SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A new book from Zenger Folkman, the leading provider of strengths-based leadership development, is shedding surprising light on the way speed abilities influence overall leadership skills.
The new book, “Speed,” from McGraw-Hill premiering this month presents the following new findings from research that authors Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman have distilled from multi-rater evaluations of more than 85,000 leaders worldwide.
What they’ve discovered:
- Leaders who execute fast but not right have only a 2 percent probability of being rated an outstanding leader (one who is ranked in the top quartile among peers).
- If you execute right but not fast, your chances of extraordinary leadership are 3 percent.
- Becoming both fast and right at execution, however, produces a result that is beyond phenomenal—it brings 96 percent probability of being ranked as an extraordinary leader by superiors, subordinates and peers.
- Leaders who are in the top quartile of leadership speed are 2 times more effective than their counterparts.
- Faster companies achieve an average of 40 percent higher sales growth and 52 percent higher operating profit than slower organizations.
Perhaps not surprisingly, speed influences commitment as well:
- Speedy leaders increase the percentage of highly engaged and committed employees by 50 percent.
In all, the new findings show that a brisk pace results in reduced time to value for organizations. The new book is destined to be a must read for every executive, in that it not only explains why leadership speed is important, but also how leaders can accelerate their personal pace.
“Fast is not the same thing as frantic,” notes management expert Ken Blanchard in his remarks about the new book.
“Today’s organizations are paying more attention than ever to the speed with which leaders think and act,” said Jack Zenger, CEO of Zenger Folkman and the book’s co-author, with President Joseph Folkman. “Our research suggests that the pace of the leader sets the beat and rhythm of the entire organization. We are also able to demonstrate a hard connection between speed and business results.“
Zenger Folkman invites all who are interested to evaluate their current speed effectiveness by taking a self-assessment at www.zengerfolkman.com/leadership-speed. The assessment is free of charge and available now.
About Speed:
The new book, “SPEED: How Leaders Accelerate Successful Execution, by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman” premieres in December 2016, (HC, $28.00. ISBN-10: 1259837386; ISBN-13: 978-1259837388), but is available in eBook format in November, in time to influence every company and executive working to reach new leadership and business horizons in 2017.
About Zenger Folkman:
Zenger Folkman is the authority in strengths-based leadership development. Their award-winning programs employ research-based methods that improve organizations and turn good managers into extraordinary leaders.
