5 Key Skills to Lead Through Disruption

Welcome to the HBR Executive Agenda for August 21, 2025. In This Issue: 5 Key Skills to Lead Through Disruption Next Week: Live Event on Running Your Business in a Fractured World 5 Key Skills to Lead Through Disruption Does your senior team have the skills to manage effectively in these uncertain times? The rise of AI, the fall of the postwar order, and persistent fears of an economic downturn are all adding up to what feels like a uniquely challenging moment for the C-suite. “This is the biggest disruption we’ve seen in 50 years,” says Vikram Malhotra, McKinsey’s former managing partner of the Americas. “And I don’t think it’s just a one- or two-year blip.” So, what does it take to lead through it? Malholtra and a team of senior partners at McKinsey spent months interviewing executives to try to answer that question for an upcoming book, A CEO for All Seasons. They’ve come up with a list of the leadership skills that are most critical for this moment and beyond. None represents a dramatic departure from current practices, but all are taking on heightened urgency in these fevered times. Decisiveness. This is becoming more critical as organizations become more complex. Malhotra says now is not the moment to default to cautious decisions that support the status quo. What’s needed instead are tough decisions on your future strategy—and you’ll need to push your organization to think out of the box. As Steve Jobs once said: “People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that are out there.” Delegation. The conglomerates of yore have fallen out of fashion. As companies become larger and more intricate, they require larger numbers of experienced managers to oversee strategic imperatives. That means top executives need to empower their reports to lead their own teams and projects, effectively multiplying top leadership’s impact. For large-scale, broad-based companies, that could mean hundreds of senior people in critical high-level leadership positions. Self-Awareness. Leaders need to absorb much of the uncertainty around them, rather than amplifying it in ways that could alarm the team. They need to be grounded, adaptable, resilient, and purpose driven. And they need to connect on an emotional level to help motivate their teams. A Commitment to Learning. Leaders need to find ways to perpetually learn, both as individuals and as part of an organization. These efforts can range from formal learning programs to internal processes—like project post-mortems—aimed at making sure you’re truly taking stock of what’s working, what isn’t, and what to do about it all. The fast pace of change requires curiosity, constant learning, and adaptation. The Embrace of Paradox. The increasing complexity of the business environment requires solutions that balance seemingly contradictory ideas: delivering short-term results while investing for the future; respecting the legacy of an institution while also trying to disrupt it to survive; and delivering results for shareholders while also managing your broader stakeholders’ interests. F. Scott Fitzgerald said it well a few generations ago: “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” “The next few years are likely to be very disruptive, and leaders will need to look two steps ahead,” says Malhotra. “You can’t rest on your laurels, even if you’ve had a great few years.” HBR Executive Live: Running Your Business in a Fractured World In a world where information is plentiful but clarity is scarce, executives can’t navigate on instinct alone. From geopolitics to supply chains to shifting alliances, the choices you make today will impact your organization for years to come. Next Thursday, August 28 at 11 am ET, HBR editor at large Adi Ignatius will sit down with Foreign Affairs editor Daniel Kurtz-Phelan for a candid, live conversation on geopolitics, national security, and the new realities of globalization. The session will go beyond the daily news cycle to give you a sharper view of the forces reshaping business. We hope you’ll join us—but if you can’t make it, you can sign up for the replay here and leave a question to ask Kurtz-Phelan. The replay will also be posted to the HBR Executive Hub. Thursday, August 28, 2025 11 am ET Register now

5 Key Skills to Lead Through Disruption

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