India is way ahead of China in terms of nurturing leadership talents, and Indian business leaders are much more effective with their critical skills, according to a study.

Besides, businesses in the country are better at identifying/developing future talents, it adds. “About 60 per cent or more of the Indian leaders are found to be more effective than their Chinese counterparts when it comes to excelling in five critical skills required for successful leadership,” said the study by DDI, a talent management firm, on ‘Leadership at the Future’s Edge: China and India’.

The survey for the study spans 2,600 companies in 74 countries. About 76 per cent Indian leaders are better at identifying and developing future leaders compared to 56 per cent of Chinese counterparts, it pointed out.

The quality of leadership talent plays a critical role in the future success of business and India has a clear lead. Only one in three Chinese companies deploys validated tests while making leadership selection decisions, compared to 44 per cent of Indian organisations, it said.

When it comes to business performance, Indian organisations are much better than Chinese counterparts, the study found. About 51 per cent of the Indian leaders are satisfied with the current quality of leadership, compared to a mere 38 per cent of their Chinese counterparts.

Both China and India appear to be relatively autocratic in terms of leadership power, while China’s management culture may suffer a bit more from top-down decision making that limits widespread efforts to foster innovation.

India, on the other hand, seems to be focused primarily on business goals and is more rigid in terms of organisational structure. However, when it comes to retention, China fares much better, with 59 per cent rate compared to India’s 49 per cent.

“The lack of leadership impacts on retention, it is plausible that retention in red-hot economies is driven more by salary offers and promotion opportunities,” the study points out.

With both the countries growing three to four times faster than most other parts of the world, they need to be well-prepared for the future corporate leadership needs as neither can afford to just keep up, but to leap forward.