Writing
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Even in the best of circumstances, leadership transitions are tough. Failure rates are estimated at 40 percent, and it often takes 6 months or longer for a new leader to get to breakeven productivity levels. Today, as leaders are operating in the most challenging circumstances most have ever faced, executive transitions are even harder. If…
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Leadership in a Pandemic [Chief Executive]
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1 min read
Pandemics are unlike any other challenge we face as leaders. There are no words to fully describe the feeling of dread when you find out one of your colleagues has fallen ill. There are also no words to describe the feeling of pride when you hear of a colleague going out of their way to…
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Interview-based assessments are a critical element of an effective executive hiring process. They can be conducted very effectively in a virtual environment – and indeed, the current situation notwithstanding, many already are. That said, the COVID-19 pandemic creates added dynamics that are important to consider. While much has been written about the logistics and technical…
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Every industry across the globe has faced a crisis at some point in time. While most large companies survive, many struggle for years following a period of severe adversity. Others prevail and become stronger than before. How companies address crises has changed over time, as has the role of the board. Amid COVID-19’s rapid spread…
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5 Key Considerations for Candidate Engagement in Today’s Crisis [Russell Reynolds Associates]
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1 min read
Great candidate engagement has always mattered – it can be the difference between getting a great candidate and losing one. The COVID-19 crisis is throwing up a multitude of new challenges. How organizations deal with them will be hugely important to keeping hiring processes moving and maintaining strong talent pipelines for once the crisis has…
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7 Simple Tips and Reminders for Successful Video Interviewing [Russell Reynolds Associates]
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1 min read
For many good reasons organizations and candidates have a preference for meeting and interviewing in-person. As many organizations reduce travel and restrict visitors to their offices amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the temptation may be to reschedule those in-person meetings. We strongly advise that organizations focus instead on shifting to virtual interviews. This will ensure candidate…
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Driving Leadership Performance and Development in a Crisis: Ten Enduring Lessons [Russell Reynolds Associates]
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1 min read
The current COVID-19 pandemic is a global tragedy with profoundly human consequences. It is also creating situations where we have seen examples of extraordinary human performance and growth, as individuals and leaders come together to do what they can to help those around them. As senior executives naturally focus on the immediate implications of this…
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Pandemics are unlike any other challenge we face as leaders. There are no words to fully describe the feeling of dread when you find out one of your colleagues has fallen ill. There are also no words to describe the feeling of pride when you hear of a colleague going out of their way to…
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Reviewing financial statements, audit activities, and compliance activities are all part of the work required of board members to keep the company running on the right path. But the most successful boards do far more than this, focusing on more forward-looking, value-creating, strategic issues. Earlier this year, Russell Reynolds Associates surveyed 750 board directors about…
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Public company boards are under pressure from investors. This stems not just from the usual focus on performance, but increasingly from questions and concerns regarding the quality of the board itself. Board composition has become a focus both for institutional investors pushing for long-term thinking and for activist investors demanding short-term performance uplift. There are…
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Many observers have been vocal in their perception of a decline in director quality in recent years. According to the 2019 PwC Corporate Directors Survey, 49 percent of US directors say one or more fellow board members should be replaced, and 23 percent say two or more should go. These numbers are up from both…
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Higher education has become an increasingly litigious environment in recent years. You needn’t look any further than recent Chronicle of Higher Education headlines to understand why: “Michigan State’s Ex-President, Who Faces Criminal Charges, Will Retire with a $2.5 Million Payout,” “U. of Southern California Doctor Is Accused of Sexually Abusing 48 Patients,” “Strikes at Colleges…
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Building Better Boards: Taking the Long-View of Director Succession [Russell Reynolds Associates]
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1 min read
When it comes time to fill an open spot on the board of directors, it’s far too easy—and far too common—for directors to fall into the trap of short-term planning and “who do we know” candidate identification. In recent years, companies have improved with regard to thoughtfully identifying and recruiting senior leaders who are best…
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What the Board Wants to Know: Answers to 12 Common Questions [Russell Reynolds Associates]
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2 min read
The Expectations of Public Company Directors Continue to Rise and the Work is Increasingly Challenging As the business world becomes more complex, organizations are becoming harder to lead and manage, with scrutiny from investors, regulators, shareholders, activists and the media on the rise. There are growing expectations that directors will more closely oversee areas that…
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“Are You Coachable?”: Lessons from a Trillion Dollar Coach [Russell Reynolds Associates]
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2 min read
For many leading Silicon Valley executives, Bill Campbell was a not-so-secret weapon—a trusted advisor who made them household names, even if his own name was virtually unknown outside the Valley. Campbell—who passed away at age 75 in 2016—was a successful college athlete turned professional football coach, first at Boston College, then at Columbia University. After…
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Going for Gold: Global Board Culture and Director Behaviors Survey [Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance]
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2 min read
Based on our experience working with hundreds of boards each year, we know board and director performance depends on the quality of board leadership, the ability of the board to focus on the right issues and a small number of critical director behaviors. Our latest research backs this up. The link between critical director behaviors…
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Going for Gold: The 2019 Global Board Culture and Director Behaviors Survey [Russell Reynolds Associates]
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2 min read
Based on our experience working with hundreds of boards each year, we know board and director performance depends on the quality of board leadership, the ability of the board to focus on the right issues and a small number of critical director behaviors. Our latest research backs this up. The link between critical director behaviors…
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As 2018 comes to a close and 2019 begins, five senior leaders at Russell Reynolds Associates reflect on the global and regional leadership trends they see emerging or accelerating in the coming year. I had the pleasure of assisting Clarke Murphy, Constantine Alexandrakis, Patrick Johnson, Matthias Oberholzer, and Patrick L. O’Brien with this piece, which…
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Insight on Demand: The Opportunities and Challenges of Advisory Boards [Russell Reynolds Associates]
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2 min read
At some point, nearly every corporate board will face the same existential crisis: Should the board only include executives with high-level general management and strategy experience – or should it be filled with individuals who have deep expertise in key priority areas? This debate has been bubbling for more than a decade. What began with…
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CEO misconduct, be it personal misdeeds, illegal business practices, violations of ethical norms, or something else – seems to be in the news more often these days. And when a CEO misbehaves, the entire company suffers. The organizational consequences of CEO misconduct are significant. Researchers at Stanford University have shown that when a CEO is…
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Institutional investors (both active managers and index fund giants) spent the last few years raising their expectations of public company boards—a trend we expect to see continue in 2019. The demand for board quality, effectiveness, and accountability to shareholders will continue to accelerate across all global markets. Toward the end of each year, Russell Reynolds…
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CEO Transitions: Mitigating Risks and Accelerating Value Creation [Russell Reynolds Associates]
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2 min read
CEO transitions have always been challenging, but never more so than in today’s environment. As a board governance, leadership consulting and search firm, Russell Reynolds Associates is asked regularly to conduct CEO searches and support long-term CEO succession planning. We advise our clients not to forget about transition planning as a distinct process that needs…
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General Electric builds a lot of things — including leaders. Since GE’s 1892 founding in Schenectady, New York, almost every single GE CEO has spent all, or virtually all, of his career at the company. As the conglomerate has grown across continents and industries, it has repeatedly been able to develop leaders with diverse skills…
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In Search of Greatness: How to Choose an Independent Board Leader [Russell Reynolds Associates]
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1 min read
What makes a great board leader – and how do you know? When US boards look for a new non-executive leader – or a director candidate who could fill that role when the time comes – they often try to identify ideal candidates by looking at backgrounds and experiences. It is a worthwhile endeavor, as…
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GE signed two deals late last year to sell jet engines to China’s Juneyao Airlines and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). The sales are worth a combined $2.5 billion, and in announcing them, GE highlighted that “China will displace the United States as the world’s largest aviation market in 2022, two years faster…
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Future Perfect: What it Takes to Manage for the Long Term [Russell Reynolds Associates]
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3 min read
For years, U.S. public companies have faced pressure from Wall Street to meet or beat quarterly earnings estimates. In response, they have discontinued quarterly guidance, forgone major investments, and sometimes prettied up results with accounting tricks. These defense mechanisms succeed to varying degrees but reveal a concerning truth: Executives often allow the market to define…
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Intelligence Community Leaders Are Readers – and Writers, Too [North American Society for Intelligence History]
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2 min read
Harry Truman famously said, “all leaders are readers.” In the Intelligence Community, they are writers, too. This bibliography, created as part of a larger research effort, includes all the book-length works written by heads of US Intelligence Community member organizations. The list is long – 204 entries – and the topics covered are both impressive…
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Leadership Traits: Balancing the Loud and the Quiet [American Management Association Playbook]
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1 min read
The stereotypical CEO in movies and TV is overwhelmingly loud. The reality for CEOs and other executives is more complex. Recently, Russell Reynolds Associates and Hogan Assessments examined nearly 5 million psychological profiles of workers and executives. We found that the most successful individuals are those who can balance pairs of competing competencies—a model we…
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According to some dire and sensational headlines, many people will likely soon find themselves in the unemployment line, while a relative of a Roomba moves in to their office, taking over their job. Few topics have created so much fear, uncertainty and doubt in the workplace as recent developments in robotics and artificial intelligence. As…
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Specialists, Caretakers, and Chameleons: The C-Suite in 2021 [Russell Reynolds Associates]
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2 min read
It’s a challenging time for corporations. The first years of the twenty-first century have seen a period of rapid technological innovation, an explosion of entrepreneurial activity, and globalization on an unparalleled pace. Nations have experienced unexpected political upheavals. Markets have shifted and changed. So have the employees we lead. And executive teams have never looked…
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Uniquely Human: Talent Implications of Technological Disruption in the Workforce [Russell Reynolds Associates]
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1 min read
Few changes in the world have created more uncertainty in the workplace than the recent, seemingly sudden advancements in automation and artificial intelligence. The media headlines can be dire: Vikram Pandit, previously the head of Citigroup, has predicted that technology will eliminate up to 30 percent of banking jobs in the next five years. A…
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Artificial Intelligence: A Primer for Corporate Directors [Russell Reynolds Associates]
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1 min read
The term “artificial intelligence” has become part of common parlance – used casually in business publications and corner offices – but it often lacks definition. What does it really mean? Contrary to popular belief, it’s not synonymous with a takeover by an army of robots, nor does it equate to an endless dialogue with Siri…
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Leading a Legacy: How Outsiders Thrive as Family Business CEOs [Russell Reynolds Associates]
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2 min read
When Guy Laurence lost his job as CEO of Rogers Communications in October 2016, it quickly became the subject of newspaper headlines and evening news reports. Hired in December 2013 to run the family-owned Canadian business, Laurence was a successful, experienced executive. Previously the CEO of Vodafone UK, he came to Rogers with seemingly all…
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Jennifer Weber, chief human resources officer (CHRO) for Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has all the qualifications you might expect from a top-level HR executive – and then some. Before joining Lowe’s in 2016, Weber was executive vice president of external affairs and strategic policy for Duke Energy Corp.; a position she took after 20 years as…
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Career Crossroads: The Talent Migration from Finance to Tech [Russell Reynolds Associates and the Toigo Foundation]
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2 min read
By all accounts, the career paths of today’s professionals are dramatically different from the generations prior. Shorter tenures, an expectation of freedom and flexibility in work arrangements, a desire for tighter alignment between personal values and an employer’s mission are clear and defining differences of today’s workforce. But there’s more to the story around employment…
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De-risking Your Next GC Appointment: The Five Key Personality Factors for Success in the Role [Corporate Counsel]
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2 min read
Rapid technological change, rising globalization, and an increasingly intense and far-reaching regulatory environment continue to disrupt business models and impact organizations. The associated enterprise risks—including vulnerability to cyber assaults, a patchwork of privacy and anti-corruption mandates, and an infinite variety of industry-specific regulation—have elevated the role of the corporate general counsel (GC) in virtually every…
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When Leaders Are Hired for Talent but Fired for Not Fitting In [Harvard Business Review]
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2 min read
Over and over again, organizations are unable to appoint the right leaders. According to academic estimates, the baseline for effective corporate leadership is merely 30%, while in politics, approval ratings oscillate between 25% and 40%. In America, 75% of employees report that their direct line manager is the worst part of their job, and 65%…
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Over the last few decades, organizations have slowly transitioned from promoting employees based solely on technical ability to recognizing the critical importance of soft skills. No longer does the best accounting become the finance director; now it goes to a solid performer who can also manage stakeholders, develop employees, and communicate in an engaging manner.…
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What we want from our CEOs changes with every economic boom and bust. In the late ’90s it was the “vision thing.” After the tech bubble burst, it was a focus on growth at all costs. In the shadow of the global financial crisis, we wanted leaders who were comfortable with cost cutting and capital…
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The U.S. Naval Institute on Mentorship [Book]
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2 min read
Naval service is an apprenticed profession. Experienced sailors mentor their younger shipmates, passing down their hard-earned knowledge and skills, and working side-by-side with the next generation of sailors. This new addition to the Wheel Book series includes some of the best writing on mentoring in the sea services from the past 100 years, offering guidance…
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Inside the Mind of the Asian CEO [HQAsia]
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1 min read
Why do some people become CEOs and others don’t? Why do some Chief Executive Officers thrive while others fail? What separates an outstanding leader from an average one? For several years, our teams at Russell Reynolds Associates and Hogan Assessments have sought to understand the differences between average and best-in-class leaders at all levels in…
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Directors & Boards was founded at a time when corporate governance was entering a period of significant transformation, publishing its first issue barely two years after the Model Business Corporations Act fundamentally redefined the role of the board. No longer was it true that “the business and affairs of a corporation shall be managed by…
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Your article, “39 Private-College Leaders Earn More Than $1 Million,” (The Chronicle, December 4) states, “The average pay of private-college leaders, including those who served partial years, was $489,927 in 2014.” That’s a jaw-dropping number. It’s also clearly an inaccurate statement. Read my full letter to the editor of the Chronicle of Higher Education.
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Creating Sustained Value: Finding and Supporting Long-Term CEOs [Russell Reynolds Associates]
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2 min read
When Jeff Bezos founded Amazon as an online bookstore in the mid-1990s, he did so with a clear vision for how he wanted to manage the enterprise. “We believe that a fundamental measure of our success will be the shareholder value we create over the long term,” he wrote to shareholders in 1997. “This value…
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Indispensable Tensions: Leadership Span and the Science of C-Suite Success [Russell Reynolds Associates]
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1 min read
In the astonishing global financial crisis of 2007–2008, thoughtful observers learned an important lesson: Leadership is a vastly consequential force in human affairs, particularly when it goes wrong. Indeed, in a world ruled by large organizations, a small number of CEOs make decisions that have far reaching social and economic consequences, determining the fate of…
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A Bedrock of Trust [Book Chapter]
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1 min read
Leadership must be built upon a bedrock of trust. This need is obvious in combat, when soldiers must trust their officers to make sound judgment and not to risk the lives and safety of their men needlessly or carelessly. In turn, officers must trust their soldiers to do their duty, and to strive to fulfill…
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A Bedrock of Trust [Strategy Bridge]
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2 min read
Leadership must be built upon a bedrock of trust. This need is obvious in combat, when soldiers must trust their officers to make sound judgment and not to risk the lives and safety of their men needlessly or carelessly. In turn, officers must trust their soldiers to do their duty, and to strive to fulfill…
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Ready. Set. Lead. Preparing New Public Sector Managers to Lead [Harvard Business Publishing]
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1 min read
New managers matter. They’re on the front lines with your workforce, your stakeholders, your customers, and your fellow public servants. They have tremendous potential. And some of them will become your organization’s future executives. In tapping these employees for the managerial ranks, your organization is recognizing this. But while you’ll be relying on your new…
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Armed with Knowledge: The Wartime School at Harvard Business School, 1941 – 1946 [Master’s Thesis]
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1 min read
This thesis examines the experiences of the Army and Navy student-officers who attended the six Wartime Schools hosted at Harvard Business School during World War II, and seeks to answer the question, in what ways did the Wartime Schools students engage with, and become part of, the Harvard community? Drawing upon the official University records…