Making it Count: The Purpose of Commitment to Developing Top-Tier Talent

Over the past decade, the development and conduct of top talent in financial services has been sorely tested.

The Global Financial Crisis questioned not just the business of finance but also those in charge of it and their ability to identify high-performance individuals as leaders for the future.

However, many industry experts are starting to feel a greater sense of optimism today than ever before in relation to building talent.

Indeed, a new report by Fitch Learning shows that many firms are now well on the way to understanding the ‘mission critical’ attributes and developing a blueprint for the elite Financial Services leader of 2030.

In its research report, Making The Best – The Shape of The Elite Future Leader, Fitch Learning reveals the new leadership DNA required to shape the elite future leader of 2030.

The research shows that a third of the L&D leaders interviewed by Fitch Learning stated they were reassessing top talent attributes for the business or had completed such process in 2018. 

The most desired ‘mission critical’ attributes for future leaders to acquire through structured learning pathways are to inspire, challenge and activate.

Millennials are driving the significant uptake in demand for mentoring solutions as part of the longer-term talent development programs.

Institutions are recognising that they need to invest more in structured training and support for mentors, before they start engaging with mentees across the business.

While heads of L&D and HR are developing a blueprint for the attributes of the ‘ideal leader of tomorrow’, many are not yet convinced they have absolute buy-in from top management.

Andreas Karaiskos, CEO of Fitch Learning, said:

“The key shift underway at all institutions is the adjustment in their approach to learning and development. Many of the decision makers we spoke to remarked that their own business L&D solutions were still basic or uninspiring, yet they were all expecting solutions and learning techniques to improve in the future.

“In the past, L&D lacked the proof points to make its case in respect of implementing future leader development programmes, but now the data points in our own research and from across these firms is helping us to unveil the new leadership DNA. It’s great to see technology playing such a central role in this discovery.”