MANILA, Philippines – Leaders in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry tend to be more confident than their counterparts in other industries, according to a global study on leadership development.

BPO leaders were confident because they felt capable of executing their jobs well, said Richard Wellins, senior vice president of Development Dimensions International (DDI), which prepared the “Global Leadership Forecast 2008-2009″ report.

This was in stark contrast to the global results that found leaders frustrated, according to Wellins. “Leadership confidence is dropping worldwide. This was leaders rating themselves. It has nose-dived,” he added in an interview.

However, the study found BPO leadership development programs in the country wanting, a summary of the study showed.

It found that only 41 percent of senior leaders and 32 percent of HR professionals were satisfied with the quality of their efforts to develop leadership in the BPO industry, a finding in line with global results in other industries.

The BPO portion of the study gathered responses from senior leaders and human resource professionals in 26 BPO firms and was highlighted as part of a partnership with the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP), a trade organization for BPO companies.

Willins pointed out that the study showed little correlation between the economic recession and the confidence of leaders.

Good leaders, he stressed, keep winning despite the “storms.”

Source: Erwin Oliva