Insights for the Year Ahead

The challenges we have faced this year have touched each of us in different ways. From my vantage point of interacting with leaders around the world, I have been struck by just how much the pandemic has created huge leadership challenges for organizations. It has reshaped our concept of work—how it can be done and from where—and forced business and operating model changes on many organizations.

Many of the changes are welcome ones—but even those require us to relearn new ways of working and transforming ourselves and our teams.

As this has happened, my colleagues and I have sought to support our clients and candidates with insights derived from the expertise of our global network of accomplished leaders. From those conversations, we created guidance highlighting enduring leadership lessons that emerge during periods of turbulence, we identified ways of ensuring that crises accelerate leadership capability in organizations, and we provided best practices for interviewing and assessing candidates in virtual settings—a practice that quickly became the new normal for organizations.

Although there has been an understandable focus on the global health crisis, 2020 has also been a year in which environmental sustainability; digital transformation; and diversity, equity and inclusion have become critical priorities for leaders everywhere.

Sustainability

Earlier this year, we released Leadership for the Decade of Action, an examination of the characteristics of sustainable business leaders conducted in partnership with the United Nations Global Compact. We also published Assessing and Selecting Sustainable Leaders, a guide to hiring and promoting leaders with a sustainable mindset and leaderships skills.

Next year, we will see an increasing focus on the board of directors and the role it plays in enabling sustainable leadership within the enterprise. When the board and C-suite are aligned on something as critical as sustainability, companies accomplish amazing things.

Digital Transformation

In the area of digital transformation, our research has shown that there are six key elements that CEOs and boards must focus on to cross the digital divide, and we have written about the importance of redefining the mandate and role of your top technology executive.

Many organizations have fallen into the digital talent trap—thinking that hiring new leaders and teams with technical acumen is sufficient. Progressive organizations understand that technical skills (and associated tools) are only the first step; evolving the culture and organizational structure is key to driving real transformation.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I)

The acceleration of DE&I efforts in organizations has left many leaders looking to improve the diversity of their leadership pipeline, support their minority employees and join the fight for racial justice. These are all essential activities if we are to build truly inclusive workplaces.

But to build a diverse workforce, companies need to change the way they recruit and hire talent. Equitable search practices will become critical next year as organizations realize that they cannot get to where they want to go by doing what they have always done. With the spotlight being shone on inequality this year, we can expect that potential employees, investors and others will look for and reward companies and leaders who demonstrate the four main inclusive leadership behaviors: awareness and clarity; courageous accountability; empowering others; and innovative collaboration.

What are you most looking forward to in 2021?