Companies that make developing their leaders a priority are more innovative and successful according to a recent survey. The Hay Group, a talent-management consulting firm, identified the best managed companies in 2011 and determined they all place a premium on emphasizing flexibility, customer service, new ideas, and collaboration. It’s no wonder the top twenty consists of some of the giant names in business, including IBM, Microsoft, McDonalds, Southwest, and GE. (I’ve listed the complete top twenty below).

The Hay Group concluded the top companies are successful, in part; by the way they seek innovative solutions and broaden their perspectives. They found the top companies:

• Pursue multiple strategies to incorporate different perspectives in the workplace.
• Create room for new ideas, and look for them everywhere in their organizations.
• Value differences, and seek cultural, ethnic, and national diversity.
• Engage the next generation, who value sustainability and bring their ideals to work. 
• Deliberately seek to expand their employees' capabilities and professional experiences.  

The study found top companies value teamwork and collaboration. Nearly 90% of employees surveyed from the top 20 companies said their organization “evaluates and rewards our leaders based on their ability to build excellent relationships with their peers.” The companies are also willing to think outside the box to develop new ideas. Over 80% of employees said their company “runs unprofitable projects to try new things.” Implementing an unprofitable project just to see if it might work and be successful, now that’s innovative.

It should be no surprise that effective leadership breeds success. Over a ten-year period, the top 20 ranked companies in this finding outperformed the S&P 500 at twice the rate of other companies!

The bottom line is an organizational culture that values leadership development, promotes employee collaboration, and focuses on their customer will continue to grow, sustain relevancy, and remain profitable even during tough economic times.

The following are the top 20 companies from The Hay Group  2011 Best Companies for Leadership report.