Working at dual speeds

For organizations, short-term success and long-term growth do not always lie on the same road. Since the global financial crisis, executives in Asia need to navigate both—achieving immediate results and building sustainable strategies in tandem.

Korn Ferry used its database of leadership assessments to compare the best-in-class executives in Asia from the era before the global financial crisis (1998 to 2005) and after (2009 to 2013) to see if and how top business leaders were adjusting their thinking style and leadership style to these competing demands.

We also conducted focus groups and a follow-up questionnaire with 27 local and three expat executives to gather what they see as the central challenges in this new environment and how they balance short-term and long-term goals.

Our findings have significant implications for how executive-level leaders can be proactively prepared to address this challenge.