Leadership excellence: Learning from an exploratory study on leadership systems in large multinationals

Purpose From an exploratory study of 37 large multinationals, this paper aims to report key findings, derive learnings for the design of corporate leadership systems and identify future research issues for a better understanding of individual leadership in corporate leadership systems. Design/methodology/approach The study reported builds on ten years of ongoing research on the nature of leadership, leadership communication, and institutional support structures in large multinationals. As such, it is part of ongoing longitudinal leadership research, following a hermeneutic approach. Findings From a qualitative as well as quantitative perspective the paper reviews the implementation and usage of corporate leadership instruments and discusses current practices of large corporations trying to select, support, measure, motivate and develop very large numbers of leaders around the world. A conceptual leadership system is presented as a basic frame of reference. Research limitations/implications The exploratory research approach has its strength in framing the field of corporate leadership systems. Further in-depth research is needed on the nature of each the four key fields of the conceptual framework described. Practical implications Those who are responsible to design and revise corporate leadership systems will find a valuable frame of reference and selected benchmark data as a basis for the assessment and further development of the corporate leadership landscape. Originality/value This paper presents original findings in a highly relevant, but under-researched field of corporate leadership practice.