Corvinus Research: Recommendations for Business Leaders

A comprehensive study on the organizations and leaders of the future in Hungary was conducted by the Institute of Strategy and Management at Corvinus University of Budapest. They wanted to know what factors would have an impact on the functioning of future organizations and how these factors could be countered effectively. This was accomplished in part by creating a map of how businesses currently manage and organize themselves.

We examined the data about effective leaders.

Is the future leader a lone hero?

“The leader of the future remains, in the minds of most respondents, more of a "lone hero", who is prepared and dynamic in leading the organization. By contrast, international recommendations describe them as a team player who works closely with others, inspires others, is adept at using new technologies, can cope with complex situations and can deal with uncertainty," they say.

The authors of the research see the best way for the companies surveyed to adapt to external changes is to continue to improve their current operations.

Their managers perceive their organizational skills, which require greater creativity and risk-taking, as weaker. Their ability to co-create value with customers (e.g. co-development) is considered to be the least developed.

It's time for transformational leadership!

The study confirms that the so-called transformational leadership style - as opposed to traditional transactional and " non-leading" leadership styles - is a major contributor to reducing barriers to change (e.g. resistance, low morale) and supports innovation and digitalization. In addition, transformational leaders - who value inspirational motivation, idealization (providing a role model) and intellectual stimulation, among other things - consider their work much more meaningful.

8 recommendations for Hungarian business leaders

"Following professional recommendations on the organization and leadership of the future is crucial for every business, and even non-business organizations, but it is also critical for the national economy," said György Drótos, head of the research. The researchers made eight recommendations for business leaders in Hungary to follow:

1. Train yourself and your fellow leaders on the topic of the organization of the future and the leader of the future! Keep up with innovative approaches to management and organization being implemented by leading firms in your industry!​ 
2. "Flatten the pyramid", while empowering direct managers and mixed teams! ​ 
3. Put more emphasis on leaders having advanced digital skills and becoming true team players, both able and willing to collaborate intensively within and outside the organization!  
4. Seek to adopt automation and other digital technologies at the process level and extend them throughout the organization!  
5. Invest in technology solutions that enable data-driven operations, but also improve the decision-making culture of the organization!  
6. Study and implement a transformational leadership style to successfully introduce big changes! 
7. Consciously nurture a new generation of leaders who will naturally have the above expectations of the organization and leader of the future!​ 
8. Preparing for the future should not take the form of individual actions, but of a carefully planned multiannual programme. If necessary, enlist the help of experts in the field, both academic and practitioners.​

Results of the research 

In the Future Organization and Leadership survey, a representative sample of 305 senior executives of Hungarian companies with at least 50 employees and HUF 100 M turnover were interviewed in spring 2022.

Read the full research report here.

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