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Egon Zehnder asked over 400 of the world’s top CEOs what it means to be an effective leader today
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Corporate leadership development programs aren’t working. Less than a quarter of executives at the organizations that have them think they’re effective. Evaluations of managers at thousands of corporations suggest that 72% have what it takes to grow into C-suite roles. How can we bridge the gap between this raw talent and executive success?
Onboarding is an apt term for how many companies support new leaders’ transitions, because – like helping someone onto a ship – there’s not much more to the process than bringing the executive safely on deck. From there on, he or she is expected to know what to do or sort it out with little or no guidance.
Dick Patton talks to NPR about the importance of mindset preparation and the role of boards in helping CEOs succeed.
What is the right balance between traditionalists and change makers? In our experience, we’ve found the formula used by innovation leaders can also create a marketing talent blueprint. By adopting this innovation framework, companies can better ensure the placement of the right talent to drive transformational change.
At Egon Zehnder, we have worked with family businesses around the world since our founding in 1964. We interviewed scores of family executives to better understand their sources of success—as well as their pain points.
One could be forgiven, then, for assuming that a good CEO is little more than an omnipotent puppeteer, pulling the strings to assign the right people to the right projects. These are the CEOs of Hollywood screenplay writers. The real world could hardly be more different.
Looking back at her time as Royal Mail CEO, Moya Greene reflects on underestimating how hard it is to drive change. Hear more of this conversation with Egon Zehnder’s Karim Jalbout at CognitionX
With the rise of artificial intelligence in business, the technology has been used in more and more complex applications in recent years. And it is now starting to conquer the field of human resources – likely one of the most complex fields to be addressed by computers.
Egon Zehnder hosted an intimate roundtable discussion on the impact of Amazon’s second headquarters, with a focus on the DC, Maryland, and Virginia region (DMV). The event brought together fourteen regional business leaders and several members of Egon Zehnder’s digital practice for a thought-provoking discussion on the potential opportunities and threats Amazon HQ2 presents to the region.
For Leaders & Daughters 2018, we hosted 32 panel and roundtable conversations around the world. We have now brought together almost 6,000 attendees to share experiences, perspectives, and—importantly—solutions. Through both intimate and large-scale events, we used this year’s theme—Mind The Gap—to look closely at why senior-level women so rarely make it into the C-Suite, and to share examples of success.
Dick Patton talks to NPR about the importance of mindset preparation and the role of boards in helping CEOs succeed.
Many chemical enterprises have implemented pilot programs as a way of taking the first steps toward digital transformation. But the conversations we have with boards and CEOs, combined with our own observations in the field, suggest that pilot programs rarely lead to transformation in the chemical industry.
Chinese businesses are aggressively expanding into Southeast seeking new markets and investment opportunities, ranging from mining, consumer goods, electronics, real estate to digital services.
Private companies - maintain the status quo or support a tide of change?
What is the right balance between traditionalists and change makers? In our experience, we’ve found the formula used by innovation leaders can also create a marketing talent blueprint. By adopting this innovation framework, companies can better ensure the placement of the right talent to drive transformational change.
One could be forgiven, then, for assuming that a good CEO is little more than an omnipotent puppeteer, pulling the strings to assign the right people to the right projects. These are the CEOs of Hollywood screenplay writers. The real world could hardly be more different.
How to create innovation and growth in the global procurement and supply chain industry
At Egon Zehnder, we have worked with family businesses around the world since our founding in 1964. We interviewed scores of family executives to better understand their sources of success—as well as their pain points.
In December 2017 Egon Zehnder held a Cybersecurity Roundtable Discussion in Hong Kong, moderated by Richard Lin and Matthew Edwards, consultants in our Technology Officers and Fintech practices.
When building the future of work change is inevitable but do it humbly, you have to be ethical. Hear Royal Mail CEO Moya Greene’s perspective on upskilling and the role of AI in this transformation from her conversation with Egon Zehnder’s Karim Jalbout at CognitionX
Looking back at her time as Royal Mail CEO, Moya Greene reflects on underestimating how hard it is to drive change. Hear more of this conversation with Egon Zehnder’s Karim Jalbout at CognitionX
Drone deliveries? Not happening any time soon according to Royal Mail CEO Moya Greene, drone deliveries are not happening any time soon. Hear more from her conversation with Egon Zehnder’s Karim Jalbout at CognitionX
Happiness and business – can they go together? Mention happiness in this context and the doubters are quick to speak up: “That’s just new-age nonsense,” or “Ultimately businesses just want to maximize their profits”. Yet it’s clear that happy people are more successful, more creative and significantly more resilient in times of change.
Based on a survey of a 140 UK based respondents across Audit Committee Chairs, Board Chairs, CFOs and Audit Partners in the UK. The survey was supplemented with 21 interviews with UK Board Chairs, Audit Committee Chairs, CFOs and Audit Partners aimed at determining what characteristics are needed to lead this key Committee, what the job entails now, and crucially how an Audit Committee Chair can succeed.
Can AI really transform a business or is it all just hot air? Hear from Royal Mail CEO Moya Greene in her conversation with Egon Zehnder’s Karim Jalbout at CogX 2018.
By this point, together with our client we have determined what degree of transformation is necessary in various dimensions and at different points within the company. A shared view among the management team of the level of transformation required (improvement, renewal or reinvention) and of the current state of the company at the start of the transformation is a fundamental prerequisite before setting the ball rolling.
By way of structure for our diagnosis, we take the five key dimensions that determine the success or failure of any transformation and examine them. As the transformation affects the entire system, the diagnosis invariably looks at three levels from the same perspective: the CEO, the management team and the organization as a whole.
It’s a simple truth that haunts many a corporate leader: “What made us successful in the past will not keep us competitive in the future.” Contributing to their restless nights is a growing awareness that, in complex and volatile environments, the future is no longer something that can be planned. So what must the nature of the long-term goals be with which they align the company?
Any change you make is going with your people, not against your people.” – Royal Mail CEO Moya Greene in conversation with EgonZehnder’s KarimJalbout on stage at CognitionX
Forward-looking feedback is mission-critical to the development of top leaders, although many organizations still fail to make best use of this tool. In particular, routine feedback processes embedded in annual year-end performance reviews often lead to frustration – for both parties. Leadership SCRUM presents an alternative to traditional feedback sessions. It starts with a 360-degree reflection process designed to generate development ideas by means of algorithms; ideas that are then discussed and evaluated, providing feedforward rather than feedback and triggering a forward-looking dynamic process. Tilman Gerhardt, who ranks among the pioneers of the development of conventional appraisals, was responsible for creating Leadership SCRUM and introduces it here.
Egon Zehnder introduced Leaders & Daughters in March 2015 in London to provide a forum for addressing both the gender divide and the opportunity gap faced by the next generation of women leaders. By bringing together highly accomplished leaders and their daughters and mentees, we addressed the opportunities, challenges, obstacles and ideals of women leaders – and began to pave a path for positive change. Join the conversation by using #LeadersandDaughters.