Good senior leadership is vital in providing organisations with the right strategic direction and oversight. But what are the skills, capabilities and knowledge that senior leaders should be equipped with? And how can people professionals tasked with selecting, developing or advising on senior leadership positions, carry this out effectively?

Member tool: CIPD Buddy BETA
Experiment with AI to find answers on this topic with our prototype. Login to explore CIPD Buddy

The CIPD commissioned research that took an evidence-based approach to understanding current practices to provide practical insight into the following questions:

  • What does good (and poor) senior leadership look like? 
  • What is the link between effective senior leadership and organisational outcomes? 
  • What practices are most effective in selecting and developing senior leaders? 
  • How can HR best support the selection and development of senior leaders? 
  • What organisational structures best facilitate this? 

The resulting takeaways and recommendations will help people professionals influence and establish the right leadership in their organisations in a strategic and informed way. 

Download the report for the full details or our infographic for a summary

Role of HR in selecting and developing senior leaders | Report

Download the report
PDF document 608 KB

Role of HR in selecting and developing senior leaders | Infographic

Download the infographic
PDF document 330.5 KB

CIPD's Senior policy and practice advisor's insights on the report

  • Podcast

    HR People Pod

    Listen to episodes of HR People Pod, the CIPD’s fortnightly podcast providing expert insights from HR leaders discussing the topical issues impacting the world of work.

    Listen now
  • Data

    Data hub

    Explore the evidence behind workforce trends

  • a mix of men and women at a construction site, wearing hard hats and high vis, gather round a woman talking and pointing to a clipboard
    Report

    Analysis of the public sector workforce

    Research in this report suggests that improving leadership and people management can help raise the motivation and productivity of the public sector workforce

  • Report

    Health and wellbeing at work

    The CIPD’s biennial report exploring health, wellbeing and absence management provides invaluable trend analysis and practice insight to help employers and people professionals develop and maintain supportive, productive workplaces

  • Report

    Labour Market Outlook

    Read our latest Labour Market Outlook report for analysis on employers’ recruitment, redundancy and pay intentions

  • See all reports