Which Companies Produce the Top Leaders?

The 2014 Aon Hewitt Top Companies for Leaders ( for North America) was announced this past November. The consulting group found top companies shared five key characteristics in their leadership approach:

Assessment. When it comes to building leaders, top companies assess the whole leader early in their careers. This includes evaluating leaders' experiences, competencies, values and organizational fit. This helps organizations understand the unique needs of their talent pipeline to fuel the right development solutions that move people forward faster.

Awareness. Top companies have leaders who demonstrate tremendous self-awareness by understanding their personal strengths and weaknesses and using this information to become more effective leaders.

Resilience. In today's unpredictable and complex environment, top companies build resilience in their leaders by creating inclusive cultures where multiple perspectives and ideas are expected and fostered to help the organization meet continued business challenges.

Engaging leadership. Organizations leading the way focus on identifying and building engaging leaders who are stabilizers, demonstrate versatility and stay connected to people and events inside and outside their organization.  

Sustainability. Aon Hewitt Top Companies for Leaders focus on building talent programs nimble enough to respond quickly to market demands, yet sustainable to deliver superior business outcomes.