New Leadership Study Focuses on People-Led Economy

NAPERVILLE, Ill., Nov. 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The demands of our new economy and opportunities to succeed will be much greater for business leaders who understand and foster a "people-led approach" in their organizations, according to a new study by the Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement.

The study, Leadership and the Performance of People in Organizations: Enriching Employees and Connecting People, points out that today's leaders must take into account the erosion of trust in management over the last few years and the changes in a workforce that is using technology to form personal connections both beyond - and within - the workplace.

"These enhanced connections should result in what the study's researchers call a 'constituent-based approach to leadership,'" says Michelle M. Smith, CPIM, CRP, and Forum president. "This approach successfully balances the needs of employees, consumers, shareholders and the community at large and ensures that their needs are met in an authentic and transparent manner."

Jennifer Rosenzweig, Forum director of research, notes that while leadership is one of the most widely discussed and researched aspects of business, it has been characterized by a variety of definitions, frameworks, guidelines and managerial prescriptions.

"In this research, the Forum provides a review and reframing of leadership from a people-first perspective," says Rosenzweig. "Along with meeting the needs of external constituents, today's leaders should concentrate on employee enrichment well beyond work-life balance into authentic concern for enhancing people's lives."

Practicing a people-centered management and leadership style can pay off handsomely. According to the Forum study, companies practicing this approach have seen positive bottom line results in which value emerges for every constituent. They refer to this as the Human Value Connection.

More about the Human Value Connection and recommendations for implementing people-centered leadership will be explored further in upcoming white papers from the Forum.

The Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement (www.performanceforum.org) is a research center within the Medill Integrated Marketing Communications graduate program at Northwestern University. A central objective of the Forum is to develop and disseminate knowledge about communications, motivation and management so that businesses can better design, implement and manage Employee Engagement initiatives inside and outside the organization.

SOURCE The Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement

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