Table of contents for 16. December 2024 in I by IMD

What exactly is responsible leadership? I must admit that during my training as a leadership scholar in the 1990s, this question wasn’t a pressing one. The practitioner-oriented books I relied on while teaching leadership soon after – such as James Kouzes and Barry Posner’s The Leadership Challenge or Lee Bolman and Terry Deal’s Reframing Leadership – focused on performance, people, politics, structure, culture, and vision but didn’t place responsible leadership at the forefront. However, the world has changed dramatically in the wake of movements like #MeToo and Black Lives Matter, as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. New priorities, ranging from environmental sustainability to systemic injustice, have fundamentally reshaped the conversation, not only in popular discussions on leadership but also in boardrooms and C-suites. The debate over what…

The Feminine Mystique/Betty Friedan Friedan challenged the notion that American women should be fulfilled through their roles as housewives and mothers. The book sold a million copies upon publication in 1963 and is credited with instigating a second wave of feminism in the US. Black Skin, White Masks/Frantz Fanon Fanon studied medicine in France, specializing in psychiatry. He was working in Algeria when he joined the fight for independence. Published in 1952, the book had a major impact on civil rights, anti-colonial, and Black consciousness movements worldwide. Black feminist thought/Patricia Hill Collins Published in 1990, the book draws on fiction, poetry, music, and oral history to explore the ideas of Black feminist intellectuals. Hill Collins asserts that Black women cannot fully be members of feminist thought, which assumes whiteness, or…

Any discussion of what practicing responsible leadership entails would be hugely complex, so I will highlight a few essential principles to help you reflect on what is involved and what is required. The practice can be neatly encapsulated in the 'three Rs': Respect, Reframe, and Rethink. These themes are complementary and iterative, forming a perpetual cycle of building on and complementing each other. 1. RESPECT Respect encompasses respect for oneself, colleagues, stakeholders, the wider community, and the natural environment. It extends to a reverence for societal well-being and the elements that ensure its proper and responsible functioning, as well as respect for the natural world, the planet, and future generations. When we have and show respect, we are inclined to treat everyone else appropriately and behave responsibly. Without respect, we…

Jane is in her fifties and an experienced country manager at a global engineering company. She runs a large P&L and asks her team of 10 to report their results in a Monday morning meeting at the office over coffee and croissants. However, John, a new hire in his early twenties, asks to join the meetings virtually. He says the commute is a pain, and he could work more efficiently from home. Jane says no because she considers the meetings essential to building team culture and monitoring results. John resigns six weeks later. Losing talented team members is costly, so could this culture clash be prevented? Conversations with executives worldwide indicate three key levers to mitigate (or at least alleviate) these tensions. First, we need to better understand the trans-generational…

• Geopolitical shifts An increasingly multipolar world where the rise of China, the unilateral approach of Donald Trump, the war in Ukraine, and the Israel-Palestine conflict lead to increased tension in every dimension. • Technological innovation Advancements in AI, biotech, and automation accelerate, disrupting industries, creating opportunities, and raising ethical concerns. The race to develop and control these technologies will intensify, with implications for economic growth and national security. • Global warming The effects of climate change are becoming more severe, leading to displacement, food insecurity, and conflict. Urgent action to reduce emissions and adapt to a changing climate is more critical than ever, but there is a lack of political common ground. • Increasing migration Driven by conflict, poverty, and climate change, rising migration will put further pressure on…

Two decades ago, I wrestled with the paradoxes of corporate social responsibility, where businesses were called on to be good citizens who looked after their employees and communities, even as they were outsourcing core parts of their operations and abandoning their attachments to any particular place. Exemplars of good corporate citizenship, such as Eastman Kodak and Westinghouse, fell by the wayside as enterprises with few employees or physical facilities rose. What did this portend for responsible leadership when enterprises were increasingly “placeless” and ephemeral? Today, a new system is emerging out of the rubble of 20th-century corporate capitalism, where Big Tech controls the pathways of economic and social interaction. The tech giants were briefly threatened by the assertive antitrust agenda of the Biden administration, but the recent US election is…

In response to the growing need for leaders to practice responsible leadership, we developed a Manifesto for Responsible Leadership for a Better World at the Centre for Responsible Leadership Studies (Africa) at Stellenbosch Business School. The manifesto presents 10 guiding principles for responsible leadership, calling on leaders to put self-interest aside and focus on serving all stakeholders affected by their decisions, including those without a voice in the boardroom, such as the vulnerable and the natural environment. The manifesto challenges leaders across all sectors to assess themselves against its principles. Additionally, we encourage all stakeholders to evaluate leaders publicly on the 10 principles of responsible leadership. These principles call on leaders to: 1. Serve all stakeholders and pursue a greater common good that transcends self-interest. 2. Accept liability for protecting and…

Observing Elon Musk’s fervent support for Donald Trump during the US presidential campaign, the Financial Times commentator Edward Luce called him “the Henry Ford of the 2024 election”. Luce was referring to Ford’s backing for the right-wing populist and aviator Charles Lindbergh in the run-up to the Second World War. The similarities go further. Ford and Musk both had fraught relationships with their fathers. Both had a prodigious breadth of interests fitting for their times. Ford’s ranged from schoolbooks to agriculture – he had a suit and tie made from soybeans to promote their use – to creating visitor attractions that recreated America’s past. Musk is obsessed with birthrate decline, multi-planetary existence – insisting that humans need to live on Mars – and creating brain-machine interfaces to ensure artificial intelligence…

I believe in the transformative strength of a "we" culture – one that prioritizes shared leadership, collaboration, and a foundation of respect and kindness in every interaction. Conscious leadership drives this transformation by challenging traditional power structures and reshaping them into shared responsibility rather than hierarchical control. This shift is essential in building workplaces where everyone feels valued and empowered to lead. In a conscious workplace, influence is not about authority over others; it’s about using one’s role to create an environment where everyone feels respected and capable of contributing to the organization’s success. Conscious leaders nurture a culture of inclusivity: leadership that flows from the top down, bottom up, and all around. This environment – where respect, kindness, and empathy thrive – fosters innovation and collaboration. Alison Fragale, author…

While previous artificial intelligence (AI) systems have excelled at specific tasks, the next generation of AI is poised to become the primary actor in professional roles, fundamentally reshaping how knowledge work is performed. For existing organizations, the critical question isn't how to compete with AI-native organizations but how to manage their own transition as their human-centered operations model becomes increasingly uncompetitive. The evolution of AI can be characterized by three overlapping yet distinct phases, each representing a significant leap in capability and scope. This progression underscores how AI is advancing beyond mere task support to perform roles with increasingly comprehensive responsibilities. Phase 1: AI as task expert (2022-onward) Most of our astonishment about AI concerns the ability of neural networks to perform a wide range of disparate tasks at super-human…

In 1873, less than a decade after taking over a brewery on Amsterdam’s canals, Gerard Heineken expanded to the port city of Rotterdam, laying the foundations for a global company. Just as a far-flung maritime presence had underpinned the Dutch Global Age, Heineken had the foresight that would turn his beer into a worldwide brand. Today, a blend of locally empowered operations combined with global reach is the recipe behind the Dutch brewer’s 160-year success story. As the world’s second-largest beer company, Heineken operates more than 160 breweries, producing 25 billion liters of beer annually – enough to fill 10,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools – which it sells in over 190 markets. Mirroring Heineken’s global nature, Chief Executive Dolf van den Brink rose through the ranks – and carved out his…

Anyone who’s been to business school knows case studies are classic teaching tools for sharpening analytical skills. In my classroom, however, there’s only one case study: you. Whether it’s the loss of a parent, a ruthless boss who leaves you to sink or swim, or a sibling who never lets up, our past experiences shape how we show up at work. While past traumas often get the spotlight, a cushy upbringing can be just as defining – those who faced little hardship growing up often struggle most with setbacks. In 25 years of running an executive education program designed to develop high-performance leaders, I have observed countless examples of unresolved loss and grief derailing leadership potential. There was the executive who lost his father at a young age and assumed…

The world faces a race against the clock to decarbonize and mitigate human-induced environmental impacts. Yet, nearly half of respondents to a recent Siemens/Reuters Events survey indicated their business was at risk of missing interim targets. Within this context, artificial intelligence holds promise to be a game-changer. “Artificial intelligence systems have the potential to help us understand the world in all its complexity and optimize industrial processes not only for strong business outcomes but also for holistic social and environmental outcomes,” says James Cole, Chief Innovation Officer at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. There is near unanimous support among survey respondents that industrial AI – the application of AI within the industrial world – will help accelerate the energy transition over the next three years. It will likely be…

Anne has recently been named deputy CFO for a large multinational manufacturing group. It is a big change of direction: previously, she worked as a senior consultant with a top consultancy. Her appointment stems from a long and successful relationship with her employer, a former client. Anne is keen to make her mark and move swiftly up the ranks and sees herself as a potential successor to the group CFO. For this to happen, however, she understands that she must pivot from the specialist approach of a consultant to a generalist leadership perspective. However, it’s not easy. While the organization supports Anne and has faith in her abilities as a finance expert, some leaders have noticed that she stays in her specialist mindset too much. She is taking on too…

How can companies become future-ready in a world that feels increasingly unknowable? Our research has taught us one important lesson: the companies set to win the future have embraced thoughtful expansion and refrained from aggressive growth. Whether geopolitics, the environment, or customer behavior, everything appears increasingly erratic and hard to predict, and it feels impossible to plan for the long term with any certainty. Given that future-readiness seems an even tougher goal for most companies, it’s all the more important to look at the outliers bucking the trend. These are companies consistently able to adjust and adapt over time while unpacking and realizing the deeper behaviors they have embraced so they always remain a fraction ahead. It’s the essence and mechanics of this capability, which has the power to resonate…

1. Your motto. Live, don’t pretend – always be your authentic self and act with integrity. 2. Name three traits that make a great business leader. The best leaders are good listeners, coaches, and servant leaders. They are curious and future-oriented – inspiring what could be – and see the essential in a world of complexity. Finally, they are their genuine selves and have high integrity and emotional intelligence. 3. What one experience had the greatest influence on your leadership style? Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to have excellent superiors who have pushed me out of my comfort zone to develop. I was 30 years old when I was appointed chief marketing officer and 33 when I started as the president of Marimekko. In neither case was I the most experienced…

Gus Levy, senior partner of Goldman Sachs in the 1970s, introduced the term "long-term greed" to describe a strategic focus on sustainability in business that sought more lasting success. He aimed to establish a company that would thrive for generations, attracting consistent client loyalty. This view suggests that effective leadership requires a long-term perspective that considers wider impacts and moves beyond focusing on the short term. Early theories of corporate leadership primarily concentrated on identifying the traits and characteristics that distinguished effective leaders from others, known as trait-based theories. This perspective emphasized that certain innate qualities – such as charisma, decisiveness, and intelligence – were the primary indicators of a successful leader. However, as research progressed, the field recognized that context, behavior, and relationships were equally critical to understanding leadership…

Where are you on the spectrum of great, good, or frankly inadequate leaders when it comes to including everyone in the organization? Answer the three following questions as honestly as you can to find out. To what extent do you prioritize efficiency, control, and task completion over individual and relationship concerns? A. Never – the whole won’t work unless all parts are in good working order. B. It depends – recognizing the diverse needs and challenges of individuals is important, but you need time and space to do it. C. Always – getting the job done has to be the priority in all circumstances. What behavior best characterizes your approach to inclusivity? A. Proactive and detailed – you actively support all individuals, canvas input in decisions, and distribute information and…

Since Chat GPT emerged two years ago, we have been working to determine what this weird and wonderful tech might mean for our field. While the vision is still unclear, we believe generative AI will transform how we learn, work, and deliver services, especially in knowledge work like law. Here, we will share – through the story of AI transformation at the American Arbitration Association (AAA) – what we have learned in understanding how innovation theories and frameworks create pathways for AI literacy, adoption, and integration. Our insights can be grouped into three core principles that we believe have practical relevance for others as they seek to integrate and unleash the potential of AI. Principle 1: Solving the innovator's dilemma In his book The Innovator’s Dilemma, Clayton Christensen describes the…

When feeling overwhelmed or stuck, I often say: “If you cannot find the answer to the question, change the question.” Asking new questions requires different ways of looking at a problem and the world. This is what I call reframing: shifting our perspectives, challenging our assumptions, and seeing things in a fresh light. Let’s consider the Fosbury Flop. This iconic high jump technique revolutionized the sport. Instead of jumping over the bar facing forward, like everyone else, Dick Fosbury decided to go over backward and headfirst. When Fosbury won the gold medal in the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, all athletes changed their technique. What about the Apple Macintosh in 1984? Before the Mac, personal computers were clunky, complex machines used mainly by businesses and tech enthusiasts. Steve Jobs…

In 2004, Harvard Business Review published an article noting that despite misguided marketing strategies having “destroyed more shareholder value than shoddy accounting or shady fiscal practices”, marketing functions typically reside deep in the organization, far from the boardroom. Over the past two decades, it has become even more evident that marketing campaigns that land badly can pose a significant risk to brand value, particularly amid the rapid emergence of social media and generative AI. There are various explanations for why marketing expertise is uncommon on boards, including in-group bias, where existing boards, which often comprise individuals with non-marketing backgrounds, tend to favor candidates with similar profiles from their own networks. However, the most prevalent reason is a belief that boards should be focused on strategic rather than tactical issues. As…

I’m writing these lines on day 87 since assuming the IMD presidency. I promise you, I’m not habitually counting! I know the number because I’m approaching the first 90 days and, as you – as IMD alumni and friends – know, that milestone holds special significance for us. It is, after all, the title of my colleague Michael Watkins’ international bestseller, a book included in the Thinkers50 Management Classics Booklist. Earlier today, Michael and I discussed my first 90 days – surprises, challenges, early wins, and lessons learned – which you can watch by scanning the QR code at the foot of the page. I have had the opportunity to travel, meet many IMD alumni, connect with partners and clients, and engage with journalists and opinion shapers. Let me share…