On July 21, 2020, The McKinsey Quarterly , published a very interesting article on the challenges faced by CEOs during the crisis created by Covid-19. It suggests that CEOs can decide to lead in new ways, and in so doing seize a once-in-a-generation opportunity to consciously evolve the very nature and impact of their role.
Read the full article on The McKinsey Quarterly by clicking the link to the article. I’ve also excerpted the introduction below, if you want to check it out further.
Challenged by the global pandemic, CEOs have made four shifts in the way they lead that hold great promise for both companies and society. Will they build on this unique moment, or return to the ways of the past?
COVID-19 has created a massive humanitarian challenge: millions ill and hundreds of thousands of lives lost; soaring unemployment rates in the world’s most robust economies; food banks stretched beyond capacity; governments straining to deliver critical services. The pandemic is also a challenge for businesses—and their CEOs—unlike any they have ever faced, forcing an abrupt dislocation of how employees work, how customers behave, how supply chains function, and even what ultimately constitutes business performance.
Confronting this unique moment, CEOs have shifted how they lead in expedient and ingenious ways. The changes may have been birthed of necessity, but they have great potential beyond this crisis. In this article, we explore four shifts in how CEOs are leading that are also better ways to lead a company: unlocking bolder (“10x”) aspirations, elevating their “to be” list to the same level as “to do” in their operating models, fully embracing stakeholder capitalism, and harnessing the full power of their CEO peer networks. If they become permanent, these shifts hold the potential to thoroughly recalibrate the organization and how it operates, the company’s performance potential, and its relationship to critical constituents.
Only CEOs can decide whether to continue leading in these new ways, and in so doing seize a once-in-a-generation opportunity to consciously evolve the very nature and impact of their role. Indeed, as we have written elsewhere, part of the role of the CEO is to serve as a chief calibrator—deciding the extent and degree of change needed. As part of this, CEOs must have a thesis of transformation that works in their company context. A good CEO is always scanning for signals and helping the organization deliver fine-tuned responses. A great CEO will see that this moment is a unique opportunity for self-calibration, with profound implications for the organization.
We have spoken with and counseled hundreds of CEOs since the pandemic first hit. It is clear to us that they sense an opportunity to lead in a new, more positive and impactful way. If a critical mass of CEOs embraces and extends what they have learned during the pandemic, this CEO moment could become a CEO movement—one that is profoundly positive for the achievement of corporate, human, and societal potential. As Rajnish Kumar, chairman of the State Bank of India, reflects, “This will be a true inflection point. I think that this pandemic, in terms of implications, will be as big an event as World War II. And whatever we learn through this process, it must not go to waste.”
To read more, visit the McKinley Quarterly online:
https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/leadership/the-ceo-moment-leadership-for-a-new-era?cid=other-eml-alt-mcq-mck&hlkid=b774d574b01e43d2b987a9d1fd53ec72&hctky=10704609&hdpid=d9dfddef-b568-4520-b733-5120deb6f37c#