CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html><html dir="ltr" lang="en"><head><meta charSet="utf-8"/><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"/><meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge"/><script>var McKinsey = {"ArticleTemplate":"Legacy","DaysSinceCMSPublication":"30","DisplayDate":"8/19/2024","OriginalPublicationDate":"8/19/2024","SourcePublication":"McKinsey Quarterly","SitecoreId":"{E26429A9-9AF5-444B-A133-DBF72AAF6457}","Title":"The versatile leader: How learning to adapt makes CEOs better","ArticleType":"Book Excerpt","ContentType":"Article","ServerNumber":"","IsPageRestricted":"true","UserID":"","RegistrationDate":"","LoginStatus":"logged_out","JobTitle":"","CompanyName":"","blogTags":null,"enableRegWall":false}; var pageMetaInformation = {"CurrentLanguage":"en","AlternateLanguages":[{"DisplayName":"English","LanguageCode":"en","Url":"/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/the-versatile-leader-how-learning-to-adapt-makes-ceos-better"}],"NavigationLink":"capabilities","ActiveItemId":"{263B5075-2E73-4049-ACE5-A781C619B562}","OfficeCode":"","MiniSiteId":"{3BACEF67-76B1-4244-B48C-DBD94B0F2B61}"};</script><link rel="icon" href="/favicon.ico"/><link href="https://www.mckinsey.com/redesign/resources/css/styles-rc.css" rel="stylesheet"/><link rel="manifest" href="/manifest.json"/><link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//cdn.dynamicyield.com"/><link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//st.dynamicyield.com"/><link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//rcom.dynamicyield.com"/><link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//cdn.cookielaw.org"/><link rel="preconnect" href="//assets.adobedtm.com"/><link rel="preconnect" href="//connect.facebook.net"/><link rel="preconnect" href="//static.hotjar.com"/><link rel="preload" as="font" href="/next-static/fonts/bower/Bower-Bold.woff2" type="font/woff2" crossorigin=""/><link rel="preload" as="font" href="/next-static/fonts/mckinsey-sans/regular/McKinseySans-Regular.woff2" type="font/woff2" crossorigin=""/><link rel="preload" as="font" href="/next-static/fonts/mckinsey-sans/medium/McKinseySans-Medium.woff2" type="font/woff2" crossorigin=""/><link rel="preload" as="font" href="/next-static/fonts/mckinsey-sans/light/McKinseySans-Light.woff2" type="font/woff2" crossorigin=""/><link rel="preload" as="font" href="/next-static/fonts/mckinsey-sans/italic/McKinseySans-Italic.woff2" type="font/woff2" crossorigin=""/><link rel="preload" as="font" href="/next-static/fonts/mckinsey-sans/light-italic/McKinseySans-LightItalic.woff2" type="font/woff2" crossorigin=""/><link rel="preload" as="font" href="/next-static/fonts/mckinsey-sans/medium-italic/McKinseySans-MediumItalic.woff2" type="font/woff2" crossorigin=""/><link rel="preload" as="font" href="/next-static/fonts/noto-sans-jp/NotoSansJP-Light.ttf" type="font/ttf" crossorigin=""/><link rel="preload" as="font" href="/next-static/fonts/noto-sans-jp/NotoSansJP-Regular.ttf" type="font/ttf" crossorigin=""/><link rel="preload" as="font" href="/next-static/fonts/noto-sans-jp/NotoSansJP-Medium.ttf" type="font/ttf" crossorigin=""/><link rel="preload" as="font" href="/next-static/fonts/noto-sans-jp/NotoSansJP-Bold.ttf" type="font/ttf" crossorigin=""/><link rel="preload" as="font" href="/next-static/fonts/noto-sans-jp/NotoSansJP-Black.ttf" type="font/ttf" crossorigin=""/><link rel="preload" as="font" href="/next-static/fonts/noto-serif-jp/NotoSerifJP-Bold.ttf" type="font/ttf" crossorigin=""/><meta name="apple-itunes-app" content="app-id=674902075"/><link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="57x57" href="/next-static/images/mck-touch-icon-57x57.png"/><link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="72x72" href="/next-static/images/mck-touch-icon-72x72.png"/><link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="114x114" href="/next-static/images/mck-touch-icon-114x114.png"/><link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="144x144" href="/next-static/images/mck-touch-icon-144x144.png"/><link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="152x152" href="/next-static/images/mck-touch-icon-152x152.png"/><link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="167x167" href="/next-static/images/mck-touch-icon-167x167.png"/><link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="180x180" href="/next-static/images/mck-touch-icon-180x180.png"/><meta content="no-referrer-when-downgrade" name="referrer"/><meta content="McKinsey & Company" property="og:site_name" name="site_name"/><meta content="The versatile leader: How learning to adapt makes CEOs better" property="og:title" name="title"/><meta content="In this excerpt from the book “The Journey of Leadership,” we explore how to become a versatile leader by turning diverse experiences into meaningful outcomes." property="og:description" name="description"/><meta content="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/the-versatile-leader-how-learning-to-adapt-makes-ceos-better" name="url" property="og:url"/><meta content="index,follow,all" name="robots"/><meta content="https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/business%20functions/people%20and%20organizational%20performance/our%20insights/the%20versatile%20leader%20how%20learning%20to%20adapt%20makes%20ceos%20better/qweb-versatile-ceo-1536x1536.jpg" property="og:image" name="image"/><meta content="{E26429A9-9AF5-444B-A133-DBF72AAF6457}" name="sid"/><link href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/the-versatile-leader-how-learning-to-adapt-makes-ceos-better" rel="canonical"/><meta content="McKinsey Quarterly" name="practice-name"/><meta content="N32" name="practice-code"/><meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"/><meta content="@mckinsey" name="twitter:site"/><title>The versatile leader: How CEOS should adapt | McKinsey</title><meta content="Insights & Publications" name="sections"/><meta content="The versatile leader: How learning to adapt makes CEOs better" name="twitter:title"/><meta content="In this excerpt from the book “The Journey of Leadership,” we explore how to become a versatile leader by turning diverse experiences into meaningful outcomes." name="twitter:description"/><meta content="Article" property="contenttype" name="contenttype"/><meta content="https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/business%20functions/people%20and%20organizational%20performance/our%20insights/the%20versatile%20leader%20how%20learning%20to%20adapt%20makes%20ceos%20better/qweb-versatile-ceo-1536x1536.jpg?mw=677&car=42:25" name="twitter:image"/><meta content="The versatile leader: How learning to adapt makes CEOs better" name="twitter:image:alt"/><meta content="true" name="mobileready"/><meta content="public" name="accesslevel"/><meta content="false" name="excludefromclientlink"/><meta content="McKinsey Quarterly" name="articlesource"/><meta content="book excerpt" name="articletype"/><meta content="Dana Maor | HansWerner Kaas | Kurt Strovink | Ramesh Srinivasan" name="authors-name"/><meta content="2024-08-19T00:00:00Z" name="itemdate"/><meta content="McKinsey Quarterly | Book Excerpt | McKinsey Quarterly | August 19, 2024" name="searchresults-tags"/><script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","url":"https://www.mckinsey.com","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"McKinsey & Company","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/Thumbnails/Mck_Logo"}},"mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/the-versatile-leader-how-learning-to-adapt-makes-ceos-better"},"datePublished":"2024-08-19T00:00:00Z","dateCreated":"2024-08-13T14:55:32Z","dateModified":"2024-08-19T00:00:00Z","heading":"The versatile leader: How learning to adapt makes CEOs better","image":"https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/business%20functions/people%20and%20organizational%20performance/our%20insights/the%20versatile%20leader%20how%20learning%20to%20adapt%20makes%20ceos%20better/qweb-versatile-ceo-1536x1536.jpg","description":"In this excerpt from the book “The Journey of Leadership,” we explore how to become a versatile leader by turning diverse experiences into meaningful outcomes.","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dana Maor","url":"https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/dana-maor"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Hans-Werner Kaas"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Kurt Strovink","url":"https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/kurt-strovink"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Ramesh Srinivasan","url":"https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/ramesh-srinivasan"}]}</script><meta name="next-head-count" content="64"/><meta name="next-font-preconnect"/><script src="" id="onetrust-wrapperchecker" data-nscript="beforeInteractive">function OptanonWrapperChecker() {}</script><link rel="preload" href="/_next/static/css/e0c1ca92b5263a45.css" as="style"/><link rel="stylesheet" href="/_next/static/css/e0c1ca92b5263a45.css" data-n-g=""/><link rel="preload" href="/_next/static/css/985443d8095c0b48.css" as="style"/><link rel="stylesheet" href="/_next/static/css/985443d8095c0b48.css" data-n-p=""/><link rel="preload" href="/_next/static/css/b9ab7b649e8aa36e.css" as="style"/><link rel="stylesheet" href="/_next/static/css/b9ab7b649e8aa36e.css"/><link rel="preload" href="/_next/static/css/72fc56b1fbe032aa.css" as="style"/><link rel="stylesheet" href="/_next/static/css/72fc56b1fbe032aa.css"/><noscript data-n-css=""></noscript><script defer="" nomodule="" src="/_next/static/chunks/polyfills-5cd94c89d3acac5f.js"></script><script src="https://cdn.cookielaw.org/scripttemplates/otSDKStub.js" data-document-language="true" type="text/javascript" data-domain-script="915b5091-0d7e-44d2-a8c4-cf08267e52fe" defer="" data-nscript="beforeInteractive"></script><script defer="" src="/_next/static/chunks/281.cc3ac8578a543e8e.js"></script><script defer="" src="/_next/static/chunks/6731.9bccca8a7edb0704.js"></script><script defer="" src="/_next/static/chunks/390.5f3d9ea01929a8fb.js"></script><script defer="" src="/_next/static/chunks/3959.d1c4d42d89338149.js"></script><script src="/_next/static/chunks/webpack.7b31c4548c626f3b.js" defer=""></script><script src="/_next/static/chunks/framework.62bbe2ca94854a85.js" defer=""></script><script src="/_next/static/chunks/main.51e10588adc949ca.js" defer=""></script><script src="/_next/static/chunks/pages/_app.5f99628c3d07543d.js" defer=""></script><script src="/_next/static/chunks/3b1baa31.cd6cdac6158774d8.js" defer=""></script><script src="/_next/static/chunks/7d0bf13e.8f3383787afb45af.js" defer=""></script><script src="/_next/static/chunks/1354.c34ddc4bd7c986c8.js" defer=""></script><script src="/_next/static/chunks/408.2780008a4c2ee197.js" defer=""></script><script src="/_next/static/chunks/pages/%5B%5B...path%5D%5D.eb738e7c87df0dc8.js" defer=""></script><script src="/_next/static/9vYT_fWQKRjfPT7lAZJdB/_buildManifest.js" defer=""></script><script src="/_next/static/9vYT_fWQKRjfPT7lAZJdB/_ssgManifest.js" defer=""></script><script src="/_next/static/9vYT_fWQKRjfPT7lAZJdB/_middlewareManifest.js" defer=""></script> <script>(window.BOOMR_mq=window.BOOMR_mq||[]).push(["addVar",{"rua.upush":"false","rua.cpush":"false","rua.upre":"false","rua.cpre":"false","rua.uprl":"false","rua.cprl":"false","rua.cprf":"false","rua.trans":"","rua.cook":"false","rua.ims":"false","rua.ufprl":"false","rua.cfprl":"false","rua.isuxp":"false","rua.texp":"norulematch","rua.ceh":"false","rua.ueh":"false","rua.ieh.st":"0"}]);</script> <script>!function(a){var e="https://s.go-mpulse.net/boomerang/",t="addEventListener";if("False"=="True")a.BOOMR_config=a.BOOMR_config||{},a.BOOMR_config.PageParams=a.BOOMR_config.PageParams||{},a.BOOMR_config.PageParams.pci=!0,e="https://s2.go-mpulse.net/boomerang/";if(window.BOOMR_API_key="TURRK-8ADJT-WDUC5-TC32E-KV9ND",function(){function n(e){a.BOOMR_onload=e&&e.timeStamp||(new Date).getTime()}if(!a.BOOMR||!a.BOOMR.version&&!a.BOOMR.snippetExecuted){a.BOOMR=a.BOOMR||{},a.BOOMR.snippetExecuted=!0;var i,_,o,r=document.createElement("iframe");if(a[t])a[t]("load",n,!1);else if(a.attachEvent)a.attachEvent("onload",n);r.src="javascript:void(0)",r.title="",r.role="presentation",(r.frameElement||r).style.cssText="width:0;height:0;border:0;display:none;",o=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0],o.parentNode.insertBefore(r,o);try{_=r.contentWindow.document}catch(O){i=document.domain,r.src="javascript:var d=document.open();d.domain='"+i+"';void(0);",_=r.contentWindow.document}_.open()._l=function(){var a=this.createElement("script");if(i)this.domain=i;a.id="boomr-if-as",a.src=e+"TURRK-8ADJT-WDUC5-TC32E-KV9ND",BOOMR_lstart=(new Date).getTime(),this.body.appendChild(a)},_.write("<bo"+'dy onload="document._l();">'),_.close()}}(),"".length>0)if(a&&"performance"in a&&a.performance&&"function"==typeof a.performance.setResourceTimingBufferSize)a.performance.setResourceTimingBufferSize();!function(){if(BOOMR=a.BOOMR||{},BOOMR.plugins=BOOMR.plugins||{},!BOOMR.plugins.AK){var e=""=="true"?1:0,t="",n="bdpnbeqxgy4diz2ccneq-f-7365cc44d-clientnsv4-s.akamaihd.net",i="false"=="true"?2:1,_={"ak.v":"39","ak.cp":"19387","ak.ai":parseInt("285213",10),"ak.ol":"0","ak.cr":11,"ak.ipv":4,"ak.proto":"http/1.1","ak.rid":"214aab2c","ak.r":37669,"ak.a2":e,"ak.m":"a","ak.n":"essl","ak.bpcip":"8.222.208.0","ak.cport":37484,"ak.gh":"23.53.33.206","ak.quicv":"","ak.tlsv":"tls1.2","ak.0rtt":"","ak.0rtt.ed":"","ak.csrc":"-","ak.acc":"reno","ak.t":"1732383561","ak.ak":"hOBiQwZUYzCg5VSAfCLimQ==oY3K1j4Mc43Rua4eQshx6d5rwqCYOjczRkX/qgegsHCQGRt53Je65xH5XPEr++h7BH+h5p3hoqC/gSx85gxGwkMIKNdDwuwjfVfTlwuhSfJgTTxK/qTuZh9DXfT+ohVGPzpn3HL0xTStqvvwV0Qordjs+/jrWsfTapC9L6zdRF7EL7MJphAUnpl0tK9FBCRSvZ+h1O5lUNh55DCT4Wpu2az8kFl0hOX62UpZ6lzgjj027YvZgpTpw9pIzDO+US2HeKW/1SnpdP2ccdTXUL6nku97TZfrmaTvirvozeaQC+89MMFhLaXt8O5MgSPeRK8fGOfedoRoKsiWiEtFB27RIVWTcnaozOlUGImWysly+uzrxANcudKEjyIKDQpgZngc3IeCeTtCTVw9uYrAMJfTOoGmrcj6thNnGeZUrEwxREo=","ak.pv":"581","ak.dpoabenc":"","ak.tf":i};if(""!==t)_["ak.ruds"]=t;var o={i:!1,av:function(e){var t="http.initiator";if(e&&(!e[t]||"spa_hard"===e[t]))_["ak.feo"]=void 0!==a.aFeoApplied?1:0,BOOMR.addVar(_)},rv:function(){var a=["ak.bpcip","ak.cport","ak.cr","ak.csrc","ak.gh","ak.ipv","ak.m","ak.n","ak.ol","ak.proto","ak.quicv","ak.tlsv","ak.0rtt","ak.0rtt.ed","ak.r","ak.acc","ak.t","ak.tf"];BOOMR.removeVar(a)}};BOOMR.plugins.AK={akVars:_,akDNSPreFetchDomain:n,init:function(){if(!o.i){var a=BOOMR.subscribe;a("before_beacon",o.av,null,null),a("onbeacon",o.rv,null,null),o.i=!0}return this},is_complete:function(){return!0}}}}()}(window);</script></head><body><div id="__next" data-reactroot=""><div class="Layout_mck-c-skipbar__K684J"><a data-component="mdc-c-link" href="#skipToMain" class="mdc-c-button___U4iY2_2734c4f mdc-c-button--primary___Ed-lT_2734c4f mdc-c-button--size-medium"><span class="mdc-c-link__label___Pfqtd_2734c4f">Skip to main content</span></a></div><main class="mck-o-container--outer" data-layer-region="body" role="main" id="skipToMain"><style> .global-header-wrapper [class*='primary-nav'], .global-header-wrapper [class*='mck-c-eyebrow'], .global-header-wrapper .section-name-desktop, .global-header-wrapper .section-name { display: none !important; } .global-header.is-transparent.-theme-light:before, .global-header.is-transparent.-theme-dark:after { opacity: 0; }</style><div class="full-bleed-hero-with-non-immersive-dek" data-transparent-header="true"><div data-component="mdc-c-module-wrapper" data-module-theme="dark" data-module-background="deep-blue" data-module-category="AnchoredHero" class="FullHero_mck-c-full-hero__jgmkB"><div class="FullHero_mck-c-full-hero__wrapper-media__wxfB9"><div class="FullHero_mck-c-full-hero__overlay__eIX_8"></div><style></style><div data-component="mdc-c-background-image" class="mdc-c-bg-image___GJdv1_2734c4f background-image-full-hero mck-c-full-hero__image"></div><div class="FullHero_mck-c-full-hero__gradient__427rL"></div></div><div class="FullHero_mck-c-full-hero__first-fold__7fXFg"><div class="FullHero_mck-c-full-hero__first-fold-content__F5jdd"><div class="mdc-o-container__wrapper mdc-u-spaced-mobile mdc-u-grid mdc-u-grid-gutter-xxl FullHero_mck-c-full-hero__title-container__YfybZ"><div class="mdc-u-grid mdc-u-grid-col-md-12"><div class="mdc-u-grid-col-md-start-2 mdc-u-grid-col-md-end-12 mdc-u-grid-col-lg-start-3 mdc-u-grid-col-lg-end-11 mdc-u-spaced-mobile mdc-u-align-center mdc-u-grid"><div><a data-component="mdc-c-link" href="/quarterly/overview" class="mdc-u-ts-10 mdc-c-link___lBbY1_2734c4f mdc-c-link--secondary___TSFam_2734c4f"><span class="mdc-c-link__label___Pfqtd_2734c4f">McKinsey Quarterly</span></a><h1 data-component="mdc-c-heading" class="mdc-c-heading___0fM1W_2734c4f mdc-u-ts-2 FullHero_mck-c-full-hero__heading__RgATx"><div>The versatile leader: How learning to adapt makes CEOs better</div></h1></div><div><div data-component="mdc-c-description" class="mdc-c-description___SrnQP_2734c4f mdc-u-ts-8 FullHero_mck-c-full-hero__date__jb4gN"><div><time datetime="2024-08-19T00:00:00Z">August 19, 2024</time> | Book Excerpt</div></div></div><div><button data-component="mdc-c-button" aria-label="" type="button" id="button_id" class="mdc-c-button___U4iY2_2734c4f mdc-c-button--ghost mdc-c-button--size-medium FullHero_mck-c-full-hero__arrow__jtXdj" data-click-track="true" data-layer-event-prefix="UI Item" data-layer-action="click" data-layer-category="article" data-layer-text="skip article header section" data-layer-region="full hero"><span data-component="mdc-c-icon" class="mdc-c-icon___oi7ef_2734c4f mdc-c-icon--size-xl___3BEee_2734c4f mck-arrow-down-icon"></span></button></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="mck-o-container"><div class="mck-o-container--wrapped mck-o-container--mobile-spacing mdc-u-grid mdc-u-grid-gutter-xxl"><section data-layer-region="article-body-header" class="mdc-u-grid mdc-u-grid-col-md-12 mck-u-animation-blur-in-400 byline-share-container"><div class="mdc-u-grid-col-md-start-2 mdc-u-grid-col-md-end-8 mdc-u-grid-col-lg-start-3 mdc-u-grid-col-lg-end-8 mdc-u-ts-9"><span> </span><span class="AuthorsByLine_mck-c-authors-byline__author__XdrlD"><span class="AuthorsByLine_mck-c-authors-byline__no-wrap__Ced0j"><a data-component="mdc-c-link" href="/our-people/dana-maor" class="mdc-c-link-inline___7DRrt_2734c4f mdc-c-link-inline--secondary___YKoOK_2734c4f"><span class="mdc-c-link__label___Pfqtd_2734c4f">Dana Maor</span></a> </span></span><span class="AuthorsByLine_mck-c-authors-byline__author__XdrlD"><span class="AuthorsByLine_mck-c-authors-byline__no-wrap__Ced0j">Hans-Werner Kaas </span></span><span class="AuthorsByLine_mck-c-authors-byline__author__XdrlD"><span class="AuthorsByLine_mck-c-authors-byline__no-wrap__Ced0j"><a data-component="mdc-c-link" href="/our-people/kurt-strovink" class="mdc-c-link-inline___7DRrt_2734c4f mdc-c-link-inline--secondary___YKoOK_2734c4f"><span class="mdc-c-link__label___Pfqtd_2734c4f">Kurt Strovink</span></a><span> </span></span></span><span class="AuthorsByLine_mck-c-authors-byline__author__XdrlD"><span class="AuthorsByLine_mck-c-authors-byline__no-wrap__Ced0j"><a data-component="mdc-c-link" href="/our-people/ramesh-srinivasan" class="mdc-c-link-inline___7DRrt_2734c4f mdc-c-link-inline--secondary___YKoOK_2734c4f"><span class="mdc-c-link__label___Pfqtd_2734c4f">Ramesh Srinivasan</span></a></span></span></div><div class="mdc-u-grid-col-md-start-8 mdc-u-grid-col-md-end-12 mdc-u-grid-col-lg-start-8 mdc-u-grid-col-lg-end-11 ArticleContent_mck-c-article-content__share-tools__kWRRw"></div></section><section class="mdc-u-grid mdc-u-grid-col-md-12 mck-u-animation-blur-in-400"><div class="mdc-u-grid-col-md-start-2 mdc-u-grid-col-md-end-12 mdc-u-grid-col-lg-start-3 mdc-u-grid-col-lg-end-11"><div data-component="mdc-c-description" class="mdc-c-description___SrnQP_2734c4f mdc-u-ts-5"><div class="mck-u-links-inline">Leaders benefit from seeking out diverse experiences, displaying deep curiosity, and knowing when to speak up.</div></div></div></section><main data-layer-region="article-body" class="mdc-u-grid mdc-u-grid-gutter-xxl"><div class="mdc-u-grid mdc-u-grid-col-1 mdc-u-grid-col-md-12"><div class="mdc-u-grid-col-md-start-2 mdc-u-grid-col-md-end-12 mdc-u-grid-col-lg-start-3 mdc-u-grid-col-lg-end-11"><div class="mdc-o-content-body mck-u-dropcap"> <div data-component="mdc-c-module-wrapper" data-module-theme="default" data-module-background="transparent" data-module-category="" class="DownloadsSidebar_mck-c-downloads-sidebar__iFmyt mck-o-xs-right-span"><div data-layer-region="downloads-right-rail"><h3 data-component="mdc-c-heading" class="mdc-c-heading___0fM1W_2734c4f mdc-c-heading--title___5qyOB_2734c4f mdc-c-heading--border___K8dj3_2734c4f"></h3><div><div data-component="mdc-c-link-container" class="mdc-c-link-container___xefGu_2734c4f"><a data-component="mdc-c-link" href="#/download/%2F~%2Fmedia%2Fmckinsey%2Fbusiness%20functions%2Fpeople%20and%20organizational%20performance%2Four%20insights%2Fthe%20versatile%20leader%20how%20learning%20to%20adapt%20makes%20ceos%20better%2Fthe-versatile-leader-how-learning-to-adapt-makes-ceos-better.pdf%3FshouldIndex%3Dfalse" class="DownloadsSidebar_mck-c-downloads-sidebar__download-link__fPqFQ mdc-c-link___lBbY1_2734c4f" target="_self" data-layer-event-prefix="Download Link" data-layer-action="click" data-layer-report-type="" data-layer-file-name="the-versatile-leader-how-learning-to-adapt-makes-ceos-better" data-layer-report-name="the-versatile-leader-how-learning-to-adapt-makes-ceos-better>"><span data-component="mdc-c-icon" class="mdc-c-icon___oi7ef_2734c4f mdc-c-icon--size-md___yi5fA_2734c4f mck-download-icon"></span><span class="mdc-c-link__label___Pfqtd_2734c4f"> (8 pages)</span></a></div></div></div></div> <p><strong>Some of the most</strong> innovative and creative people in history succeeded because they were versatile. They were able to master more than one discipline and then combine them to forge new ideas and inventions. Benjamin Franklin, for instance, the quintessential Renaissance man, was a writer, printer, scientist, and politician. He played a key role in drafting the Declaration of Independence, helped negotiate the Treaty of Paris to end the American Revolution, and published <em>Poor Richard’s Almanack</em>, which helped shape American political thought.</p> <p>In this chapter excerpt from our new book, <em><a href="/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/journey-of-leadership"><em>The Journey of Leadership: How CEOs Learn to Lead from the Inside Out</em></a> </em>(Portfolio, September 2024), we explore how today’s business leaders can similarly turn their diverse experiences into meaningful outcomes.</p> <hr/>  <p>Today’s leaders must run their organizations while coping with a growing and shifting number of challenging externalities, including supply chain disruptions, inflation, political polarization, and global unrest. The increased rate of technological change—especially innovations such as generative and applied AI—is dramatically affecting both business models and the way people work. Generational differences are also adding to the complexity, as baby boomer, Gen X, Millennial, and Gen Z workers express different preferences for how they work and what they expect from leaders and organizations. Increasingly, they are looking for human-centered leaders who give them a sense of purpose, inspire them, and demonstrate care for their well-being. In the next few years, an entirely new set of external challenges will undoubtedly come along to test the resolve and skills of every leader. At the same time, an ever-expanding lineup of constituents—investors, activists, government officials, the media—are pressuring CEOs, who ultimately need the support of these varied cohorts to succeed.</p> <p>To deal with these challenges, leaders will need a mix of humility, confidence, selflessness, vulnerability, and resilience. They will likely find, however, that these qualities, while crucial, are not sufficient to get the job done. Like Ben Franklin, they will also need to be versatile. In our conversations with a range of successful global leaders, we’ve observed that the best ones are versatile in the following three ways: they have pursued diverse experiences in their careers, they are constantly curious to learn new things, and they have mastered the dynamics of interacting with a variety of stakeholders.</p> <p>In short, versatile leaders know how to go broad, when to go deep, and how and when to expand their range, make trade-offs, and find the right balance between professionalism and empathy. They are good at what they do but they also know how to break out of their comfort zones. They continually challenge themselves and their organizations. </p> <h2> Do what feels uncomfortable</h2> <p>One thing we noticed about some of the most successful leaders is that most credit their career trajectories to a singular formula. Some make it to the top by being marketing whizzes. Others are skillful cost cutters and restructurers. Others know how to grow a business. Whatever the bundle of skills, most of these leaders operate in only one basic mode. They do what they’re good at and feel comfortable with, and they get rewarded for that behavior.</p>  <p>But having a single strength might not always be what’s needed to run a large, complicated organization. As John Plant, the CEO of Howmet Aerospace, explains, “So you get hired as CEO and you manage well the first phase of the cycle, which might require someone who has restructuring skills. But then, after three or four years, the company pivots to a growth mode, and because you don’t have the right skills, the board may fire you. Very few people have the experience or versatility to be able to operate in those different modes.”</p> <p>In 2000, for example, when the dot-com stock bubble burst, the leaders of those online companies, who had been nurturing fast growth for years, suddenly found themselves managing for profitability. Instead of spending whatever it might take to grow, they had to pivot and find ways to save money by laying people off, canceling projects, and eliminating waste. Those are two entirely different sets of muscles, and a leader has to be versatile enough to make the switch. Much of this comes down to what kinds of experience leaders have. If they lack certain types of experience, they must find people both inside and outside the organization to complement any gaps.</p> <p>Michael Fisher, who has been the CEO of three organizations—the nonprofit Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, the global automotive supplier company Premier Manufacturing Support Services, and the Cincinnati Regional Chamber—says that on his way up the ladder, he found that people in each of these spheres genuinely wanted to share their knowledge and be helpful. Early in his career, soon after he graduated from Stanford, he was an associate athletic director at Northwestern University, managing all the school’s sports teams except for football and men’s basketball. “I was aware,” he says, “that I was never going to know more about women’s field hockey or men’s baseball than those coaches did, so I spent time building my relationships with them and understanding how I could help them to be successful.”</p> <p>Fisher kept that mindset throughout his career. When he was running Premier Manufacturing Support Services, for instance, he hired a former General Motors maintenance superintendent who had worked all over the world and peppered him with questions until he felt comfortable in an industry that was new to him.</p> <p>Those striving to become CEOs should make sure they put themselves into a range of environments, situations, and challenges where they can grow a varied set of skills. At one point, they might volunteer to, say, help with a big restructuring. At another point, they might decide to run a midsize company that wants to grow from $500 million in revenue to $5 billion over the next five years. Says former Ford CEO Mark Fields, “Just because I say I want to be ten pounds lighter and three inches taller doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. But if you’re putting yourself in positions in your career to get these different experiences, you’re going to learn how to be a utility infielder, and you will have that muscle memory that you’ll need when you have to pivot from growth to cost cutting.”</p> <p>Why is being a versatile CEO so important? Because it can help leaders effectively engage with employees and other stakeholders and make a big impact on the bottom line. Before John Plant headed up Howmet Aerospace, he was the CEO of the global auto parts manufacturer TRW. In that job, he displayed the kind of versatility required to handle diverse operating situations. When he won the top job at TRW, in 2003, the global auto parts industry was humming along. Then, with the financial crisis of 2008, demand in the automotive industry dried up, and the global economy stalled. TRW, which made a variety of technology products, including airbags and stability control systems, saw its stock, which had been trading in the high $20s, fall to $3.60 a share in early 2009. In the first quarter of 2009, the once-profitable company reported a loss of $131 million. GM and Chrysler, two of TRW’s biggest customers, were teetering on the edge of bankruptcy and were headed for a US government bailout. The Center for Automotive Research predicted that the possible collapse of the industry could destroy three million US jobs. The outlook, to put it mildly, was bleak.</p> <p>Plant and his team went to work. Starting in 2009, he withdrew TRW’s financial guidance that he had been sharing with stock analysts, executed numerous rounds of layoffs, including engineers at the company’s technical center—the source of much of TRW’s innovation—and began closing and restructuring plants to reduce its cost structure. The retrenchment worked, and by 2010 the bleeding at TRW had slowed. Plant then switched hats and embarked on a growth mode, investing in new products and expanding internationally. At the end of Plant’s tenure, in 2015, TRW employed more than 65,000 people in approximately 190 major facilities around the world and was ranked among the top ten automotive suppliers globally. That year, TRW was sold to the German auto parts maker ZF Friedrichshafen for $105 a share in a deal that valued the company at $13.5 billion.</p> <p>What accounts for Plant’s versatility? Part of it, of course, can be traced to his innate abilities, but he also worked hard to learn how to straddle cost cutting, growth, marketing, and delivering innovation. One tip: he says that throughout his career, he made it a point to pursue new positions with challenges that made him uncomfortable so he would not find himself pigeonholed as a “one note” manager.</p> <h2>Go deep</h2> <p>A variety of operating skills is the first prerequisite for cultivating versatility. The second is to be a deep, creative thinker. Most leaders think of themselves as deep thinkers, but are they really? How many of them really know or understand the intricacies of their business? Some take a “fake it until you make it” mentality, brushing over technical details or not truly understanding the competitive landscape, hoping that others in the organization will explain. We’re not saying that every leader has to master at a molecular level the products or services they provide. However, versatile leaders must think deeply about what makes an organization tick and its different capabilities and assets.</p> <p>Mastering the details of a company’s business might seem a daunting task for a CEO running a high-tech or biotech company, especially if the CEO rose through the ranks via finance or marketing. Yes, a formal education in a particular discipline certainly helps, but the lack of one shouldn’t discourage a leader from buckling down and absorbing the intricacies of the business. The key is to be constantly curious.</p> <p>John Plant displayed this kind of avid curiosity after he left TRW, in 2015, and later became the CEO of Arconic and then of Howmet Aerospace, jobs that demanded he dive into the intricacies of an entirely new industry. Howmet makes jet engine blades, structural components, and other high-tech parts for commercial and military aircraft, among other product lines. While there are some similarities to the production of auto parts, the aerospace industry is vastly different in both the technologies it uses and the markets it serves. When Plant switched from auto parts to the aerospace industry, he says he put himself into what he calls “deep-thinking mode” to find solutions. “It really just starts off with a lot of rigor,” he explains. “You analyze, decide, and—probably even more important—have the confidence to carry out that decision.”</p> <div data-module-category="" class="PullQuote_mck-c-pullquote__DbaQ5 mck-o-lg-center"><blockquote data-component="mdc-c-blockquote" class="PullQuote_mck-c-blockquote__6n21p PullQuote_mck-c-blockquote--hide-quotes__CpGpg mdc-c-blockquote mdc-c-blockquote--is-quotes___TozKo_2734c4f"><p>A variety of operating skills is the first prerequisite for cultivating versatility. The second is to be a deep, creative thinker. Most leaders think of themselves as deep thinkers, but are they really?</p></blockquote></div> <p>Plant began by trying to fathom how the aerospace industry differed from the auto industry. It wasn’t only that the products were dissimilar—jet turbine blades versus airbags, for example—but that the applications for the products, as well as the customers, were different too. “It’s all about intellectual curiosity,” he notes. “You have to engage in an in-depth study of the products you make and the technologies that underpin them—not taking it at face value what they are. You also need to determine whether your products address what your customers need.” Gaining an understanding of the aerospace business took months of hard work. Plant visited Howmet’s facilities and debriefed employees, often asking the same question of several different people. “The key,” he says, “is not just understanding <em>what</em> a product does but also <em>how</em> and <em>why</em> it does what it does. You can then take the how and the why and contextualize it. That lets you know what your competitive advantage is—if you have one.”</p> <p>One of the characteristics of the deep learning employed by Plant and other leaders we’ve spoken with is the ability to balance a thirst for knowledge with a sense of certainty. Especially during the first few years, CEOs have a strong desire to prove themselves. After all, no one wants to follow leaders who keep changing their minds for no good reason, nor ones who, by contrast, think they have all the answers. When Ed Bastian was appointed CEO of Delta Air Lines, in 2016, he says he wanted to prove he belonged and that he was equipped to take the job, but it took a couple of years before he felt comfortable in his role. “The CEO job is intimidating and it’s humbling. I was responsible for 100,000 employees and 200 million customers a year, and I asked myself, ‘How did I get here, and did the board make the right decision?’ These are things you won’t ever admit publicly but internally you have to wrestle with.”</p> <p>Continues Bastian, “The way you deal with this uncertainty is you learn, learn, learn. I went out and saw people to ask them questions because I really wanted to be the best I could be. And I really do believe that the only thing that is constant is change, and as CEO you need to get comfortable with change and embrace change.” </p> <p>When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, Bastian put his philosophy of learning to the test. “Every day, we were learning something that contradicted what we thought we knew the day before,” he recalls. “What we needed to do to navigate the pandemic was to keep taking our business model apart and putting it back together in different ways while continuing to lead through a crisis.”</p> <p>In the early days of the pandemic, for example, Bastian heard all sorts of confusing and contradictory information about how to keep his employees and passengers safe. Is the virus transmitted by air or by touch? Do masks work, and which ones? Can the ventilation systems on planes help reduce exposure to the virus? Should the airline mandate vaccines? While most leaders followed the quickly changing guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as best they could, Bastian took the unusual step of reaching out to one of the United States’ premier medical establishments, the Mayo Clinic, and working with its top officials to better understand the behavior of the virus. Eventually, he even hired Mayo executive Dr. Henry Ting to become Delta’s first chief health officer. As one doctor at Mayo put it to him, “The only thing I can tell you, Ed, is that whatever you think you know today, it’s going to be different tomorrow.” “When I heard that,” recalls Bastian, “I realized that he was telling me that you always have to be willing to listen to what can change and learn from it, and that as long as we had that mindset, we’d be OK.”</p> <p>Bastian’s dedication to learning without fear and biases, his willingness to question and rethink long-held beliefs and assumptions, and his ability to study on the fly and learn from the right group of experts helped Delta not only navigate through the turbulence of the pandemic but also come out of the crisis still on top of the industry.</p> <h2>Know when to speak up</h2> <p>The ability to assume different operating roles and garner deep knowledge about one’s business are two important elements of being a versatile leader. A third—and one that has taken on increasing importance—is having the skills to communicate where a business stands politically, socially, and on environmental issues. Executives continually ask us, when is it proper to take a stance? Do CEOs speak for their companies, or do they need to get sign-off from their boards and investors? What if the personal beliefs of a CEO conflict with a position that is in the best interests of the employees and other stakeholders? How do leaders handle the blowback from taking stances on controversial environmental and social issues?</p> <p>In the current environment, neutrality is often not a viable option. In many instances, CEOs must make their beliefs clear in order to build an authentic mandate to lead and guide. Otherwise, employee and customer backlash can be swift and costly. Leaders must ask themselves, “Should I launch this product or that product? Should I select or promote this person if their values don’t quite fit with my own? Are my operations harming the community in ways I can avoid?”</p> <p>Leaders know that these situations sometimes create tough trade-offs where they must forgo lucrative opportunities that are not consistent with their companies’ moral compass. For example, do they stop doing business in Russia in the wake of that country’s invasion of Ukraine, or is their business there critical to the well-being of Russian citizens? Do they believe in climate change, and, if so, are their zero-carbon targets credible or just greenwash?</p> <p>It’s tempting to keep silent and hope the problem disappears. The world no longer works this way, however. Staying silent all the time is no longer an option in a world of social media scrutiny. As Dan Vasella, the former CEO of Novartis, puts it, “Journalists have a legitimate demand for access to the CEO. But you must modulate that to avoid overexposure. To the media, you are a product. And the press will paint you as either a hero or a villain—whatever sells. So if they paint you as a hero today, you should be prepared to be painted as a villain tomorrow. Not everything you do will work out every time, and you have to accept that people will be unfair.”</p> <div data-module-category="" class="PullQuote_mck-c-pullquote__DbaQ5 mck-o-lg-center"><blockquote data-component="mdc-c-blockquote" class="PullQuote_mck-c-blockquote__6n21p PullQuote_mck-c-blockquote--hide-quotes__CpGpg mdc-c-blockquote mdc-c-blockquote--is-quotes___TozKo_2734c4f"><p>In the current environment, neutrality is often not a viable option. In many instances, CEOs must make their beliefs clear in order to build an authentic mandate to lead and guide.</p></blockquote></div> <p>As Vasella suggests, it’s wise to limit the times when leaders should speak out. While of course it doesn’t make sense to tweet in response to every headline or employee concern, CEOs need to establish guidelines on when to speak out and when to keep silent on a controversial issue. We’ve concluded that CEOs should take a public stance on a topic only when it is both relevant to the company and authentic.</p> <p>Leaders need to take that extra step to find the right balance between professionalism and empathy. Delta Air Lines CEO Bastian, for example, decided that some social issues are just too important to his employees for him to ignore. In the spring of 2021, Georgia passed a law that restricted voting access in the state. He and others saw it as an effort to suppress Black voter turnout. It wasn’t an easy decision for Bastian to speak out against the law, but he did. “There are times,” he says, “when you find yourself thrust into a topic that has relevance to your people, to your business, and to your local community, and people look to you for an opinion as to what’s happening.”</p> <p>In this case, the voting law was especially relevant: Delta is the largest private employer in the state of Georgia, and it is committed to closing the diversity gaps at leadership and all levels of the company to create an equitable business. At first, Bastian did try to stay above the fray, but as he listened to the increasing concerns of his employees and members of the community, he decided to speak out. “I couldn’t explain to them why the law was something we should support. It simply didn’t reflect our values, and there was a lot of pressure to take a stand. When I looked around, everyone in the local corporate community was reluctant to take a stance, and so I felt an obligation to oppose the law.”</p> <p>A lot of people took umbrage with Bastian’s stance, but many agreed with it. After he spoke out, hundreds of CEOs around the country voiced their opposition to the law. Looking back on the situation, Bastian says, “Did it change anything? No, the law is still on the books. But we showed that we had a voice that mattered, and consumers give business to companies who have and practice values.”</p> <p>As Bastian discovered, getting involved in politics can be difficult and stressful, especially in a big corporation whose business interests and constituents might be split on a topic. The challenge is finding the stance and the right language in complex and controversial situations. We believe that there are basic, common shared values for which any CEO or nonprofit leader should always take a stand. These include the protection of innocent life and the condemnation of terroristic, murderous actions. Those are not choices. Those are musts. Yet weighing in on specific policy choices doesn’t, in our opinion, make sense unless, as in the case of Delta, the issue is truly relevant to the organization’s people and community.</p> <p>While leaders must consider all their constituents, it is still the CEO’s role to create value for investors. Leaders need to be versatile enough to know what matters to themselves and to their companies, and how to signal the importance of broad social issues—such as climate change, freedom of speech, or LGBTQ+ rights—while reframing them in a way that is more relevant to all stakeholders, including employees, outside investors, and politicians.</p> <p>If leaders decide to become involved in a controversial issue, they should ask themselves whether that belief is authentic―consistent with their organizations’ institutional integrity, values, and principles―and whether the world will perceive it that way. It’s easy for leaders to say the right thing, but if organizations aren’t ready or able to allocate the time and the money to follow through, CEOs can open themselves up to accusations of hypocrisy.</p> <p>For example, many well-meaning leaders have pledged that their companies will achieve net-zero carbon emissions by, say, 2030 or 2040, but do they really know how they’re going to get there? Of course, if a company has a definite plan to decarbonize and has invested significant funds for it, that’s one thing. But that kind of deep commitment tends to be the exception. Often, companies that announce a zero-carbon goal fail to engage in a serious decarbonization effort. This can lead to charges of greenwashing.</p> <p>At Howmet Aerospace, Plant takes a different approach to climate change, one that he feels is more authentic. He refuses to make a net-zero commitment for 2030 or 2050 because he doesn’t think doing so is credible—the people making those commitments, he notes, won’t even be in the job by 2030, never mind by 2050.</p> <p>Instead, Plant tells his employees and anyone else who asks that Howmet’s obligation is not to pollute the air, not to pollute the water, and not to cause any harm to the people who come after them, and that their children and their grandchildren should be able to live in a clean environment. In practice, that means that Howmet puts tens of millions of dollars behind making its manufacturing more efficient and cutting carbon wherever it can along its entire value chain. “All those grand statements about going zero carbon are just political theater,” says Plant. “If you don’t back them up with real action, you’re an empty suit. You have to be authentic; you have to believe what you say, and you have to express a set of values. If you want to take people along with you, you’ve got to be honest with them.”</p> <hr/> <p>One thing is clear from our research: being versatile is critical for leadership success. To cultivate this versatility, leaders should think about the skills and experiences they need to develop, and the assignments and roles in which they can acquire them. They will need to keep in mind the trade-offs to manage. They should consider their approaches to learning and which team members and experts they can work with to fill any gaps in understanding. And they should consider how much time they can spend to expand their versatility—with both on-the-job learning and in-depth study. Leaders should pick a few areas that are most important for them and their organizations and go deep. The work of inside-out leadership is hard, no question, but the benefits are ultimately worth it.</p> <p><em>This article is excerpted from </em><a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/734088/the-journey-of-leadership-by-dana-maor-hans-werner-kaas-kurt-strovink-and-ramesh-srinivasan/">The Journey of Leadership: How CEOs Learn to Lead from the Inside Out</a><em>, by Dana Maor, Hans-Werner Kaas, Kurt Strovink, and Ramesh Srinivasan, in agreement with Portfolio, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. Copyright © 2024 McKinsey & Company.</em></p> <hr/> <p><div data-component="mdc-c-module-wrapper" data-module-theme="default" data-module-background="transparent" data-module-category="" class="mck-o-md-center Image_mck-c-image__fhx5v"><picture data-component="mdc-c-picture" class="Image_mck-c-image__img-container__JusDB"><source media="(min-width: 768px)" srcSet="/~/media/mckinsey/test/danas%20test%20folder/q60logo-article-banner-smaller.png?cq=50&mw=1180&cpy=Center"/><img alt="McKinsey Quarterly 60th birthday" src="/~/media/mckinsey/test/danas%20test%20folder/q60logo-article-banner-smaller.png?cq=50&mw=767&cpy=Center" loading="lazy"/></picture><div class="mck-u-sr-only">McKinsey Quarterly 60th birthday</div></div></p> <p><em>We are celebrating the 60th birthday of the </em>McKinsey Quarterly<em> with a yearlong campaign featuring four issues on major themes related to the future of business and society, as well as related interactives, collections from the magazine’s archives, and more. This article will appear in the first themed issue, on the Future of Technology, which will launch in October. Sign up for the </em>McKinsey Quarterly<em> alert list to be notified as soon as other new </em>Quarterly <em>articles are published.</em></p> <p><div data-component="mdc-c-module-wrapper" data-module-theme="default" data-module-background="transparent" data-module-category="" class="mck-c-one-click-subscribe center" data-module-name="one-click-subscribe"><div class="mck-o-container"><div class="UpModule_mck-c-up__irSw8"><div class="OneClickSubscribe_mck-c-oneclicksubscribe__wrapper__xMBjy"></div></div></div></div></p></div><div class="container-placeholder"></div></div></div><div class="mdc-u-grid mdc-u-grid-gutter-xl"><section role="contentinfo" data-layer-region="article-about-authors" class="mdc-u-grid mdc-u-grid-col-md-12 AboutAuthor_mck-c-about-author__nRJzu"><div class="mdc-u-grid-col-md-start-2 mdc-u-grid-col-md-end-12 mdc-u-grid-col-lg-start-3 mdc-u-grid-col-lg-end-11"><h5 data-component="mdc-c-heading" class="mdc-c-heading___0fM1W_2734c4f mdc-c-heading--title___5qyOB_2734c4f mdc-c-heading--border___K8dj3_2734c4f mdc-u-align-center"></h5><div data-component="mdc-c-description" class="mdc-c-description___SrnQP_2734c4f mdc-u-ts-8 mck-u-links-inline mck-u-links-inline--secondary mdc-u-mt-5"><div><p><strong><a href="/our-people/dana-maor">Dana Maor</a></strong> is the global cohead and European leader of McKinsey’s People & Organizational Performance Practice and a senior partner in McKinsey’s UK, Ireland, and Israel offices; <strong>Hans-Werner Kaas</strong> is codean of McKinsey’s Bower Forum CEO leadership development program and a senior partner emeritus in the Detroit office; <strong><a href="/our-people/kurt-strovink">Kurt Strovink</a></strong> leads McKinsey’s global CEO services and is a senior partner in the New York office, where <strong><a href="/our-people/ramesh-srinivasan">Ramesh Srinivasan</a></strong>, also codean of the Bower Forum, is also a senior partner.</p> <hr /> <p>This article was edited by Eric Quiñones, a senior editor in the New York office.</p></div></div></div></section><section class="mdc-u-grid mdc-u-grid-col-md-12 mck-u-screen-only"><div class="mdc-u-grid-col-md-start-2 mdc-u-grid-col-md-end-12 mdc-u-grid-col-lg-start-5 mdc-u-grid-col-lg-end-9"><h5 data-component="mdc-c-heading" class="mdc-c-heading___0fM1W_2734c4f mdc-c-heading--title___5qyOB_2734c4f mdc-c-heading--border___K8dj3_2734c4f mdc-u-align-center">Explore a career with us</h5><div data-component="mdc-c-link-container" class="mdc-c-link-container___xefGu_2734c4f mdc-c-link-container--align-center___ar3mu_2734c4f"><a data-component="mdc-c-link" href="/careers/search-jobs" class="mdc-c-button___U4iY2_2734c4f mdc-c-button--secondary___Boipq_2734c4f mdc-c-button--size-large___jwpUy_2734c4f" aria-label="Search Openings" data-layer-event-prefix="CTA Link" data-layer-action="click" data-layer-category="careers" data-layer-subcategory="search" data-layer-text="Search Openings"><span class="mdc-c-link__label___Pfqtd_2734c4f">Search Openings</span></a></div></div></section></div></main></div><div data-component="mdc-c-module-wrapper" data-module-theme="light" data-module-background="lightest-grey" data-module-category="StandalonePromo" class="RelatedArticle_mck-c-article-related__GGA76 mck-u-screen-only" data-layer-region="related-articles"><div class="mdc-o-container__wrapper is-wrapped mdc-u-spaced-mobile"><h5 data-component="mdc-c-heading" class="mdc-c-heading___0fM1W_2734c4f mdc-c-heading--title___5qyOB_2734c4f mdc-u-align-center">Related Articles</h5><div class="mdc-u-grid mdc-u-grid-col-md-3 RelatedArticle_items-container__s2uD0"><div class="mdc-u-grid mdc-u-grid-gutter-lg Card_card__diA2r Card_hover-effect__RGb9b"><div class="Card_wrapper-image__8b4P6"><a data-component="mdc-c-link" href="/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/journey-of-leadership" class="mdc-c-link___lBbY1_2734c4f"><picture data-component="mdc-c-picture" class="Card_wrapper-image__8b4P6"><style>.picture-uniqueKey-thej-0 { aspect-ratio: 16/9 }</style><img alt="The Journey of Leadership book cover" class="picture-uniqueKey-thej-0" src="/~/media/mckinsey/featured%20insights/mckinsey%20books/journey%20of%20leadership/journey-of-leadership-book-cover-1536x1536.jpg?cq=50&mw=767&car=16:9&cpy=Center" loading="lazy"/></picture></a></div><div class="Card_wrapper-text__U6Y3k"><div data-component="mdc-c-content-block" class="mdc-c-content-block___7p6Lu_2734c4f Card_content-block__pF6Z1"><span>Book - Featured Insights</span><h6 data-component="mdc-c-heading" class="mdc-c-heading___0fM1W_2734c4f mdc-u-ts-6"><a data-component="mdc-c-link" href="/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/journey-of-leadership" class="mdc-c-link-heading___Zggl8_2734c4f mdc-c-link___lBbY1_2734c4f"><div>The Journey of Leadership: How CEOs Learn to Lead From the Inside Out</div></a></h6></div></div></div><div class="mdc-u-grid mdc-u-grid-gutter-lg Card_card__diA2r Card_hover-effect__RGb9b"><div class="Card_wrapper-image__8b4P6"><a data-component="mdc-c-link" href="/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/the-inside-out-leadership-journey-how-personal-growth-creates-the-path-to-success" class="mdc-c-link___lBbY1_2734c4f"><picture data-component="mdc-c-picture" class="Card_wrapper-image__8b4P6"><style>.picture-uniqueKey-the‘-0 { aspect-ratio: 16/9 }</style><img alt="A hiker looks out over a sunset from inside the large opening of a cave" class="picture-uniqueKey-the‘-0" src="/~/media/mckinsey/business%20functions/people%20and%20organizational%20performance/our%20insights/the%20inside%20out%20leadership%20journey%20how%20personal%20growth%20creates%20the%20path%20to%20success/the-inside-out-leadership-journey-1146870978-thumb-1536x1536.jpg?cq=50&mw=767&car=16:9&cpy=Center" loading="lazy"/></picture></a></div><div class="Card_wrapper-text__U6Y3k"><div data-component="mdc-c-content-block" class="mdc-c-content-block___7p6Lu_2734c4f Card_content-block__pF6Z1"><span>Article</span><h6 data-component="mdc-c-heading" class="mdc-c-heading___0fM1W_2734c4f mdc-u-ts-6"><a data-component="mdc-c-link" href="/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/the-inside-out-leadership-journey-how-personal-growth-creates-the-path-to-success" class="mdc-c-link-heading___Zggl8_2734c4f mdc-c-link___lBbY1_2734c4f"><div>The ‘inside out’ leadership journey: How personal growth creates the path to success</div></a></h6></div></div></div><div class="mdc-u-grid mdc-u-grid-gutter-lg Card_card__diA2r Card_hover-effect__RGb9b"><div class="Card_wrapper-image__8b4P6"><a data-component="mdc-c-link" href="/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/author-talks-a-transformational-approach-to-leadership" class="mdc-c-link___lBbY1_2734c4f"><picture data-component="mdc-c-picture" class="Card_wrapper-image__8b4P6"><style>.picture-uniqueKey-autho-0 { aspect-ratio: 16/9 }</style><img alt="McKinsey senior partners Ramesh Srinivasan, Dana Maor, Kurt Strovink, and senior partner emeritus Hans-Werner Kaas" class="picture-uniqueKey-autho-0" src="/~/media/mckinsey/featured%20insights/mckinsey%20books/author%20talks%20a%20transformational%20approach%20to%20leadership/srinivasan-maor-strovink-kass-thumb-1536x1536-v3.jpg?cq=50&mw=767&car=16:9&cpy=Center" loading="lazy"/></picture></a></div><div class="Card_wrapper-text__U6Y3k"><div data-component="mdc-c-content-block" class="mdc-c-content-block___7p6Lu_2734c4f Card_content-block__pF6Z1"><span>Interview</span><h6 data-component="mdc-c-heading" class="mdc-c-heading___0fM1W_2734c4f mdc-u-ts-6"><a data-component="mdc-c-link" href="/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/author-talks-a-transformational-approach-to-leadership" class="mdc-c-link-heading___Zggl8_2734c4f mdc-c-link___lBbY1_2734c4f"><div>Author Talks: A transformational approach to leadership</div></a></h6></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></main></div><script id="__NEXT_DATA__" type="application/json">{"props":{"pageProps":{"locale":"en","dictionary":{},"sitecoreContext":{"route":{"name":"The versatile leader How learning to adapt makes CEOs better","displayName":"The versatile leader How learning to adapt makes CEOs better","fields":null,"databaseName":"web","deviceId":"fe5d7fdf-89c0-4d99-9aa3-b5fbd009c9f3","itemId":"e26429a9-9af5-444b-a133-dbf72aaf6457","itemLanguage":"en","itemVersion":1,"layoutId":"ae753eb4-a035-40b4-83bf-4b4438df6742","templateId":"683910db-02ba-40ba-92e7-726c880160a9","templateName":"ArticleJSS","placeholders":{"jss-main":[{"uid":"232bb7e9-289f-492d-a916-2b6185e44a84","componentName":"ArticleTemplate","dataSource":"","fields":{"data":{"articleTemplate":{"title":{"jsonValue":{"value":"The versatile leader: How learning to adapt makes CEOs better"}},"sEOTitle":{"value":"The versatile leader: How CEOS should adapt"},"description":{"jsonValue":{"value":"Leaders benefit from seeking out diverse experiences, displaying deep curiosity, and knowing when to speak up."}},"sEODescription":{"value":"In this excerpt from the book “The Journey of Leadership,” we explore how to become a versatile leader by turning diverse experiences into meaningful outcomes."},"displayDate":{"jsonValue":{"value":"2024-08-19T00:00:00Z"}},"body":{"value":"[[Audio 1]] [[DownloadsSidebar]]\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSome of the most\u003c/strong\u003e innovative and creative people in history succeeded because they were versatile. They were able to master more than one discipline and then combine them to forge new ideas and inventions. Benjamin Franklin, for instance, the quintessential Renaissance man, was a writer, printer, scientist, and politician. He played a key role in drafting the Declaration of Independence, helped negotiate the Treaty of Paris to end the American Revolution, and published \u003cem\u003ePoor Richard\u0026rsquo;s Almanack\u003c/em\u003e, which helped shape American political thought.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn this chapter excerpt from our new book, \u003cem\u003e\u003ca href=\"/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/journey-of-leadership\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Journey of Leadership: How CEOs Learn to Lead from the Inside Out\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e(Portfolio, September 2024), we explore how today\u0026rsquo;s business leaders can similarly turn their diverse experiences into meaningful outcomes.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003chr /\u003e\n[[MostPopularArticles 5]]\n\u003cp\u003eToday\u0026rsquo;s leaders must run their organizations while coping with a growing and shifting number of challenging externalities, including supply chain disruptions, inflation, political polarization, and global unrest. The increased rate of technological change\u0026mdash;especially innovations such as generative and applied AI\u0026mdash;is dramatically affecting both business models and the way people work. Generational differences are also adding to the complexity, as baby boomer, Gen X, Millennial, and Gen Z workers express different preferences for how they work and what they expect from leaders and organizations. Increasingly, they are looking for human-centered leaders who give them a sense of purpose, inspire them, and demonstrate care for their well-being. In the next few years, an entirely new set of external challenges will undoubtedly come along to test the resolve and skills of every leader. At the same time, an ever-expanding lineup of constituents\u0026mdash;investors, activists, government officials, the media\u0026mdash;are pressuring CEOs, who ultimately need the support of these varied cohorts to succeed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo deal with these challenges, leaders will need a mix of humility, confidence, selflessness, vulnerability, and resilience. They will likely find, however, that these qualities, while crucial, are not sufficient to get the job done. Like Ben Franklin, they will also need to be versatile. In our conversations with a range of successful global leaders, we\u0026rsquo;ve observed that the best ones are versatile in the following three ways: they have pursued diverse experiences in their careers, they are constantly curious to learn new things, and they have mastered the dynamics of interacting with a variety of stakeholders.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn short, versatile leaders know how to go broad, when to go deep, and how and when to expand their range, make trade-offs, and find the right balance between professionalism and empathy. They are good at what they do but they also know how to break out of their comfort zones. They continually challenge themselves and their organizations.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e Do what feels uncomfortable\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne thing we noticed about some of the most successful leaders is that most credit their career trajectories to a singular formula. Some make it to the top by being marketing whizzes. Others are skillful cost cutters and restructurers. Others know how to grow a business. Whatever the bundle of skills, most of these leaders operate in only one basic mode. They do what they\u0026rsquo;re good at and feel comfortable with, and they get rewarded for that behavior.\u003c/p\u003e\n[[MostPopular Articles 5]]\n\u003cp\u003eBut having a single strength might not always be what\u0026rsquo;s needed to run a large, complicated organization. As John Plant, the CEO of Howmet Aerospace, explains, \u0026ldquo;So you get hired as CEO and you manage well the first phase of the cycle, which might require someone who has restructuring skills. But then, after three or four years, the company pivots to a growth mode, and because you don\u0026rsquo;t have the right skills, the board may fire you. Very few people have the experience or versatility to be able to operate in those different modes.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 2000, for example, when the dot-com stock bubble burst, the leaders of those online companies, who had been nurturing fast growth for years, suddenly found themselves managing for profitability. Instead of spending whatever it might take to grow, they had to pivot and find ways to save money by laying people off, canceling projects, and eliminating waste. Those are two entirely different sets of muscles, and a leader has to be versatile enough to make the switch. Much of this comes down to what kinds of experience leaders have. If they lack certain types of experience, they must find people both inside and outside the organization to complement any gaps.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMichael Fisher, who has been the CEO of three organizations\u0026mdash;the nonprofit Cincinnati Children\u0026rsquo;s Hospital Medical Center, the global automotive supplier company Premier Manufacturing Support Services, and the Cincinnati Regional Chamber\u0026mdash;says that on his way up the ladder, he found that people in each of these spheres genuinely wanted to share their knowledge and be helpful. Early in his career, soon after he graduated from Stanford, he was an associate athletic director at Northwestern University, managing all the school\u0026rsquo;s sports teams except for football and men\u0026rsquo;s basketball. \u0026ldquo;I was aware,\u0026rdquo; he says, \u0026ldquo;that I was never going to know more about women\u0026rsquo;s field hockey or men\u0026rsquo;s baseball than those coaches did, so I spent time building my relationships with them and understanding how I could help them to be successful.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFisher kept that mindset throughout his career. When he was running Premier Manufacturing Support Services, for instance, he hired a former General Motors maintenance superintendent who had worked all over the world and peppered him with questions until he felt comfortable in an industry that was new to him.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThose striving to become CEOs should make sure they put themselves into a range of environments, situations, and challenges where they can grow a varied set of skills. At one point, they might volunteer to, say, help with a big restructuring. At another point, they might decide to run a midsize company that wants to grow from $500 million in revenue to $5 billion over the next five years. Says former Ford CEO Mark Fields, \u0026ldquo;Just because I say I want to be ten pounds lighter and three inches taller doesn\u0026rsquo;t mean it\u0026rsquo;s going to happen. But if you\u0026rsquo;re putting yourself in positions in your career to get these different experiences, you\u0026rsquo;re going to learn how to be a utility infielder, and you will have that muscle memory that you\u0026rsquo;ll need when you have to pivot from growth to cost cutting.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhy is being a versatile CEO so important? Because it can help leaders effectively engage with employees and other stakeholders and make a big impact on the bottom line. Before John Plant headed up Howmet Aerospace, he was the CEO of the global auto parts manufacturer TRW. In that job, he displayed the kind of versatility required to handle diverse operating situations. When he won the top job at TRW, in 2003, the global auto parts industry was humming along. Then, with the financial crisis of 2008, demand in the automotive industry dried up, and the global economy stalled. TRW, which made a variety of technology products, including airbags and stability control systems, saw its stock, which had been trading in the high $20s, fall to $3.60 a share in early 2009. In the first quarter of 2009, the once-profitable company reported a loss of $131 million. GM and Chrysler, two of TRW\u0026rsquo;s biggest customers, were teetering on the edge of bankruptcy and were headed for a US government bailout. The Center for Automotive Research predicted that the possible collapse of the industry could destroy three million US jobs. The outlook, to put it mildly, was bleak.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlant and his team went to work. Starting in 2009, he withdrew TRW\u0026rsquo;s financial guidance that he had been sharing with stock analysts, executed numerous rounds of layoffs, including engineers at the company\u0026rsquo;s technical center\u0026mdash;the source of much of TRW\u0026rsquo;s innovation\u0026mdash;and began closing and restructuring plants to reduce its cost structure. The retrenchment worked, and by 2010 the bleeding at TRW had slowed. Plant then switched hats and embarked on a growth mode, investing in new products and expanding internationally. At the end of Plant\u0026rsquo;s tenure, in 2015, TRW employed more than 65,000 people in approximately 190 major facilities around the world and was ranked among the top ten automotive suppliers globally. That year, TRW was sold to the German auto parts maker ZF Friedrichshafen for $105 a share in a deal that valued the company at $13.5 billion.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat accounts for Plant\u0026rsquo;s versatility? Part of it, of course, can be traced to his innate abilities, but he also worked hard to learn how to straddle cost cutting, growth, marketing, and delivering innovation. One tip: he says that throughout his career, he made it a point to pursue new positions with challenges that made him uncomfortable so he would not find himself pigeonholed as a \u0026ldquo;one note\u0026rdquo; manager.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eGo deep\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA variety of operating skills is the first prerequisite for cultivating versatility. The second is to be a deep, creative thinker. Most leaders think of themselves as deep thinkers, but are they really? How many of them really know or understand the intricacies of their business? Some take a \u0026ldquo;fake it until you make it\u0026rdquo; mentality, brushing over technical details or not truly understanding the competitive landscape, hoping that others in the organization will explain. We\u0026rsquo;re not saying that every leader has to master at a molecular level the products or services they provide. However, versatile leaders must think deeply about what makes an organization tick and its different capabilities and assets.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMastering the details of a company\u0026rsquo;s business might seem a daunting task for a CEO running a high-tech or biotech company, especially if the CEO rose through the ranks via finance or marketing. Yes, a formal education in a particular discipline certainly helps, but the lack of one shouldn\u0026rsquo;t discourage a leader from buckling down and absorbing the intricacies of the business. The key is to be constantly curious.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJohn Plant displayed this kind of avid curiosity after he left TRW, in 2015, and later became the CEO of Arconic and then of Howmet Aerospace, jobs that demanded he dive into the intricacies of an entirely new industry. Howmet makes jet engine blades, structural components, and other high-tech parts for commercial and military aircraft, among other product lines. While there are some similarities to the production of auto parts, the aerospace industry is vastly different in both the technologies it uses and the markets it serves. When Plant switched from auto parts to the aerospace industry, he says he put himself into what he calls \u0026ldquo;deep-thinking mode\u0026rdquo; to find solutions. \u0026ldquo;It really just starts off with a lot of rigor,\u0026rdquo; he explains. \u0026ldquo;You analyze, decide, and\u0026mdash;probably even more important\u0026mdash;have the confidence to carry out that decision.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/p\u003e\n[[PullQuote 1]]\n\u003cp\u003ePlant began by trying to fathom how the aerospace industry differed from the auto industry. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t only that the products were dissimilar\u0026mdash;jet turbine blades versus airbags, for example\u0026mdash;but that the applications for the products, as well as the customers, were different too. \u0026ldquo;It\u0026rsquo;s all about intellectual curiosity,\u0026rdquo; he notes. \u0026ldquo;You have to engage in an in-depth study of the products you make and the technologies that underpin them\u0026mdash;not taking it at face value what they are. You also need to determine whether your products address what your customers need.\u0026rdquo; Gaining an understanding of the aerospace business took months of hard work. Plant visited Howmet\u0026rsquo;s facilities and debriefed employees, often asking the same question of several different people. \u0026ldquo;The key,\u0026rdquo; he says, \u0026ldquo;is not just understanding \u003cem\u003ewhat\u003c/em\u003e a product does but also \u003cem\u003ehow\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003ewhy\u003c/em\u003e it does what it does. You can then take the how and the why and contextualize it. That lets you know what your competitive advantage is\u0026mdash;if you have one.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne of the characteristics of the deep learning employed by Plant and other leaders we\u0026rsquo;ve spoken with is the ability to balance a thirst for knowledge with a sense of certainty. Especially during the first few years, CEOs have a strong desire to prove themselves. After all, no one wants to follow leaders who keep changing their minds for no good reason, nor ones who, by contrast, think they have all the answers. When Ed Bastian was appointed CEO of Delta Air Lines, in 2016, he says he wanted to prove he belonged and that he was equipped to take the job, but it took a couple of years before he felt comfortable in his role. \u0026ldquo;The CEO job is intimidating and it\u0026rsquo;s humbling. I was responsible for 100,000 employees and 200 million customers a year, and I asked myself, \u0026lsquo;How did I get here, and did the board make the right decision?\u0026rsquo; These are things you won\u0026rsquo;t ever admit publicly but internally you have to wrestle with.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eContinues Bastian, \u0026ldquo;The way you deal with this uncertainty is you learn, learn, learn. I went out and saw people to ask them questions because I really wanted to be the best I could be. And I really do believe that the only thing that is constant is change, and as CEO you need to get comfortable with change and embrace change.\u0026rdquo;\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, Bastian put his philosophy of learning to the test. \u0026ldquo;Every day, we were learning something that contradicted what we thought we knew the day before,\u0026rdquo; he recalls. \u0026ldquo;What we needed to do to navigate the pandemic was to keep taking our business model apart and putting it back together in different ways while continuing to lead through a crisis.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the early days of the pandemic, for example, Bastian heard all sorts of confusing and contradictory information about how to keep his employees and passengers safe. Is the virus transmitted by air or by touch? Do masks work, and which ones? Can the ventilation systems on planes help reduce exposure to the virus? Should the airline mandate vaccines? While most leaders followed the quickly changing guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as best they could, Bastian took the unusual step of reaching out to one of the United States\u0026rsquo; premier medical establishments, the Mayo Clinic, and working with its top officials to better understand the behavior of the virus. Eventually, he even hired Mayo executive Dr. Henry Ting to become Delta\u0026rsquo;s first chief health officer. As one doctor at Mayo put it to him, \u0026ldquo;The only thing I can tell you, Ed, is that whatever you think you know today, it\u0026rsquo;s going to be different tomorrow.\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;When I heard that,\u0026rdquo; recalls Bastian, \u0026ldquo;I realized that he was telling me that you always have to be willing to listen to what can change and learn from it, and that as long as we had that mindset, we\u0026rsquo;d be OK.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBastian\u0026rsquo;s dedication to learning without fear and biases, his willingness to question and rethink long-held beliefs and assumptions, and his ability to study on the fly and learn from the right group of experts helped Delta not only navigate through the turbulence of the pandemic but also come out of the crisis still on top of the industry.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eKnow when to speak up\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe ability to assume different operating roles and garner deep knowledge about one\u0026rsquo;s business are two important elements of being a versatile leader. A third\u0026mdash;and one that has taken on increasing importance\u0026mdash;is having the skills to communicate where a business stands politically, socially, and on environmental issues. Executives continually ask us, when is it proper to take a stance? Do CEOs speak for their companies, or do they need to get sign-off from their boards and investors? What if the personal beliefs of a CEO conflict with a position that is in the best interests of the employees and other stakeholders? How do leaders handle the blowback from taking stances on controversial environmental and social issues?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the current environment, neutrality is often not a viable option. In many instances, CEOs must make their beliefs clear in order to build an authentic mandate to lead and guide. Otherwise, employee and customer backlash can be swift and costly. Leaders must ask themselves, \u0026ldquo;Should I launch this product or that product? Should I select or promote this person if their values don\u0026rsquo;t quite fit with my own? Are my operations harming the community in ways I can avoid?\u0026rdquo;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLeaders know that these situations sometimes create tough trade-offs where they must forgo lucrative opportunities that are not consistent with their companies\u0026rsquo; moral compass. For example, do they stop doing business in Russia in the wake of that country\u0026rsquo;s invasion of Ukraine, or is their business there critical to the well-being of Russian citizens? Do they believe in climate change, and, if so, are their zero-carbon targets credible or just greenwash?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s tempting to keep silent and hope the problem disappears. The world no longer works this way, however. Staying silent all the time is no longer an option in a world of social media scrutiny. As Dan Vasella, the former CEO of Novartis, puts it, \u0026ldquo;Journalists have a legitimate demand for access to the CEO. But you must modulate that to avoid overexposure. To the media, you are a product. And the press will paint you as either a hero or a villain\u0026mdash;whatever sells. So if they paint you as a hero today, you should be prepared to be painted as a villain tomorrow. Not everything you do will work out every time, and you have to accept that people will be unfair.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/p\u003e\n[[PullQuote 2]]\n\u003cp\u003eAs Vasella suggests, it\u0026rsquo;s wise to limit the times when leaders should speak out. While of course it doesn\u0026rsquo;t make sense to tweet in response to every headline or employee concern, CEOs need to establish guidelines on when to speak out and when to keep silent on a controversial issue. We\u0026rsquo;ve concluded that CEOs should take a public stance on a topic only when it is both relevant to the company and authentic.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLeaders need to take that extra step to find the right balance between professionalism and empathy. Delta Air Lines CEO Bastian, for example, decided that some social issues are just too important to his employees for him to ignore. In the spring of 2021, Georgia passed a law that restricted voting access in the state. He and others saw it as an effort to suppress Black voter turnout. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t an easy decision for Bastian to speak out against the law, but he did. \u0026ldquo;There are times,\u0026rdquo; he says, \u0026ldquo;when you find yourself thrust into a topic that has relevance to your people, to your business, and to your local community, and people look to you for an opinion as to what\u0026rsquo;s happening.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn this case, the voting law was especially relevant: Delta is the largest private employer in the state of Georgia, and it is committed to closing the diversity gaps at leadership and all levels of the company to create an equitable business. At first, Bastian did try to stay above the fray, but as he listened to the increasing concerns of his employees and members of the community, he decided to speak out. \u0026ldquo;I couldn\u0026rsquo;t explain to them why the law was something we should support. It simply didn\u0026rsquo;t reflect our values, and there was a lot of pressure to take a stand. When I looked around, everyone in the local corporate community was reluctant to take a stance, and so I felt an obligation to oppose the law.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA lot of people took umbrage with Bastian\u0026rsquo;s stance, but many agreed with it. After he spoke out, hundreds of CEOs around the country voiced their opposition to the law. Looking back on the situation, Bastian says, \u0026ldquo;Did it change anything? No, the law is still on the books. But we showed that we had a voice that mattered, and consumers give business to companies who have and practice values.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs Bastian discovered, getting involved in politics can be difficult and stressful, especially in a big corporation whose business interests and constituents might be split on a topic. The challenge is finding the stance and the right language in complex and controversial situations. We believe that there are basic, common shared values for which any CEO or nonprofit leader should always take a stand. These include the protection of innocent life and the condemnation of terroristic, murderous actions. Those are not choices. Those are musts. Yet weighing in on specific policy choices doesn\u0026rsquo;t, in our opinion, make sense unless, as in the case of Delta, the issue is truly relevant to the organization\u0026rsquo;s people and community.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile leaders must consider all their constituents, it is still the CEO\u0026rsquo;s role to create value for investors. Leaders need to be versatile enough to know what matters to themselves and to their companies, and how to signal the importance of broad social issues\u0026mdash;such as climate change, freedom of speech, or LGBTQ+ rights\u0026mdash;while reframing them in a way that is more relevant to all stakeholders, including employees, outside investors, and politicians.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf leaders decide to become involved in a controversial issue, they should ask themselves whether that belief is authentic―consistent with their organizations\u0026rsquo; institutional integrity, values, and principles―and whether the world will perceive it that way. It\u0026rsquo;s easy for leaders to say the right thing, but if organizations aren\u0026rsquo;t ready or able to allocate the time and the money to follow through, CEOs can open themselves up to accusations of hypocrisy.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor example, many well-meaning leaders have pledged that their companies will achieve net-zero carbon emissions by, say, 2030 or 2040, but do they really know how they\u0026rsquo;re going to get there? Of course, if a company has a definite plan to decarbonize and has invested significant funds for it, that\u0026rsquo;s one thing. But that kind of deep commitment tends to be the exception. Often, companies that announce a zero-carbon goal fail to engage in a serious decarbonization effort. This can lead to charges of greenwashing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt Howmet Aerospace, Plant takes a different approach to climate change, one that he feels is more authentic. He refuses to make a net-zero commitment for 2030 or 2050 because he doesn\u0026rsquo;t think doing so is credible\u0026mdash;the people making those commitments, he notes, won\u0026rsquo;t even be in the job by 2030, never mind by 2050.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInstead, Plant tells his employees and anyone else who asks that Howmet\u0026rsquo;s obligation is not to pollute the air, not to pollute the water, and not to cause any harm to the people who come after them, and that their children and their grandchildren should be able to live in a clean environment. In practice, that means that Howmet puts tens of millions of dollars behind making its manufacturing more efficient and cutting carbon wherever it can along its entire value chain. \u0026ldquo;All those grand statements about going zero carbon are just political theater,\u0026rdquo; says Plant. \u0026ldquo;If you don\u0026rsquo;t back them up with real action, you\u0026rsquo;re an empty suit. You have to be authentic; you have to believe what you say, and you have to express a set of values. If you want to take people along with you, you\u0026rsquo;ve got to be honest with them.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003chr /\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne thing is clear from our research: being versatile is critical for leadership success. To cultivate this versatility, leaders should think about the skills and experiences they need to develop, and the assignments and roles in which they can acquire them. They will need to keep in mind the trade-offs to manage. They should consider their approaches to learning and which team members and experts they can work with to fill any gaps in understanding. And they should consider how much time they can spend to expand their versatility\u0026mdash;with both on-the-job learning and in-depth study. Leaders should pick a few areas that are most important for them and their organizations and go deep. The work of inside-out leadership is hard, no question, but the benefits are ultimately worth it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThis article is excerpted from \u003c/em\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/734088/the-journey-of-leadership-by-dana-maor-hans-werner-kaas-kurt-strovink-and-ramesh-srinivasan/\"\u003eThe Journey of Leadership: How CEOs Learn to Lead from the Inside Out\u003c/a\u003e\u003cem\u003e, by Dana Maor, Hans-Werner Kaas, Kurt Strovink, and Ramesh Srinivasan, in agreement with Portfolio, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. Copyright \u0026copy; 2024 McKinsey \u0026amp; Company.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003chr /\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e[[Image Q60]]\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWe are celebrating the 60th birthday of the \u003c/em\u003eMcKinsey Quarterly\u003cem\u003e with a yearlong campaign featuring four issues on major themes related to the future of business and society, as well as related interactives, collections from the magazine\u0026rsquo;s archives, and more. This article will appear in the first themed issue, on the Future of Technology, which will launch in October. Sign up for the \u003c/em\u003eMcKinsey Quarterly\u003cem\u003e alert list to be notified as soon as other new \u003c/em\u003eQuarterly \u003cem\u003earticles are published.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e[[OneClickSubscribe]]\u003c/p\u003e"},"isFullScreenInteractive":{"boolValue":false},"hideStickySocialShareBar":{"boolValue":false},"desktopID":{"value":""},"mobileID":{"value":""},"desktopURL":{"value":""},"mobileURL":{"value":""},"desktopPaddingPercentage":{"value":""},"mobilePaddingPercentage":{"value":""},"desktopOverrideHeight":{"value":""},"mobileOverrideHeight":{"value":""},"cerosOembedURL":{"value":""},"cerosRenderMode":{"targetItem":null},"cerosBackgroundColor":{"targetItem":null},"hideByLine":{"boolValue":false},"tableOfContentsTitle":{"value":"TABLE OF CONTENTS"},"accessStatus":{"targetItem":{"key":{"value":"RegisteredUsers"},"value":{"value":"Registered Users"}}},"articleType":{"targetItem":{"displayName":"Book Excerpt"}},"hasSpecialReport":{"boolValue":false},"contentType":{"targetItem":{"displayName":"Article"}},"sourcePublication":{"targetItem":{"name":"McKinsey Quarterly","displayName":"McKinsey Quarterly","title":{"value":"McKinsey Quarterly"},"relatedlinks":{"url":"/quarterly/overview"},"landinglinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[]}}}},"externalPublication":{"value":""},"mobileReady":{"boolValue":true},"forClientsOnly":{"boolValue":false},"excludeFromClientLink":{"boolValue":false},"originalPublishDate":{"jsonValue":{"value":"2024-08-19T00:00:00Z"}},"footnotes":{"value":""},"contributoryPractice":{"targetItems":[]},"aboutTheAuthors":{"value":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"/our-people/dana-maor\"\u003eDana Maor\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e is the global cohead and European leader of McKinsey\u0026rsquo;s People \u0026amp; Organizational Performance Practice and a senior partner in McKinsey\u0026rsquo;s UK, Ireland, and Israel offices; \u003cstrong\u003eHans-Werner Kaas\u003c/strong\u003e is codean of McKinsey\u0026rsquo;s Bower Forum CEO leadership development program and a senior partner emeritus in the Detroit office; \u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"/our-people/kurt-strovink\"\u003eKurt Strovink\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e leads McKinsey\u0026rsquo;s global CEO services and is a senior partner in the New York office, where \u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"/our-people/ramesh-srinivasan\"\u003eRamesh Srinivasan\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e, also codean of the Bower Forum, is also a senior partner.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003chr /\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis article was edited by Eric Qui\u0026ntilde;ones, a senior editor in the New York office.\u003c/p\u003e"},"authors":{"targetItems":[{"template":{"id":"3FBABDB63A094F68B1F8E1BBE1BA124E","name":"Author"},"id":"49390C2F1DC94A3AB8E891F847650A91","name":"Dana Maor","authorTitle":{"value":"Dana Maor"},"description":{"value":"Coheads the People \u0026 Organizational Performance Practice globally and leads it across Europe. Passionate about shaping organizations to compete, driving lasting transformational change, transforming talent, and unlocking leadership within client organizations, McKinsey, and society"},"thumbnailImage":{"alt":"","src":null},"profile":{"targetItems":[{"standardImage":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/our people/dana maor/dana-maor_profile_1536x1152.jpg","alt":"Dana Maor"},"emailLinks":{"value":"Dana_Maor@mckinsey.com"},"linkedInUrl":{"value":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/dana-maor-046455212/"},"description":{"value":"Coheads the People \u0026 Organizational Performance Practice globally and leads it across Europe. Passionate about shaping organizations to compete, driving lasting transformational change, transforming talent, and unlocking leadership within client organizations, McKinsey, and society"},"locations":{"targetItems":[{"name":"Tel Aviv","displayName":"Tel Aviv"}]},"firmTitle":{"value":"Senior Partner"},"thumbnailImage":{"alt":"Dana Maor","src":"/~/media/mckinsey/our people/dana maor/dana-maor_headshot_988x741.jpg"},"url":{"path":"/our-people/dana-maor"}}]}},{"template":{"id":"3FBABDB63A094F68B1F8E1BBE1BA124E","name":"Author"},"id":"71A296C52F0B47EBA21E315A98799941","name":"HansWerner Kaas","authorTitle":{"value":"Hans-Werner Kaas"},"description":{"value":""},"thumbnailImage":{"alt":"","src":null},"profile":{"targetItems":[]}},{"template":{"id":"3FBABDB63A094F68B1F8E1BBE1BA124E","name":"Author"},"id":"22150E04C301498988477B6C139A0195","name":"Kurt Strovink","authorTitle":{"value":"Kurt Strovink"},"description":{"value":""},"thumbnailImage":{"alt":"","src":null},"profile":{"targetItems":[{"standardImage":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/our people/kurt strovink/kurt strovink-17431_fc-mask_profile_1536x1152.png","alt":""},"emailLinks":{"value":"Kurt_Strovink@mckinsey.com"},"linkedInUrl":{"value":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurt-strovink-70372316a/"},"description":{"value":"Leads our global CEO Initiative to help build great CEOs and CEO counselors and the New York office as its managing partner; serves life insurance, asset and wealth management, property and casualty, and health insurance companies on strategy, finance, organization, and enterprise transformation. "},"locations":{"targetItems":[{"name":"New York","displayName":"New York"}]},"firmTitle":{"value":"Senior Partner"},"thumbnailImage":{"alt":"","src":"/~/media/mckinsey/our people/kurt strovink/kurt strovink-17431_fc-mask_headshot_988x741.png"},"url":{"path":"/our-people/kurt-strovink"}}]}},{"template":{"id":"3FBABDB63A094F68B1F8E1BBE1BA124E","name":"Author"},"id":"9013B76440BF47198B138D51FA688881","name":"Ramesh Srinivasan","authorTitle":{"value":"Ramesh Srinivasan"},"description":{"value":""},"thumbnailImage":{"alt":"","src":null},"profile":{"targetItems":[{"standardImage":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/our people/ramesh srinivasan/ramesh-srinivasan_profile_1536x1152.jpg","alt":"Ramesh Srinivasan"},"emailLinks":{"value":"Ramesh_Srinivasan@mckinsey.com"},"linkedInUrl":{"value":""},"description":{"value":"Helps clients implement lasting change; leads leadership learning programs for CEOs and partners"},"locations":{"targetItems":[{"name":"New York","displayName":"New York"}]},"firmTitle":{"value":"Senior Partner"},"thumbnailImage":{"alt":"Ramesh Srinivasan","src":"/~/media/mckinsey/our people/ramesh srinivasan/ramesh-srinivasan_headshot_988x741.jpg"},"url":{"path":"/our-people/ramesh-srinivasan"}}]}}]},"nonPartnerAuthors":{"targetItems":[]},"interactiveToUse":{"targetItem":null},"enableArticleComponents":{"boolValue":false},"relatedArticles":{"targetItems":[{"sourcePublication":null,"publicationSource":null,"externalPublication":null,"title":{"value":"The Journey of Leadership: How CEOs Learn to Lead From the Inside Out"},"url":{"path":"/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/journey-of-leadership"},"eyebrow":null,"articleType":null,"contentType":{"targetItem":{"name":"Book - Featured Insights"}},"description":{"value":"This book is the first-ever explanation of McKinsey\u0026rsquo;s step-by-step approach to transforming leaders both professionally and personally, including revealing lessons from its legendary CEO leadership program, \u0026ldquo;The Bower Forum,\u0026rdquo; which has counseled five-hundred-plus global CEOs over the past decade."},"standardImage":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/featured insights/mckinsey books/journey of leadership/journey-of-leadership-book-cover-1536x1536.jpg","alt":"The Journey of Leadership book cover"},"heroImage":null,"thumbnailImage":null},{"sourcePublication":{"targetItem":null},"publicationSource":null,"externalPublication":{"value":""},"title":{"value":"The ‘inside out’ leadership journey: How personal growth creates the path to success"},"url":{"path":"/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/the-inside-out-leadership-journey-how-personal-growth-creates-the-path-to-success"},"eyebrow":{"targetItem":{"name":"Article"}},"articleType":{"targetItem":{"name":"Article"}},"contentType":{"targetItem":{"name":"Article"}},"description":{"value":"In a new book, four McKinsey senior partners show why leaders must connect with themselves first before they can inspire and empower their organizations."},"standardImage":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/business functions/people and organizational performance/our insights/the inside out leadership journey how personal growth creates the path to success/the-inside-out-leadership-journey-1146870978-thumb-1536x1536.jpg","alt":"A hiker looks out over a sunset from inside the large opening of a cave"},"heroImage":null,"thumbnailImage":null},{"sourcePublication":{"targetItem":null},"publicationSource":null,"externalPublication":{"value":""},"title":{"value":"Author Talks: A transformational approach to leadership"},"url":{"path":"/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/author-talks-a-transformational-approach-to-leadership"},"eyebrow":{"targetItem":{"name":"Interview"}},"articleType":{"targetItem":{"name":"Interview"}},"contentType":{"targetItem":{"name":"Article"}},"description":{"value":"How can leaders reach their full potential? McKinsey senior partners provide a road map for developing effective \u0026ldquo;inside out\u0026rdquo; leadership."},"standardImage":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/featured insights/mckinsey books/author talks a transformational approach to leadership/srinivasan-maor-strovink-kass-thumb-1536x1536-v3.jpg","alt":"McKinsey senior partners Ramesh Srinivasan, Dana Maor, Kurt Strovink, and senior partner emeritus Hans-Werner Kaas"},"heroImage":null,"thumbnailImage":null}]},"useEnhancedAuthors":{"boolValue":false},"acknowledgements":{"value":""},"showSocialShareFooter":{"boolValue":false},"template":{"id":"683910db-02ba-40ba-92e7-726c880160a9"},"hideFromSearchEngines":{"boolValue":false},"heroFiftyFiftyBackground":{"targetItem":null},"backgroundColor":{"targetItem":null},"gradientDirection":{"targetItem":{"key":{"value":"Bottom Right"},"value":{"value":"bottom-right"}}},"hideStickySubscriptionBar":{"value":false},"enableRegWall":{"boolValue":false},"timer":{"value":"8"},"regWallHeading":{"value":""},"showGoToHomeLink":{"boolValue":false},"regWallDescription":{"value":""},"isInsightsStorePage":{"boolValue":false},"enableRatingsForArticleBody":{"boolValue":false},"enableRatingsForMostPopular":{"boolValue":false},"selectedModalSubscriptions":{"targetItems":[]},"link1":{"queryString":"","className":"","anchor":"","linkType":"internal","url":"","text":"","targetItem":null},"link2":{"queryString":"","className":"","anchor":"","linkType":"internal","url":"","text":"","targetItem":null},"link3":{"queryString":"","className":"","anchor":"","linkType":"internal","url":"","text":"","targetItem":null},"link4":{"queryString":"","className":"","anchor":"","linkType":"internal","url":"","text":"","targetItem":null},"link5":{"queryString":"","className":"","anchor":"","linkType":"internal","url":"","text":"","targetItem":null},"fullReportPDF":{"name":"Full Report PDF","src":null,"displayName":null,"title":null,"keywords":null,"description":null,"extension":null,"mimeType":null,"size":null,"pageCount":null,"thumbnailImageSrc":""},"fullReportPDFDisplayName":{"value":""},"appendixPDF":{"name":"Appendix PDF","src":null,"displayName":null,"title":null,"keywords":null,"description":null,"extension":null,"mimeType":null,"size":null,"pageCount":null,"thumbnailImageSrc":""},"appendixPDFDisplayName":{"value":""},"articlePDF":{"name":"Article PDF","src":"/~/media/mckinsey/business functions/people and organizational performance/our insights/the versatile leader how learning to adapt makes ceos better/the-versatile-leader-how-learning-to-adapt-makes-ceos-better.pdf","displayName":"The-versatile-leader-How-learning-to-adapt-makes-CEOs-better","title":"The versatile leader: How learning to adapt makes CEOs better","keywords":"","description":"","extension":"pdf","mimeType":"application/pdf","size":120045,"pageCount":"8","thumbnailImageSrc":"/~/media/mckinsey/business functions/people and organizational performance/our insights/the versatile leader how learning to adapt makes ceos better/the-versatile-leader-how-learning-to-adapt-makes-ceos-better_thumbnail.jpeg"},"briefingNotePDF":{"name":"Briefing Note PDF","src":null,"displayName":null,"title":null,"keywords":null,"description":null,"extension":null,"mimeType":null,"size":null,"pageCount":null,"thumbnailImageSrc":""},"discussionPapersPDF":{"name":"Discussion Papers PDF","src":null,"displayName":null,"title":null,"keywords":null,"description":null,"extension":null,"mimeType":null,"size":null,"pageCount":null,"thumbnailImageSrc":""},"executiveSummaryPDF":{"name":"Executive Summary PDF","src":null,"displayName":null,"title":null,"keywords":null,"description":null,"extension":null,"mimeType":null,"size":null,"pageCount":null,"thumbnailImageSrc":""},"executiveSummaryPDFDisplayName":{"value":""},"researchPreviewPDF":{"name":"Research Preview PDF","src":null,"displayName":null,"title":null,"keywords":null,"description":null,"extension":null,"mimeType":null,"size":null,"pageCount":null,"thumbnailImageSrc":""},"heroImage":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/business functions/people and organizational performance/our insights/the versatile leader how learning to adapt makes ceos better/qweb-versatile-ceo-1536x864.png","alt":"A cascade of transparent marbles, each varying in size, weave together to form an endless Möbius strip"},"standardImage":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/business functions/people and organizational performance/our insights/the versatile leader how learning to adapt makes ceos better/qweb-versatile-ceo-1536x1536.jpg","alt":"A cascade of transparent marbles, each varying in size, weave together to form an endless Möbius strip"},"heroImageTopOffset":{"value":""},"headerOverlayOpacity":{"targetItem":null},"heroType":{"targetItem":{"displayName":"Full Bleed Hero With Non Immersive Dek"}},"photoOverlayOpacity":{"targetItem":null},"hideHero":{"boolValue":false},"renderStackedHeroLayoutForMobile":{"boolValue":false},"articleHeroVideoId":{"value":""},"podcastHeroOmnyAudioID":{"value":""},"heroBespokeInteractiveID":{"value":""},"bespokeHeroRenderMode":{"targetItem":null},"audio":{"results":[{"id":"ACA8A2887E2940CAABCD39755D44EFFE","omnyPlayerAudioURL":{"value":""},"iTunesURL":{"value":""},"soundcloudAudioFile":{"value":"1901121681"},"displayNumber":{"value":""},"headline":{"jsonValue":{"value":""}},"mediaEyebrow":{"jsonValue":{"value":""}},"description":{"jsonValue":{"value":""}},"libraryAudioFile":{"src":null},"renderMode":{"targetItem":{"key":{"value":"Center"},"value":{"value":"small-span-center"}}},"hideMediaEyebrow":{"boolValue":true},"mediaID":{"value":"1"},"template":{"name":"Audio"}}]},"disruptor1up":{"results":[{"title":{"value":"Register to join our next McKinsey Live"},"description":{"value":"Tuesday, September 10 at 12:00 p.m. EDT / 6:00 p.m. CET"},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/featured insights/mckinsey explainers/what is leadership/email_banner_3.jpg","alt":"Register to join our next McKinsey Live"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"LinkType":"external","Title":"","Text":"Register here","Url":"https://events.ringcentral.com/events/how-ceos-learn-to-lead-from-the-inside-out/registration?utm_campaign=disruptors\u0026utm_source=disruptors","Target":"","CssClass":"","Anchor":""}]}},"mediaID":{"value":"Event"},"template":{"name":"Disruptor 1Up"}},{"mediaID":{"value":"cop"},"title":{"value":"Explore COP29 with McKinsey"},"description":{"value":"Join our series of dynamic virtual events during COP29. Discover new research, practical strategies, and collaborations across sectors to move climate action beyond why to how."},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/business functions/sustainability/how we help clients/cop/cop29/cop_29_thumb.jpg","alt":"McKinsey at COP29"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Register","Title":"","Url":"https://mckinsey.cventevents.com/Q2MVE1?rt=RrQJ1iBSfEiqSK7N9VAGCw\u0026RefId=cop"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"attheedge"},"title":{"value":"Subscribe to the \u003cem\u003eAt the Edge\u003c/em\u003e podcast"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/at-the-edge/id1612870236"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/3SnUcezwM20nKnzqvUl6iF"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"authortalks"},"title":{"value":"Visit \u003cem\u003e\u003ca href=\"/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/author-talks\"\u003eAuthor Talks\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/em\u003e to see the full series."},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/featured insights/mckinsey books/author talks/authortalks_1536x1536_v1.png","alt":"Author Talks"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Learn more","Title":"","Url":"/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/author-talks"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"COVID"},"title":{"value":"Explore McKinsey’s ongoing coverage of the pandemic"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/business functions/risk/our insights/covid 19 implications for business/implications-briefing-note-4-standard-1536x1536.jpg","alt":"COVID-19: Implications for business"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Read more about the business impact of coronavirus and how organizations can respond","Title":"","Url":"/featured-insights/coronavirus-leading-through-the-crisis"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"CE"},"title":{"value":"Customer experience"},"description":{"value":"More insight into creating competitive advantage by putting customers first and managing their journeys."},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/industries/public and social sector/our insights/customer experience/customer-experience_22934010_1536x864.jpg","alt":"Customer experience"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Learn more","Title":"","Url":""}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"driversofdisruption"},"title":{"value":"Want to subscribe to \u003ca href=\"/features/mckinsey-center-for-future-mobility/our-insights/drivers-of-disruption\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eDrivers of Disruption\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e?"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/drivers-of-disruption/id1687257324"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/5fWXzWmVKacc5I7u9CQsah?si=KQ-wUOSyQlqcnfexExiH9Q\u0026nd=1"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"JOL"},"title":{"value":"The Journey of Leadership"},"description":{"value":"\u003cstrong\u003eHow CEOs Learn to Lead from the Inside Out\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\nBy \u003ca href=\"/our-people/dana-maor\"\u003eDana Maor\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/hanswernerkaas\"\u003eHans-Werner Kaas\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"/our-people/kurt-strovink\"\u003eKurt Strovink\u003c/a\u003e, and \u003ca href=\"/our-people/ramesh-srinivasan\"\u003eRamesh Srinivasan\u003c/a\u003e"},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/featured insights/mckinsey books/journey of leadership/journey-of-leadership-book-cover-1536x1536.jpg","alt":"The Journey of Leadership book cover"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Learn more","Title":"","Url":"/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/journey-of-leadership"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"surveys"},"title":{"value":"McKinsey\u0026rsquo;s original survey research"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/featured insights/mckinsey global surveys/mck-global-survey-landing-1284442931-thumb-1536x1536.jpg","alt":"McKinsey Global Surveys"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Read more","Title":"","Url":"/featured-insights/mckinsey-global-surveys"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"healthcarepodcast"},"title":{"value":"Want to subscribe to \u003cem\u003eMcKinsey on Healthcare\u003c/em\u003e?"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mckinsey-on-healthcare/id1469979748"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/3y1AgAilV4E5Jz0x4wD9O2?si=mLCTUQ2ORTS_LC5gW_htlA\u0026dl_branch=1"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"myleadershipjourney"},"title":{"value":"My Leadership Journey"},"description":{"value":"A series of conversations with leaders about the people and experiences that shaped them"},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/business functions/people and organizational performance/our insights/my leadership journey/my leadership journey collection page_131575496_thumb_1536x1536.jpg","alt":"My Leadership Journey"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Learn more","Title":"","Url":"/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/my-leadership-journey"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"lessonsfromleaders"},"title":{"value":"State of Organizations: Lessons from leaders"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/business functions/people and organizational performance/our insights/state of org lessons from leaders/soo-chapter-2-872507320-standard-1536x1536.jpg","alt":"\"\""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Explore more interviews","Title":"","Url":"/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/lessons-from-leaders"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"stateoforg"},"title":{"value":"The State of Organizations 2023"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Report overview","Title":"","Url":"/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/the-state-of-organizations-2023"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"titaniumeconomy"},"title":{"value":"The Titanium Economy"},"description":{"value":"How Industrial Technology Can Create a Better, Faster, Stronger America\u003cbr /\u003e\nBy \u003ca href=\"/our-people/asutosh-padhi\"\u003eAsutosh Padhi\u003c/a\u003e, Gaurav Batra, and \u003ca href=\"https://fernweh.com/nick-santhanam/\"\u003eNick Santhanam\u003c/a\u003e"},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/featured insights/mckinsey books/the titanium economy/titanium_3d-1536x1536-hero-trans.png","alt":"The Titanium Economy Book cover"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Learn more","Title":"","Url":"/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/the-titanium-economy"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"GII"},"title":{"value":"Global Infrastructure Initiative"},"description":{"value":"Convening global leaders in infrastructure and capital projects in pursuit of new solutions"},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/business functions/operations/our insights/the global infrastructure initiative/jpg-cpi-improving-construction-productivity-1536x864.jpg","alt":"Improving construction productivity"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Learn more","Title":"","Url":"http://www.globalinfrastructureinitiative.com/"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"FOApodcast"},"title":{"value":"Subscribe to \u003ca href=\"/featured-insights/future-of-asia/future-of-asia-podcasts\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eFuture of Asia Podcasts\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/future-of-asia/id1480316959"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/2CZX4AR2DT4hQCFKJG0cCv?si=B20tkrOmQYymuCUhKCQOwA"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"logisticsdisruptors"},"title":{"value":"Logistics Disruptors"},"description":{"value":"Meet the companies shaping how goods will move tomorrow."},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/industries/travel logistics and infrastructure/our insights/logistics disruptors/tli-logistics-disruptors-1536x1536.jpeg","alt":"illustration autonomous truck driving off into the future"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Learn more","Title":"","Url":"/industries/travel-logistics-and-infrastructure/our-insights/logistics-disruptors"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"mckinseyexplainers"},"title":{"value":"Looking for direct answers to other complex questions?"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/featured insights/mckinsey explainers/mckinseyexplainers-flat-thumb-1536x1536.jpg","alt":"Circular, white maze filled with white semicircles."},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Explore the full McKinsey Explainers series","Title":"","Url":"/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"livesandlegacies"},"title":{"value":"\u003cem\u003e\u003ca href=\"/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-lives-and-legacies\"\u003eMcKinsey on Lives \u0026amp; Legacies\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/em\u003e"},"description":{"value":"Highlighting the lasting impact of leaders and executives"},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/featured insights/mckinsey on lives and legacies/lives-and-legacies-landing-page-thumb-1536x1536.jpg","alt":"McKinsey on Lives \u0026 Legacies"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Explore previous obituaries","Title":"","Url":"/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-lives-and-legacies"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"Strategy"},"title":{"value":"Strategy in a digital age"},"description":{"value":"Our series on developing corporate and business-unit strategies in a digitally disrupted world."},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/business functions/mckinsey digital/our insights/strategy in a digital age/digital-strategy_1536x864_flexpromoimage.jpg","alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"View the collection","Title":"","Url":"/featured-insights/strategy-in-a-digital-age"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"great"},"title":{"value":"The great re-make: Manufacturing for modern times"},"description":{"value":"This 21-article compendium gives practical insights for manufacturing leaders looking to keep a step ahead of today\u0026rsquo;s disruptions."},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/business functions/operations/our insights/the great remake manufacturing for modern times/jpg-ops-dm-compendium-cover-1536x864.jpg","alt":"The great re-make: Manufacturing for modern times"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"View the collection","Title":"","Url":"/capabilities/operations/our-insights/the-great-re-make-manufacturing-for-modern-times-compendium"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"futureofamerica"},"title":{"value":"Subscribe to the \u003cem\u003eFuture of America\u003c/em\u003e podcast"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/future-of-america/id1616517376"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/0FpeyjojJTKf2hVtQ3otah"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"governmentpodcast"},"title":{"value":"Subscribe to the \u003cem\u003eMcKinsey on Government\u003c/em\u003e podcast"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mckinsey-on-government/id1573645359"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/61XsO4B2ersroMft8t3KSq"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"podcast"},"title":{"value":"Want to subscribe to the McKinsey Podcast?\n"},"description":{"value":"\u003cdiv class=\"cta-container -align-horizontal\"\u003e\n \u003ca href=\"#\" class=\"btn btn-fill\"\u003eGoogle Play\u003c/a\u003e\n \u003ca href=\"#\" class=\"btn btn-fill\"\u003eiTunes\u003c/a\u003e\n \u003ca href=\"#\" class=\"btn btn-fill\"\u003eStitcher\u003c/a\u003e\n \u003ca href=\"#\" class=\"btn mck-rss-icon\"\u003eRSS\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e"},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"operationspodcast"},"title":{"value":"Subscribe to the \u003cem\u003eMcKinsey Talks Operations\u003c/em\u003e podcast"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mckinsey-talks-operations/id1598128813"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/7LYQS2fxAoBmC3LgFNJbi8"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"energyinsights"},"title":{"value":"Speak to an expert about our upstream capabilities"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/industries/oil and gas/how we help clients/energy insights/newsletter-signup-promo-bar-1536x768.jpg","alt":"EI newsletter sign up"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Contact us","Title":"","Url":"/industries/oil-and-gas/how-we-help-clients/energy-solutions/contact-us"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"buildingproductspodcast"},"title":{"value":"Subscribe to the \u003cem\u003eMcKinsey on Building Products\u003c/em\u003e podcast"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mckinsey-on-building-product/id1735607317"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/79pncGJtBtzz7pFoR6OiH8"},{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Listen to previous episodes","Title":"","Url":"/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/how-we-help-clients/mckinsey-academy/product-academy/mckinsey-on-building-product"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"talentpodcast"},"title":{"value":"Subscribe to the \u003cem\u003eMcKinsey Talks Talent\u003c/em\u003e podcast"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mckinsey-talks-talent/id1491112396"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/5sW4eHEFMbOvAFJjMfN9a6"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"outlook"},"title":{"value":"A longer, more comprehensive version of our Global Oil Supply \u0026 Demand Outlook is available for purchase upon request.\n"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Contact us","Title":"","Url":"/industries/oil-and-gas/how-we-help-clients/energy-solutions/contact-us"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"talentpodcast2"},"title":{"value":"McKinsey Talks Talent Podcast"},"description":{"value":"Bryan Hancock, Brooke Weddle, and other talent experts help you navigate a fast-changing landscape and prepare for the future of work by making talent a competitive advantage."},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/business functions/people and organizational performance/mckinsey talks talent/mck-mtt-disruptor-full-1536x864-smoke-may-2021.jpg","alt":"McKinsey Talks Talent"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"See more episodes","Title":"","Url":"/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/mckinsey-talks-talent-podcast"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"investing"},"title":{"value":"Subscribe to McKinsey on Investing"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Learn more","Title":"","Url":"/industries/private-capital/our-insights/mckinsey-on-investing-issue-1/contact"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"women matter"},"title":{"value":"Subscribe to McKinsey \u003cem\u003eWomen Matter Canada\u003c/em\u003e"},"description":{"value":"Please subscribe if your organization is interested in learning about participating in future research."},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Learn more","Title":"","Url":""}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"customs"},"title":{"value":"This article was written as part of a larger research effort to identify opportunities for improvement and innovation at customs agencies globally."},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Learn more","Title":"","Url":"/industries/public-sector/our-insights/contact"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"tech"},"title":{"value":"\u003cspan class=\"disrupt-ab\"\u003eCreating value beyond the hype\u003c/span\u003e"},"description":{"value":"Let\u0026rsquo;s deliver on the promise of technology from strategy to scale."},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/business functions/mckinsey digital/how we help clients/2024/never-just-tech_thumb_1536x1536.jpg","alt":"Never just tech"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Get started","Title":"","Url":"https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/how-we-help-clients?cid=njt-ste-crk-mbm-mbm--2403-promo01-njt-bam-web"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"sust"},"title":{"value":"\u003cspan class=\"disrupt-ab\"\u003eMove from plans to progress.\u003c/span\u003e"},"description":{"value":"Sustainability matters. Together we’ll make it real."},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/business functions/sustainability/how we help clients/sustainability-campaign_promo-thumb_1536x1536.jpg","alt":"Move from plans to progress."},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Get started","Title":"","Url":"https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/how-we-help-clients/?cid=susti24-ste-crk-mbm-m01-other-glb-web"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"nwowpodcast"},"title":{"value":"Subscribe to the New World of Work podcast"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-new-world-of-work/id1319502839?mt=2"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/3S6fHLW6mcbDJDp1wkArKI"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"globalpodcast"},"title":{"value":"Want to subscribe to \u003cem\u003eThe McKinsey Podcast\u003c/em\u003e?"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mckinsey-podcast/id285260960?mt=2"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/4dyjRTP9xzEUPgleo6XjXI"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"YouTube","Title":"","Url":"https://www.youtube.com/@McKinsey/podcasts"},{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Listen to previous episodes","Title":"","Url":"/featured-insights/mckinsey-podcast"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"Qaudio"},"title":{"value":"Discover and subscribe to McKinsey Quarterly Audio"},"description":{"value":"\u003cstrong\u003eFive ways to subscribe:\u003c/strong\u003e"},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/mckinsey-quarterly-audio/id1437925222?mt=2"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/5mb2zYJnrPcRrML8gx5doD"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"shortlist"},"title":{"value":"Subscribe to the Shortlist"},"description":{"value":"McKinsey\u0026rsquo;s new weekly newsletter, featuring must-read content on a range of topics, every Friday"},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/email/shortlist/template/shortlist_promo-interrupter-849120982_1536x1536.jpg","alt":"the Shortlist"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Get the Shortlist in your inbox","Title":"","Url":"/user-registration/manage-account/edit-subscriptions"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"retailpodcast"},"title":{"value":"Subscribe to the \u003cem\u003eMcKinsey on Consumer and Retail\u003c/em\u003e podcast"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mckinsey-on-consumer-and-retail/id1526250428"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/41D4bro8PPDOGhEgOEJyHB?si=7l3SeYCZQD-7v3toqd9fHQ"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"insurancepodcast"},"title":{"value":"Want to subscribe to the \u003cem\u003eMcKinsey on Insurance\u003c/em\u003e podcast?"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mckinsey-on-insurance/id1533196359"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/5gZ6YKF7n7C9zWaER4mFZ5"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"strategypodcast"},"title":{"value":"Subscribe to the \u003cem\u003eInside the Strategy Room\u003c/em\u003e podcast"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/inside-the-strategy-room/id1422814215?mt=2"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/4TcFfiQ0e6OYuc5kRDLxqj"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"mgipodcast"},"title":{"value":"Subscribe to the \u003cem\u003eForward Thinking\u003c/em\u003e podcast"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/forward-thinking/id1319502839"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/3S6fHLW6mcbDJDp1wkArKI?si=0zvPmiCsQ7SBAPanfpY4aA\u0026nd=1"},{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Listen to previous episodes","Title":"","Url":"/mgi/forward-thinking"}]}}}]},"globalDisruptors":{"disruptor1up":{"results":[{"mediaID":{"value":"cop"},"title":{"value":"Explore COP29 with McKinsey"},"description":{"value":"Join our series of dynamic virtual events during COP29. Discover new research, practical strategies, and collaborations across sectors to move climate action beyond why to how."},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/business functions/sustainability/how we help clients/cop/cop29/cop_29_thumb.jpg","alt":"McKinsey at COP29"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Register","Title":"","Url":"https://mckinsey.cventevents.com/Q2MVE1?rt=RrQJ1iBSfEiqSK7N9VAGCw\u0026RefId=cop"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"attheedge"},"title":{"value":"Subscribe to the \u003cem\u003eAt the Edge\u003c/em\u003e podcast"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/at-the-edge/id1612870236"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/3SnUcezwM20nKnzqvUl6iF"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"authortalks"},"title":{"value":"Visit \u003cem\u003e\u003ca href=\"/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/author-talks\"\u003eAuthor Talks\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/em\u003e to see the full series."},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/featured insights/mckinsey books/author talks/authortalks_1536x1536_v1.png","alt":"Author Talks"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Learn more","Title":"","Url":"/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/author-talks"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"COVID"},"title":{"value":"Explore McKinsey’s ongoing coverage of the pandemic"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/business functions/risk/our insights/covid 19 implications for business/implications-briefing-note-4-standard-1536x1536.jpg","alt":"COVID-19: Implications for business"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Read more about the business impact of coronavirus and how organizations can respond","Title":"","Url":"/featured-insights/coronavirus-leading-through-the-crisis"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"CE"},"title":{"value":"Customer experience"},"description":{"value":"More insight into creating competitive advantage by putting customers first and managing their journeys."},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/industries/public and social sector/our insights/customer experience/customer-experience_22934010_1536x864.jpg","alt":"Customer experience"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Learn more","Title":"","Url":""}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"driversofdisruption"},"title":{"value":"Want to subscribe to \u003ca href=\"/features/mckinsey-center-for-future-mobility/our-insights/drivers-of-disruption\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eDrivers of Disruption\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e?"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/drivers-of-disruption/id1687257324"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/5fWXzWmVKacc5I7u9CQsah?si=KQ-wUOSyQlqcnfexExiH9Q\u0026nd=1"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"JOL"},"title":{"value":"The Journey of Leadership"},"description":{"value":"\u003cstrong\u003eHow CEOs Learn to Lead from the Inside Out\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\nBy \u003ca href=\"/our-people/dana-maor\"\u003eDana Maor\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/hanswernerkaas\"\u003eHans-Werner Kaas\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"/our-people/kurt-strovink\"\u003eKurt Strovink\u003c/a\u003e, and \u003ca href=\"/our-people/ramesh-srinivasan\"\u003eRamesh Srinivasan\u003c/a\u003e"},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/featured insights/mckinsey books/journey of leadership/journey-of-leadership-book-cover-1536x1536.jpg","alt":"The Journey of Leadership book cover"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Learn more","Title":"","Url":"/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/journey-of-leadership"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"surveys"},"title":{"value":"McKinsey\u0026rsquo;s original survey research"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/featured insights/mckinsey global surveys/mck-global-survey-landing-1284442931-thumb-1536x1536.jpg","alt":"McKinsey Global Surveys"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Read more","Title":"","Url":"/featured-insights/mckinsey-global-surveys"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"healthcarepodcast"},"title":{"value":"Want to subscribe to \u003cem\u003eMcKinsey on Healthcare\u003c/em\u003e?"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mckinsey-on-healthcare/id1469979748"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/3y1AgAilV4E5Jz0x4wD9O2?si=mLCTUQ2ORTS_LC5gW_htlA\u0026dl_branch=1"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"myleadershipjourney"},"title":{"value":"My Leadership Journey"},"description":{"value":"A series of conversations with leaders about the people and experiences that shaped them"},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/business functions/people and organizational performance/our insights/my leadership journey/my leadership journey collection page_131575496_thumb_1536x1536.jpg","alt":"My Leadership Journey"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Learn more","Title":"","Url":"/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/my-leadership-journey"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"lessonsfromleaders"},"title":{"value":"State of Organizations: Lessons from leaders"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/business functions/people and organizational performance/our insights/state of org lessons from leaders/soo-chapter-2-872507320-standard-1536x1536.jpg","alt":"\"\""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Explore more interviews","Title":"","Url":"/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/lessons-from-leaders"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"stateoforg"},"title":{"value":"The State of Organizations 2023"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Report overview","Title":"","Url":"/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/the-state-of-organizations-2023"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"titaniumeconomy"},"title":{"value":"The Titanium Economy"},"description":{"value":"How Industrial Technology Can Create a Better, Faster, Stronger America\u003cbr /\u003e\nBy \u003ca href=\"/our-people/asutosh-padhi\"\u003eAsutosh Padhi\u003c/a\u003e, Gaurav Batra, and \u003ca href=\"https://fernweh.com/nick-santhanam/\"\u003eNick Santhanam\u003c/a\u003e"},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/featured insights/mckinsey books/the titanium economy/titanium_3d-1536x1536-hero-trans.png","alt":"The Titanium Economy Book cover"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Learn more","Title":"","Url":"/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/the-titanium-economy"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"GII"},"title":{"value":"Global Infrastructure Initiative"},"description":{"value":"Convening global leaders in infrastructure and capital projects in pursuit of new solutions"},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/business functions/operations/our insights/the global infrastructure initiative/jpg-cpi-improving-construction-productivity-1536x864.jpg","alt":"Improving construction productivity"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Learn more","Title":"","Url":"http://www.globalinfrastructureinitiative.com/"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"FOApodcast"},"title":{"value":"Subscribe to \u003ca href=\"/featured-insights/future-of-asia/future-of-asia-podcasts\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eFuture of Asia Podcasts\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/future-of-asia/id1480316959"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/2CZX4AR2DT4hQCFKJG0cCv?si=B20tkrOmQYymuCUhKCQOwA"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"logisticsdisruptors"},"title":{"value":"Logistics Disruptors"},"description":{"value":"Meet the companies shaping how goods will move tomorrow."},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/industries/travel logistics and infrastructure/our insights/logistics disruptors/tli-logistics-disruptors-1536x1536.jpeg","alt":"illustration autonomous truck driving off into the future"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Learn more","Title":"","Url":"/industries/travel-logistics-and-infrastructure/our-insights/logistics-disruptors"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"mckinseyexplainers"},"title":{"value":"Looking for direct answers to other complex questions?"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/featured insights/mckinsey explainers/mckinseyexplainers-flat-thumb-1536x1536.jpg","alt":"Circular, white maze filled with white semicircles."},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Explore the full McKinsey Explainers series","Title":"","Url":"/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"livesandlegacies"},"title":{"value":"\u003cem\u003e\u003ca href=\"/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-lives-and-legacies\"\u003eMcKinsey on Lives \u0026amp; Legacies\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/em\u003e"},"description":{"value":"Highlighting the lasting impact of leaders and executives"},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/featured insights/mckinsey on lives and legacies/lives-and-legacies-landing-page-thumb-1536x1536.jpg","alt":"McKinsey on Lives \u0026 Legacies"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Explore previous obituaries","Title":"","Url":"/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-lives-and-legacies"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"Strategy"},"title":{"value":"Strategy in a digital age"},"description":{"value":"Our series on developing corporate and business-unit strategies in a digitally disrupted world."},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/business functions/mckinsey digital/our insights/strategy in a digital age/digital-strategy_1536x864_flexpromoimage.jpg","alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"View the collection","Title":"","Url":"/featured-insights/strategy-in-a-digital-age"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"great"},"title":{"value":"The great re-make: Manufacturing for modern times"},"description":{"value":"This 21-article compendium gives practical insights for manufacturing leaders looking to keep a step ahead of today\u0026rsquo;s disruptions."},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/business functions/operations/our insights/the great remake manufacturing for modern times/jpg-ops-dm-compendium-cover-1536x864.jpg","alt":"The great re-make: Manufacturing for modern times"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"View the collection","Title":"","Url":"/capabilities/operations/our-insights/the-great-re-make-manufacturing-for-modern-times-compendium"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"futureofamerica"},"title":{"value":"Subscribe to the \u003cem\u003eFuture of America\u003c/em\u003e podcast"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/future-of-america/id1616517376"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/0FpeyjojJTKf2hVtQ3otah"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"governmentpodcast"},"title":{"value":"Subscribe to the \u003cem\u003eMcKinsey on Government\u003c/em\u003e podcast"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mckinsey-on-government/id1573645359"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/61XsO4B2ersroMft8t3KSq"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"podcast"},"title":{"value":"Want to subscribe to the McKinsey Podcast?\n"},"description":{"value":"\u003cdiv class=\"cta-container -align-horizontal\"\u003e\n \u003ca href=\"#\" class=\"btn btn-fill\"\u003eGoogle Play\u003c/a\u003e\n \u003ca href=\"#\" class=\"btn btn-fill\"\u003eiTunes\u003c/a\u003e\n \u003ca href=\"#\" class=\"btn btn-fill\"\u003eStitcher\u003c/a\u003e\n \u003ca href=\"#\" class=\"btn mck-rss-icon\"\u003eRSS\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e"},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"operationspodcast"},"title":{"value":"Subscribe to the \u003cem\u003eMcKinsey Talks Operations\u003c/em\u003e podcast"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mckinsey-talks-operations/id1598128813"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/7LYQS2fxAoBmC3LgFNJbi8"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"energyinsights"},"title":{"value":"Speak to an expert about our upstream capabilities"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/industries/oil and gas/how we help clients/energy insights/newsletter-signup-promo-bar-1536x768.jpg","alt":"EI newsletter sign up"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Contact us","Title":"","Url":"/industries/oil-and-gas/how-we-help-clients/energy-solutions/contact-us"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"buildingproductspodcast"},"title":{"value":"Subscribe to the \u003cem\u003eMcKinsey on Building Products\u003c/em\u003e podcast"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mckinsey-on-building-product/id1735607317"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/79pncGJtBtzz7pFoR6OiH8"},{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Listen to previous episodes","Title":"","Url":"/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/how-we-help-clients/mckinsey-academy/product-academy/mckinsey-on-building-product"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"talentpodcast"},"title":{"value":"Subscribe to the \u003cem\u003eMcKinsey Talks Talent\u003c/em\u003e podcast"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mckinsey-talks-talent/id1491112396"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/5sW4eHEFMbOvAFJjMfN9a6"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"outlook"},"title":{"value":"A longer, more comprehensive version of our Global Oil Supply \u0026 Demand Outlook is available for purchase upon request.\n"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Contact us","Title":"","Url":"/industries/oil-and-gas/how-we-help-clients/energy-solutions/contact-us"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"talentpodcast2"},"title":{"value":"McKinsey Talks Talent Podcast"},"description":{"value":"Bryan Hancock, Brooke Weddle, and other talent experts help you navigate a fast-changing landscape and prepare for the future of work by making talent a competitive advantage."},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/business functions/people and organizational performance/mckinsey talks talent/mck-mtt-disruptor-full-1536x864-smoke-may-2021.jpg","alt":"McKinsey Talks Talent"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"See more episodes","Title":"","Url":"/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/mckinsey-talks-talent-podcast"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"investing"},"title":{"value":"Subscribe to McKinsey on Investing"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Learn more","Title":"","Url":"/industries/private-capital/our-insights/mckinsey-on-investing-issue-1/contact"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"women matter"},"title":{"value":"Subscribe to McKinsey \u003cem\u003eWomen Matter Canada\u003c/em\u003e"},"description":{"value":"Please subscribe if your organization is interested in learning about participating in future research."},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Learn more","Title":"","Url":""}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"customs"},"title":{"value":"This article was written as part of a larger research effort to identify opportunities for improvement and innovation at customs agencies globally."},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Learn more","Title":"","Url":"/industries/public-sector/our-insights/contact"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"tech"},"title":{"value":"\u003cspan class=\"disrupt-ab\"\u003eCreating value beyond the hype\u003c/span\u003e"},"description":{"value":"Let\u0026rsquo;s deliver on the promise of technology from strategy to scale."},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/business functions/mckinsey digital/how we help clients/2024/never-just-tech_thumb_1536x1536.jpg","alt":"Never just tech"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Get started","Title":"","Url":"https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/how-we-help-clients?cid=njt-ste-crk-mbm-mbm--2403-promo01-njt-bam-web"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"sust"},"title":{"value":"\u003cspan class=\"disrupt-ab\"\u003eMove from plans to progress.\u003c/span\u003e"},"description":{"value":"Sustainability matters. Together we’ll make it real."},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/business functions/sustainability/how we help clients/sustainability-campaign_promo-thumb_1536x1536.jpg","alt":"Move from plans to progress."},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Get started","Title":"","Url":"https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/how-we-help-clients/?cid=susti24-ste-crk-mbm-m01-other-glb-web"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"nwowpodcast"},"title":{"value":"Subscribe to the New World of Work podcast"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-new-world-of-work/id1319502839?mt=2"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/3S6fHLW6mcbDJDp1wkArKI"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"globalpodcast"},"title":{"value":"Want to subscribe to \u003cem\u003eThe McKinsey Podcast\u003c/em\u003e?"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mckinsey-podcast/id285260960?mt=2"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/4dyjRTP9xzEUPgleo6XjXI"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"YouTube","Title":"","Url":"https://www.youtube.com/@McKinsey/podcasts"},{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Listen to previous episodes","Title":"","Url":"/featured-insights/mckinsey-podcast"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"Qaudio"},"title":{"value":"Discover and subscribe to McKinsey Quarterly Audio"},"description":{"value":"\u003cstrong\u003eFive ways to subscribe:\u003c/strong\u003e"},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/mckinsey-quarterly-audio/id1437925222?mt=2"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/5mb2zYJnrPcRrML8gx5doD"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"shortlist"},"title":{"value":"Subscribe to the Shortlist"},"description":{"value":"McKinsey\u0026rsquo;s new weekly newsletter, featuring must-read content on a range of topics, every Friday"},"image":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/email/shortlist/template/shortlist_promo-interrupter-849120982_1536x1536.jpg","alt":"the Shortlist"},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Get the Shortlist in your inbox","Title":"","Url":"/user-registration/manage-account/edit-subscriptions"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"retailpodcast"},"title":{"value":"Subscribe to the \u003cem\u003eMcKinsey on Consumer and Retail\u003c/em\u003e podcast"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mckinsey-on-consumer-and-retail/id1526250428"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/41D4bro8PPDOGhEgOEJyHB?si=7l3SeYCZQD-7v3toqd9fHQ"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"insurancepodcast"},"title":{"value":"Want to subscribe to the \u003cem\u003eMcKinsey on Insurance\u003c/em\u003e podcast?"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mckinsey-on-insurance/id1533196359"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/5gZ6YKF7n7C9zWaER4mFZ5"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"strategypodcast"},"title":{"value":"Subscribe to the \u003cem\u003eInside the Strategy Room\u003c/em\u003e podcast"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/inside-the-strategy-room/id1422814215?mt=2"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/4TcFfiQ0e6OYuc5kRDLxqj"}]}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"mgipodcast"},"title":{"value":"Subscribe to the \u003cem\u003eForward Thinking\u003c/em\u003e podcast"},"description":{"value":""},"image":{"src":null,"alt":""},"moreLinks":{"jsonValue":{"value":[{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Apple Podcasts","Title":"","Url":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/forward-thinking/id1319502839"},{"CssClass":"btn btn-fill","LinkType":"external","Target":"_blank","Text":"Spotify","Title":"","Url":"https://open.spotify.com/show/3S6fHLW6mcbDJDp1wkArKI?si=0zvPmiCsQ7SBAPanfpY4aA\u0026nd=1"},{"CssClass":"","LinkType":"internal","Target":"","Text":"Listen to previous episodes","Title":"","Url":"/mgi/forward-thinking"}]}}}]},"disruptorsignup":{"results":[{"mediaID":{"value":"full-width"},"renderMode":{"targetItem":{"key":{"value":"fullwidth"},"value":{"value":"Full Width"}}},"callToAction":{"url":"/user-registration/register-mvc","text":"Subscribe"},"title":{"jsonValue":{"value":"Stay current on your favorite topics"}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"left"},"renderMode":{"targetItem":{"key":{"value":"left"},"value":{"value":"Left"}}},"callToAction":{"url":"/user-registration/register-mvc","text":"Subscribe"},"title":{"jsonValue":{"value":"Stay current on your favorite topics"}}}]}},"ceros":{"results":[]},"exhibit":{"results":[]},"image":{"results":[{"mediaID":{"value":"Q60"},"description":{"value":""},"libraryMediaFile":{"src":"/~/media/mckinsey/test/danas test folder/q60logo-article-banner-smaller.png","alt":"McKinsey Quarterly 60th birthday"},"height":{"value":""},"width":{"value":""},"renderMode":{"targetItem":{"key":{"value":"Center"},"value":{"value":"Center"}}}}]},"exhibitcarousel":{"results":[]},"pullquote":{"results":[{"description":{"value":"A variety of operating skills is the first prerequisite for cultivating versatility. The second is to be a deep, creative thinker. Most leaders think of themselves as deep thinkers, but are they really?"},"mediaID":{"value":"1"},"renderMode":{"targetItem":{"key":{"value":"center"},"value":{"value":"center-align"}}},"citation":{"value":""},"enableQuotes":{"boolValue":false},"CTA":{"url":"","linkType":"internal","text":"","target":"","className":"","queryString":"","anchor":"","targetItem":null}},{"description":{"value":"In the current environment, neutrality is often not a viable option. In many instances, CEOs must make their beliefs clear in order to build an authentic mandate to lead and guide."},"mediaID":{"value":"2"},"renderMode":{"targetItem":{"key":{"value":"center"},"value":{"value":"center-align"}}},"citation":{"value":""},"enableQuotes":{"boolValue":false},"CTA":{"url":"","linkType":"internal","text":"","target":"","className":"","queryString":"","anchor":"","targetItem":null}}]},"disruptorsignup":{"results":[{"mediaID":{"value":"full-width"},"renderMode":{"targetItem":{"key":{"value":"fullwidth"},"value":{"value":"Full Width"}}},"callToAction":{"url":"/user-registration/register-mvc","text":"Subscribe"},"title":{"jsonValue":{"value":"Stay current on your favorite topics"}}},{"mediaID":{"value":"left"},"renderMode":{"targetItem":{"key":{"value":"left"},"value":{"value":"Left"}}},"callToAction":{"url":"/user-registration/register-mvc","text":"Subscribe"},"title":{"jsonValue":{"value":"Stay current on your favorite topics"}}}]},"articlesidebar":{"results":[]},"boxout":{"results":[]},"globalsidebar":{"results":[]},"video":{"results":[]},"scrollycontainer":{"results":[]},"bespokeinteractive":{"results":[]},"storycontainer":{"results":[]},"interactive":{"results":[]},"sectionheader":{"results":[]},"statementdisruptor":{"results":[]},"fullbleedphoto":{"results":[]},"tocitem":{"results":[]},"quizcontainer":{"results":[]},"generalup":{"results":[]},"twoupmedium":{"results":[]},"accordion":{"results":[]},"factoid":{"results":[]},"promobarwithquote":{"results":[]},"oneupmedium":{"results":[]},"oneupmediumquote":{"results":[]},"gridwall":{"results":[]},"twoupsmall":{"results":[]},"oneclicksubscribe":{"results":[{"renderMode":{"targetItem":null}}]},"promobar":{"results":[]},"promobanner":{"results":[]},"sectionhero":{"results":[]},"threeuplinklist":{"results":[]},"table":{"results":[]},"explainertooltip":{"results":[]},"isFiveFiftyHorizontalArticle":{"boolValue":false},"fiveFifty":{"results":[]}},"contextItem":{"ancestors":[{"breadCrumbUrl":{"path":"/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights"},"breadCrumbTitle":{"value":"Our Insights"},"isMiniSite":{"boolValue":false},"displayName":"Insights on People and Organizational Performance","template":{"id":"85FF05307883480F9A4C82123F72FFD8"}},{"breadCrumbUrl":{"path":"/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/how-we-help-clients"},"breadCrumbTitle":null,"isMiniSite":{"boolValue":true},"displayName":"People \u0026 Organizational Performance","template":{"id":"414C6C64AD35440E9668CF39D8A18CCF"}},{"breadCrumbUrl":{"path":"/capabilities"},"breadCrumbTitle":{"value":"Capabilities"},"isMiniSite":{"boolValue":false},"displayName":"Capabilities","template":{"id":"85FF05307883480F9A4C82123F72FFD8"}},{"breadCrumbUrl":{"path":"/"},"breadCrumbTitle":{"value":""},"isMiniSite":{"boolValue":false},"displayName":"Home","template":{"id":"85FF05307883480F9A4C82123F72FFD8"}}]}}},"placeholders":{"main-area":[],"sidebar-area":[]}}]}},"itemId":"e26429a9-9af5-444b-a133-dbf72aaf6457","pageEditing":false,"site":{"name":"website"},"pageState":"normal","language":"en","pageMetaData":{"alternateLanguages":[{"languageCode":"en","displayName":"English","url":"/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/the-versatile-leader-how-learning-to-adapt-makes-ceos-better"}],"currentLanguage":"en","navigationLink":"capabilities","activeItemId":"{263B5075-2E73-4049-ACE5-A781C619B562}","miniSiteId":"{3BACEF67-76B1-4244-B48C-DBD94B0F2B61}","officeCode":"","officeDisplayName":"","subscriptionPracticeData":[{"key":"practice-name-newsletter","value":"McKinsey Quarterly"},{"key":"practice-code-newsletter","value":"N32"}],"isAlaisedPage":false,"originalHostName":"www.mckinsey.com","updatedDate":"2024-10-23T10:46:09Z","createdDate":"2024-08-13T14:55:32Z","practice":{"isDefaultPractice":false,"name":"McKinsey Quarterly","code":"N32","stickyTitle":"Sign up for emails on new McKinsey Quarterly articles","stickySubtitle":"Never miss an insight. We'll email you when new articles are published on this topic.","previewLink":"","previewLinkLabel":"Preview","description":null,"descriptionText":"Get the latest articles on this topic delivered to your inbox","frequency":"Alert","regFormTitle":null},"url":"/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/the-versatile-leader-how-learning-to-adapt-makes-ceos-better","isCareersPage":false,"officePath":"","hideAppPromo":false,"itemInfo":{"id":"e26429a9-9af5-444b-a133-dbf72aaf6457","fullPath":"/sitecore/content/McKinsey/Home/Capabilities/People and Organizational Performance/Our Insights/The versatile leader How learning to adapt makes CEOs better","templateName":"ArticleJSS","templateID":"683910db-02ba-40ba-92e7-726c880160a9"}},"defaultSettings":{"McKinsey Quarterly":"\u003cem\u003eMcKinsey Quarterly\u003c/em\u003e","FacebookCID":"soc-web","LinkedInCID":"soc-web","TwitterCID":"soc-web","Home Page SEO Details":{"Description":"McKinsey \u0026 Company is the trusted advisor and counselor to many of the world's most influential businesses and institutions.","Image_Url":"/~/media/images/global/seoimageplaceholder.jpg","Image_Alt":""}},"alumniDatalayerChunk":"static/chunks/alumnidatalayer.325ebb6069c1d69e.js"},"componentProps":{},"notFound":false,"noAccess":false},"__N_PREVIEW":true,"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/[[...path]]","query":{"timestamp":"1732251778413","path":["br","our-insights","what-is-cop"]},"buildId":"9vYT_fWQKRjfPT7lAZJdB","runtimeConfig":{"CONFIG_ENV":"production","CURRENT_ENV":"production","PUBLIC_URL":"https://www.mckinsey.com","PUBLIC_CMS_URL":"https://cms-prod.mckinsey.com","RECAPTCHA_V3_KEY":"6LdC5twSAAAAAF0dePIbY_ckeF05mKdYYJXn7uTg","INVISIBLE_RECAPTCHA_KEY":"6LcWCs0UAAAAAEik2NaGkfGH8mGHo1ThxIt-qUoE","USER_SERVICE_API_HOST":"https://prd-api.mckinsey.com","MOBILE_SERVICES_HOST":"https://mobileservices.mckinsey.com","SEARCH_SERVICE_API_HOST":"https://mckapi.mckinsey.com","OT_DATA_DOMAIN_SCRIPT_COM":"915b5091-0d7e-44d2-a8c4-cf08267e52fe","OT_DATA_DOMAIN_SCRIPT_DE":"13f50396-9d33-4d95-ba3e-1f108fa91009","OT_DATA_DOMAIN_SCRIPT_BR":"679eae24-1d5c-4f33-8aae-b35aa8269966","ADOBE_LAUNCH":"a400cfbb2fd3","BCOV_POLICY":"BCpkADawqM3Xn1B8iTmHawNytUSk0kXaQKMSM51CBVsYKHfwlRhZimTJqbOOq0NuyxTKQnvb4V9myMVRjwGkyGtJQO2HrUPOJHcsgkpbB-jyHwswonskf6XnZaF0TyyKkAQgbymSMtudeD9CLk-xCpqAzTaNUm7a3M3QKLN4pdLRNJ9_HbVMWzNpiUr5ezAVdMciDMwsD-gxNl43d7bfVP3wRhTNWbWUYn3WK7-Oz2gbxV6mMTm0jJU3SjK_x0meTprYUgdUWA-iDgwVglsnfJ_SVtVDPZypUokKv85GzFLM-ywjWlPM2Hg1ucemwwOpa-qvYBGfeMV7zP3n6s22hFCBveiWtHEBpV9N8f4rjmunMlxBx7kSlxIRjWquZm70hLRXMoxAgQ22BC86tBhgR_d1l9_-FzZuZIlZhzJwJi3ug1HszooHM8uEMOkHmB5nYj5XEgVk5JFYGcSwFSnMnNzE1ej2J3jcEiE3eSWHcremWjCZ0s9bs_8R08WpGWkBp8WMXUFfmhPBMk-MGixR_yIu7nJ6B_hYBnVhqKnnoW-xxEmRxgwG0Ev0S96cAcBG8qdlChGN7o1qN0heGTUIYnDk703q3lt9j7X4FgaITrlcPZOWZ96EHytVKUAtmtVp5BVGpiLn4viuUpEdAM_CLSBIaPVunk-39L8tm6m8iUYmbMX_KXPyaL900bQtVQgK39FCa0pUEZ_jSBOGNj1FH8NUPN2TS8_csNWfpN7gsaD9FBN3wUtawAD_RPdJ952odfwJqyvrkN89AyKnFdFMvUh6_4LCIQVYd4M5KC_k1WNLYb11KZhq6O4UaoyD4X1pV4-x0jBzEnc4VQTkL_04dw2xdPJ1uqUrmHuUcIBO0SKaEk6_5HYc3GKfYwmPz1oxMpOi-Rzw1QPyWIdbrcZdFbIHoVZ8FKfyslEv392pJMiKzUnVWL_3mZ0UqnGtddwlXYVdSs57AUdlrfOe7TVaaIMZ_kL7FSrbWrsaSufitSYr62xD1K1-qeb4wkx8QQEorxGJ3RG1Vpn97Pn5JEC_jvj0s7uzFgidYR9bp80EMmPCHUmRg-Hm1Aq1B4YMNc1ARnFz6UvT_8_pMhJEwKuypA-nPoJu4JZJNLVUdw","sitecoreApiKey":"{AD59BE63-BA20-47D4-A1B0-ECF30588E2E2}","sitecoreApiHost":"https://prod.mckinsey.com","FB_APP_ID":"1382278882079245","ARTICLE_API_HOST":"https://prd-api.mckinsey.com","SITECORE_FORMS_SERVICES_API_HOST":"https://prd-api.mckinsey.com","FEATURE_TOGGLES":"{\"stack_adapt_pixel\": true, \"article_seo_schema\":true, \"remember_me\": true, \"gql_promo_banner\": true, \"gql_highlight_bar\": true, \"gql_ceros_placeholder\": true, \"gql_two_up_medium\": true, \"gql_hero_with_partnership_mark\": true, \"gql_brightcove_gallery\": true, \"gql_one_up_medium\": true, \"gql_promo_bar_with_quote\": true, \"gql_fifty_fifty_hero\": true, \"gql_enhanched_hero\": true, \"gql_two_up_small\": true, \"gql_general_up\": true, \"gql_full_bleed_hero\": true, \"passwordless_login_enabled\": true, \"sso_enabled\": true, \"article_id\": \"\", \"personalisation_enabled\":true, \"hide_student_sticky_footer\":true, \"email_domain_validation_enabled\":true, \"enable_cid_cookie_qp\": true, \"otp_verification_enabled\": true}","HEADER_SCRIPT_HASH":"abcd1234","OKTA_AUTH_CLIENT_ID":"0oa8ppb3ypQ8uOI8y697","OKTA_AUTH_ISSUER":"https://dotcomidp.mckinsey.com/oauth2/aus2byav0jTElyFDD697/","AUTO_REDIRECTION_DURATION":"5","LINKEDIN_IDP":"0oaecyj1byxnfrfFk697","APPLE_IDP":"0oaeg2lxy6mq4PX5F697","GOOGLE_IDP":"0oaeczfkb03XL3E4O697","ALUMNI_BASE_API_URL":"https://dev-gateway.intranet.mckinsey.com/:apiKey/v1","ALUMNI_AUTHENTICATE_API_URL":"https://dev-ac3-okta-auth.intranet.mckinsey.com/authenticate","ALUMNI_OKTA_URL":"","ALUMNI_OKTA_ENABLED":"true","GOOGLE_MAP_API_KEY":"AIzaSyDqrGDNMDjy9pXHkMf-_Ut33LoC725GSe4","AWS_GATEWAY":"https://dev-gateway.mckinsey.com","AWS_API_GATEWAY_ID":"o63viscaj4","AWS_PERSONALIZATION_TRACKING_ID":"f3f97bc3-4ca7-4960-9e49-0bcff6294ab4","AWS_PERSONALIZATION_CID":"recommendations-onw-onw-mck-mck-art-2410-v1-user-ext-web","EVENTS_MODULE_CARDS_COUNT":"8","RECOMMENDATIONS_OFFER_ACTIVITY":"Article Recommendations"},"isFallback":false,"dynamicIds":[70281,12711,76731,81732,90390,33959],"gssp":true,"locale":"en","locales":["en","da-DK"],"defaultLocale":"en","isPreview":true,"scriptLoader":[]}</script><script type="text/javascript" src="/CD521ZmoihS6ARo3gA/pYacztLGJLc6i9/DWRZTi91cQc/Jl/gQLhALSh4"></script></body></html>