(DDI: Bridgeville, Pennsylvania) -- Confidence in leaders is at an eight-year-low, according to the Global Leadership Forecast 2008|2009, a biannual study conducted by Development Dimensions International (DDI), a global human resources consulting firm.

According to the report, HR confidence in leaders has declined steadily since 1999, when the Leadership Forecast first measured organizations’ perceptions of their leaders.

“This deterioration of confidence is a sign that leaders aren’t meeting the needs of the organization,” says Rich Wellins, senior vice president at DDI. “Every business leader needs to take note of this if they want to grow their organization.”

DDI conducts the Leadership Forecast to measure the effect of leadership development programs around the world. More than 13,701 leaders and HR professionals from 76 countries participated this year.

Some of the major findings of the report are:

Leaders are dissatisfied with their development.
Two out of five leaders don’t feel they’re getting the development they need, which is a key obstacle to leadership confidence. Leaders want more opportunities to learn on the job, but senior management seldom takes responsibility for making this happen.

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