As the Asean Economic Community approaches, Thai companies still lack leadership development that could help them in their race with foreign companies, says consultancy firm APM Group.
"There are risks ahead that companies should pay serious attention to, because if we don't have leaders who are competent at their jobs, those companies will not have good performance," said managing director Arinya Talerngsri.
She said many companies failed to develop leadership among their chief executives because they focused only on the outcome of a job and not its quality.
Ms Arinya said developing leadership methods was not popular in the past because most companies thought business was changing all the time and they could find suitable ways to develop human resources to fill changing roles.
However, top managers now realise the importance of leadership training.
"You cannot force people to change if they don’t want to. In contrast, you should focus on those people who are willing to change," Ms Arinya said.
Companies are building up collective leadership, with groups of people who understand their job well instead of training only a few people about leadership.
"Those companies must be sure there are ample talented people in the organisation so they can replace people who leave," Ms Arinya said.
She said leadership teams should have clear targets for all employees, with advice on how to achieve goals and appropriate rewards for those who achieve targets.
Companies with good leadership development should have a changeable plan to respond to the business climate.
"If Thailand stands still, it will stay far behind its neighbours, which are now developing leadership seriously," Ms Arinya said. "They could all take advantage, leaving Thailand as the least competitive country in the region."