisis or
during a period of significant change, its overuse may lead to an erosion of innovation. It is
the ‘coaching’ style of leadership that is most preferred in the Asian context – 81 per cent of
the most high-performing organizations had leaders using it as a dominant style. We find a
‘coaching’ leader focuses on building long-term capability, even at the expense of short-term
performance.”
Crisis-torn Europe relies on ‘just do it’ leadership
As the Eurozone crisis continues, European leaders are falling back on a coercive style of
leadership. Characterized by a ‘just do it’ attitude, the coercive leader takes control,
instructing and managing employees with a critical eye.
Once a rarely used style in the region, this is now a dominant approach for over one third (31
per cent) of leaders – compared to 23 per cent in North America and 24 per cent in the Pacific
region. Unsurprisingly, just 17 per cent of leaders in Europe are able to create a highperformance environment for their employees.
Ruth Malloy comments, “With an average of 56 per cent of European leaders creating
demotivating working climates, there is an urgent need for organizations to help shake leaders
News release
out of this crisis mentality. Rather than falling back on the coercive style time and again,
leaders should focus on developing a combination of authoritative, democratic, affiliative and
coaching styles in order to help deliver long term business results.”
Sunniest climate in North America
North American organizations are outshining their neighbors, with one third (37 per cent) of
leaders successfully creating an energizing or high performance climate – dominated by the
authoritative leadership style (47 per cent). The research shows North American leaders to be
typically good at providing a clear long-term vision for their team. However, there is still a
need for change as almost half (49 per cent) are still creating demotivating climates.
It is a similar picture in the Pacific region. With just a quarter (23 per cent) of leaders in the
region mastering four or more leadership styles, it is unsurprising that over half (52 per cent)
of leaders are creating demotivating climates.
Ruth Malloy comments, “Every style has its place, and each can be effective in different
circumstances. In the same way a golfer uses a range of clubs, leaders need to utilize multiple
approaches, and be able to adjust them to each team member or business situation. The better
leaders are at adapting their style, and the broader the range of styles they use, the more likely
they are to create a high performance climate.”
Ends
For further information please contact:
Nidhi Mehra Kapoor
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +91 (124) 417 7400
Notes to Editors
Please note: this research should be credited to ‘global management consultancy, Hay Group’, and not ‘Hay’
or ‘Hays’, which are separate and unrelated organizations.
About the research
The study is based on analysis of Hay Group’s Styles and Climate data, covering 95,000 leaders in over
2,200 organizations across the world.
1
Research started at Harvard University backed up by years of Hay Group practice has shown that a
manager can employ six leadership styles: coercive, authoritative, affiliative, democratic, pacesetting and
coaching. Please find brief definitions below.
Coercive:
Coercive leaders tell staff what to do, and expect them to do it. They then check over employees' shoulders,
and are more likely to criticize what they are getting wrong rather than praise what they are doing right.
Authoritative:
The authoritative leader is focused on achieving the long-term direction and vision, and ensuring that
everyone is motivated and working towards the ‘big picture’. Authoritative leaders win people over,
convincing them that they want to do the job. They create a positive climate that elicits the best from the
team.
Affiliative:
The affiliative leader wants everybody to get along. Keen to be seen as ‘just like one of us’, he or she strives
to create harmony within the team by focusing on people rather than tasks. Affiliative leaders trust that if
they treat their employees well, they will be rewarded with loyalty and high performance.
News release
Democratic:
The democratic leader wants to get the best from their team by sharing decisions and responsibility. Keen to
achieve commitment and consensus, democratic leaders involve team members in the decision-making
process. They reward good team performance rather than the work of any one individual.
Pacesetting:
With a motto of ‘my way is always best’, the pacesetting leader assumes that the most effective way to
accomplish a complex job is to do it his or herself. The pacesetter is highly task orientated, giving detailed
instructions to help team members carry out tasks. He or she expects a job to be done to the very highest
standard.
Coaching:
The coaching leader pushes team members to be the best they can be. He or she invests the time to
understand individuals’ strengths and weaknesses, and works with them to achieve their personal
development goals. The style focuses on building long-term capability, even at the expense of short-term
performance.
About Hay Group
Hay Group is a global consulting firm that works with leaders to turn strategies into reality. We develop
talent, organize people to be more effective, and motivate them to perform at their best. With 85 offices in 49
countries, we work with over 7,000 clients across the world. Our clients are from the public and private
sector, across every major industry, and represent diverse business challenges. Our focus is on making
change happen and helping organizations realize their potential. For more information, please visit:
www.haygroup.com/in
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