can expect to find more open roles. Money sitting on the sidelines will come back into the economy as investment in people, training, technology and…..the real innovation starts to move forward.

Or will it? I feel as though we’ve had a Goodbye, uncertainty and Hellooo, uncertainty, moment. We’re still perched on the edge of the so-called fiscal cliff, waiting for leadership to show up. 2013 promises to be one of the most challenging years yet for Leaders and HR pros as they are forced to pick a path around healthcare regulations that haven’t been written, some level of tax reform that hasn’t been defined (er, Simpson-Bowles anyone?) and employee frustration with lack of growth, potential loss of benefits, and dimming hopes of retirement. Whatever your politics, we’re all in the same boat, and it’s listing badly. The leader’s seat is still vacant. Can you believe it?

rs’ takes the number two spot of concerns HR must address as identified by 52 percent of respondents. This is a big jump from the 2010 survey, in which a mere 29 percent of respondents named leadership development a pressing HR challenge. In business, as in the rest of life, leadership skills are critical now more than ever.

Taking the number one spot in the SHRM survey with 60 percent of respondents is ‘retaining and rewarding the best employees’. This makes sense as a lead-in, since I’d argue the best employees are leaders – people leaders, management leaders, creative leaders, technical leaders or sales leaders. We need to fill the leadership gap, and fast.

Let’s look at the top five challenges to developing leaders and think a bit about how to address them. Here are five must haves for every leader – let’s start a revolution right now:

1) Invest in leadership development. Whether you believe leaders are born or made, companies still need to invest in their best employees to develop