Compassion will be one of the most important characteristics business leaders will need for success a decade from now, say executives of Fortune 1,000 companies surveyed recently by Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Management. Only team-building was cited more often than compassion by the executives, who selected from a list that also included the terms "competitiveness," "intelligence" and "aggressiveness."
"The results may seem surprising in this era of mass downsizing, but they clearly show that executives think there's more to corporate responsibility than just profits," said Thomas Dyckman, acting dean of the Johnson School, which released the survey results last week. "Executives may be getting weary of the 'chainsaw' management mentality that's been receiving so much attention lately."
In fact, 24 percent of the executives surveyed disagreed that maximizing profits was a company's primary responsibility, and 21 percent disagreed that a company's financial strength should outweigh all other considerations when corporate leaders are faced with difficult decisions.
The majority (58 percent) of the executives strongly agreed that corporations have a responsibility to address social issues such as work and family, diversity, equal rights and the environment, but only 14 percent strongly agreed that corporate leaders are doing a good job addressing those issues.
More than half the executives agreed that corporations should be required by law to address issues such as work and family, diversity, the environment and other social issues. Moreover, 63 percent agreed there should be tax or other incentives to reward companies that consider their obligations to their workers, the communities in which they operate and the environment when making business decisions. On the other hand, more than half opposed penalties for companies that focus single-mindedly on profits to the exclusion of other issues when making decisions.
But if today's employees think a kinder, gentler corporate future lies ahead, they may want to think again. Tomorrow's corporate leaders -- MBA students at the country's top 20 business schools -- are keeping their eyes on the bottom line. The characteristic they most often selected as most important was "results-oriented." Further, nearly 60 percent of the students said that executives in today's era of mass downsizing make good role models.
On the issue of the environment, half of the executives strongly agreed that corporations have a responsibility to limit their negative impact on the environment, while only about one-quarter of the MBA students felt the same way.
And 52 percent of the executives -- but only 35 percent of the MBA students -- strongly agreed that a corporate leader's responsibility is to ensure the greatest good for the greatest number of stakeholders, which include shareholders, employees, customers and local communities.
"The results may indicate that experience cultivates a broader definition of corporate responsibility," Dykman said. "It would be interesting to survey the MBA students 20 years from now and see if their positions have changed."
In developing their leadership skills, most of the executives cited college/business school education as the most important influence, followed closely by on-the-job training and mentors.
The Johnson School has moved to expand its own leadership development programs. Earlier this year, it announced the Park Leadership Fellows program, a highly competitive fellowship that will award full tuition and a stipend to 30 outstanding students beginning next fall.
"In selecting Park Leadership Fellows, we will seek well-rounded, high-impact individuals who will have not only exceptional leadership skills and unusual intellectual curiosity, but also have demonstrated a commitment to community service and a concern for social and environmental issues," said Dyckman.
The Corporate America survey results were announced at "New Values for Corporate Leadership," a recent roundtable discussion sponsored by the Johnson School at the Cornell Club in New York.