1174 Posts found for Source: McKinsey Quarterly

To stay focused, productive, and motivated, leaders need to develop their own working rhythms and routines. Here’s how some CEOs do it.

Content: Article | Authors: Gautam Kumra, Janice Koh, Jennifer Chiang, Joydeep Sengupta, Mukund Sridhar | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Corporate Governance, Management

Keeping top talent in the fold and engaged before, during, and after a large deal closes is critical for creating value from transactions. Here’s how to address their needs throughout the M&A phases.

Content: Article | Authors: Alex Hambrock, Emily O’Loughlin, John Chartier | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subject: Mergers & Acquisitions

We tend to think about leaders as individuals primarily—people who made history, who changed the world. That is certainly true and very important. But … we can’t understand very transformative, important leaders without understanding the history that shaped them, the world in which they came up, and the crises that they faced… For every important leader that you look at, you’ll find that a leader … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Moshik Temkin | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subject: Leadership

For the COO’s productivity mandate, the time to act is always. Six best practices can help.

Content: Article | Authors: Daniel Swan, Darryl Piasecki, Tony Gambell | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Management, Operations

A “culture add” is someone who may bring qualities or experiences that are not already present on the team, as opposed to the “culture fit”—someone who exemplifies the attributes already on the team. When employers specifically seek culture fits… that can lead to homogeneous teams that can perpetuate exclusive practices. Overall, that prevents the team from diversifying and pushing forward in a productive way.

Content: Quotation | Author: Netta Jenkins | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Diversity, Human Resources

What we know through research is that employees inherently do not trust HR departments, because employees perceive HR as heavily focused on protecting the employer. This is true despite the fact that there are incredible HR professionals driving impact. Since we understand the perception that employees hold, it’s key to have DEI under its own department. That structure provides a safe space for employees to … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Netta Jenkins | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Diversity, Human Resources

To get the most from employees, organizations need a more strategic, collaborative, fluid, and data-driven people operating system. Here’s how they can build one.

Content: Article | Authors: Asmus Komm, Fernanda Mayol, Jasmin Kiefer, Neel Gandhi, Sandra Durth | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subject: Human Resources

I was surprised how intentional the CEOs we spoke with were about their time. They have various versions of calendar color coding or agreements with their chiefs of staff or executive assistants on their priorities. They go back each month to see if they spent time on the things that they had said were important. If you don’t know what you should spend your time … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Carolyn Dewar | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Corporate Governance, Personal Development

We hope that the next wave of technology actually frees up managers and gives them more time to be more effective leaders. But there’s a risk that, unguided, we end up in a world where managers spend even less time (as a percentage per employee) on coaching.

Content: Quotation | Author: Bryan Hancock | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Coaching, Human Resources, IT / Technology / E-Business, Management

Time spent on talent is high value. For some managers, though, administrivia is a great excuse to avoid scarier tasks. Filling out a form, while tedious, takes time away from the difficult coaching necessitated by, say, the three employees who may be a little problematic.

Content: Quotation | Author: Bill Schaninger | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Human Resources, Management

Artificial intelligence is set to revolutionize strategy activities. But as AI adoption spreads, strategists will need proprietary data, creativity, and new skills to develop unique options.

Content: Article | Authors: Alexander D’Amico, Andrea Tricoli, Antoine Montard, Bruce Delteil, Eric Hazan | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: IT / Technology / E-Business, Strategy

There are two problems with relying so much on data.

The first problem is our desire to make business a science and identify cause and effect in isolation. The outcomes of so many decisions that companies make are not determined by inescapable laws of science. They’re determined by the actions of leaders who have agency to affect those outcomes.

The second problem with data is that when … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Zeynep Ton | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Decision Making, Management, Organizational Behavior

In a divestiture, companies must overcome the complexities of disentanglement.

Content: Article | Authors: Anna Mattsson, Jamie Koenig, Tim Koller | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subject: Mergers & Acquisitions

While your strategic goals may be the right ones, is the organization built to achieve them? New research reveals a dynamic system that creates value in the face of volatility.

Content: Article | Authors: Alexis Krivkovich, Amadeo Di Lodovico, Brooke Weddle, Dana Maor, Deepak Mahadevan, Richard Steele | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Best Practices, Management

Leadership is about disappointing people at a rate they can absorb.

Content: Quotation | Author: Marty Linsky | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subject: Leadership

Build self-awareness to build mutual awareness. If you don’t understand yourself—your work style preferences, your motivators, your strengths, your blind spots—you’re going to have trouble being an effective manager and a leader.

Content: Quotation | Author: Claire Hughes Johnson | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Leadership, Management, Personal Development

We always talk about scaling companies, but companies are just collections of people. If you’re not really thoughtful about them and what they need to succeed, it’s going to be hard to succeed as a company.

Content: Quotation | Author: Claire Hughes Johnson | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Management, Organizational Behavior

There should be two tracks for promotions. Some people are promoted for their expertise, and others are promoted for their people management skills. So keeping those separate is key.

Content: Quotation | Author: Bryan Hancock | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subject: Human Resources

Net present value is the bedrock of ROI estimates, but adding other factors to the analyses can help business leaders see how projects can advance corporate priorities beyond financial returns.

Content: Article | Authors: Chris Griggs, Kate Siegel, Mary Helen Matthews, Matt Banholzer | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subject: Finance

When appropriate, pay the best middle managers even more than your senior leaders to show how much you value them. If you hear complaints from the executives, make up the difference in equity. Compensation should be commensurate with the value a role creates.

Content: Quotation | Authors: Bill Schaninger, Bryan Hancock, Emily Field | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Compensation, Human Resources, Organizational Behavior