Leadership Development Practices In Service Industry-An Empirical Analysis

Abstract

In the current scenario of competition, leader provides a competitive edge to the organizations. A dynamic leader ensures that the things are moving in the right direction and organization is achieving its goals successfully.  Leader serves as the backbone for the organization, without whom organizations would find it difficult to survive.  The charismatic leaders lend inspiration and direction to the action.  Leadership abilities can be learned and developed over a period of time.  Therefore, the companies are focusing towards leadership development.  Through this study, an attempt has been made to find out the best leadership development practices that are being currently utilized by service industry and its sub sectors. The best industry practices provide a platform for exploring service organizations to review and asses the content of their leadership programs to acquire more effective results. For this study, a sample of 62 various industrial segments relating to service industry were selected randomly and data was collected accordingly.  Statistical tools like ANOVA and factor analysis were applied to find out the high and low leadership development practices and to critically analyze industrial segment scores high on implementing leadership development practices.  The findings of the research suggested that performance reviews, leadership role availability, leadership training, stretch assignments, developing leaders at all levels scored high on leadership development practices, whereas career counseling, encouraging university degrees, allowing outside consulting roles, employee sabbaticals and offering executive education programs scored

low on the leadership development practices in the service industry.

Keywords: Career Counseling, Executive Education, Leadership Development Practices, Leadership Training, Performance Reviews, Stretch Assignments, and Service Industry.