Korn Ferry Study Reveals United States Black P&L Leaders are Some of the Highest Performing Executives in the U.S. C-Suite
October 10 2019 - 11:00AM
Business Wire
A groundbreaking new study released today by Korn Ferry
(NYSE:KFY) shows that senior Black profit and loss (P&L)
leaders at Fortune 500 companies are some of the highest performing
executives in corporate America.
The study, The Black P&L Leader: Insights and Lessons from
Senior Black P&L Leaders in Corporate America, examines the
attributes and skills that differentiate these executives and the
experiences that position them for success. Korn Ferry conducted
in-depth interviews with current and former senior Black P&L
leaders and Black CEOs, as well as leveraged Korn Ferry’s Four
Dimensions of Leadership (KF4D) psychometric-based assessment to
gain valuable insights.
Despite the wealth of talent featured in the study, Black
executives are underrepresented in the C-suite. Since 1955, there
have only been 15 Black CEOs at the helm of Fortune 500 companies.
Today, there are only four, none of whom are women.
“The rapid decline in the number of Black CEOs is alarming given
the millions of dollars that companies have spent on diversity and
inclusion programs,” said Mike Hyter, managing partner of Korn
Ferry. “For things to change, organizations will need to create
more inclusive cultures and career opportunities for Black
talent.”
Currently, fewer than 10 percent of senior P&L leaders are
Black.
“If organizations don’t do things differently, the pipeline will
not change in the future,” Hyter added.
The study was conducted in collaboration with The Executive
Leadership Council (ELC), a national organization of more than 800
current and former Black CEOs, senior executives at Fortune 1000
and Global 500 companies, entrepreneurs at top-tier firms, and
global thought leaders.
Several insights emerged from The Black P&L Leader study to
underscore that the participants are among the most driven
executives in corporate America:
- Of the Black P&L leaders interviewed, 60 percent of them
would never leave their career decisions to chance. They actively
took highly strategic or analytical approaches to their
professional development. They took the initiative to be
accountable for their career progress.
- More than 80 percent were willing to take on more risk to
garner influence in their organizations, and 50 percent
intentionally sought tough projects with P&L responsibilities
that would challenge them professionally and personally, and in
turn give them greater visibility in their organizations.
- Nearly 60 percent of the Black P&L leaders reported having
to work twice as hard and accomplish twice as much as their peers
to counter misperceptions about their skills and results.
- More than 80 percent of the Black P&L leaders said having a
sponsor was indispensable to their career progression. Sponsors
helped increase exposure and access to opportunities.
- More than 35 percent of the executives said they were assigned
extremely tough projects that no one wanted to handle and had a
high risk of failure. Many Black P&L leaders felt these
assignments were given under the unspoken assumption that they need
to prove their worth. Those leaders demonstrated tremendous
fortitude and managed significant headwinds, setback and social
exclusion to get ahead.
“Despite this, the future is limitless,” said Hyter. “This
report allows us to create a picture of what organizations need to
do to be intentional about developing more Black talent into
P&L leaders.”
”As a former chief human resources officer, I know that every
leader has a few missing pieces that need to be developed,” said
Skip Spriggs, president and CEO of The ELC. “But when it comes to
Black talent, there is an expectation that they have to have all
the pieces in order to be considered.”
Given these challenges, Korn Ferry and The ELC are committed to
engaging with C-Suite leaders and Boards on how to advance their
Black leaders. As research shows, diverse and inclusive teams drive
business growth and profitability. Companies that are more
intentional about developing Black talent, then, can expect to
outpace the competition.
To view the complete report, please visit here.
About Korn Ferry
Korn Ferry is a global organizational consulting firm. We work
with clients to design their organizational structures, roles and
responsibilities. We help them hire the right people and advise
them on how to reward, develop and motivate their workforce. And,
we help professionals navigate and advance their careers.
About The Executive Leadership Council
The Executive Leadership Council opens channels of opportunity
for the development of black executives to positively impact
business and our communities. An independent non-profit 501(c)(3)
founded in 1986, The ELC is the pre-eminent membership organization
committed to increasing the number of global black executives in
C-Suites, on corporate boards and in global enterprises. Comprising
more than 800 current and former black CEOs, senior executives and
board directors at Fortune 1000 and Global 500 companies, and
entrepreneurs at top-tier firms, its members work to build an
inclusive business leadership pipeline that empowers global black
leaders to make impactful contributions to the marketplace and the
global communities they serve. For more information, please visit
www.elcinfo.com.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191010005567/en/
Media Contact: Molly Lynch 773-505-9719
molly@lynchgrouponline.com
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