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Striking the right balance. Successful leadership depends upon both having ambition and staying humble, a university professor and author shares in Harvard Business Review. Humility keeps leaders grounded and open to learning about their strengths and weaknesses, enabling them to have self-awareness. Ambition gives leaders the confidence to “reach for the stars” through not only their own ability but also the expertise and capabilities of others. Across many industries, achieving success hinges on the capacity to find harmony between the two. [HBR]
Managing stress. A historic 1,914 CEOs left their posts in 2023, the Wall Street Journal notes. The exits were partly caused by burnout from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a US company specializing in career transitions. The job can be stressful: a 2021 study found that CEOs’ life expectancies are reduced by 1.5 years due to industry setbacks. Although the pressure of the CEO role can lead to sleep and diet issues, which increase health problems, if CEOs prioritize physical, mental, and spiritual health, their leadership can be sustainable. [WSJ]
Starting the CEO journey. The much-coveted CEO role is the pinnacle for many talented senior executives. To secure the top job, candidates need foresight, boldness, and humility. However, it’s important for aspiring CEOs to examine their motivations and determine whether they’re sustainable. Otherwise, CEOs will be less likely to succeed, explain McKinsey senior partners Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, and Vikram Malhotra—coauthors of the New York Times best-selling book CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest—and Kurt Strovink.
How you transition matters. The best new CEOs treat their transitions into the role as an opportunity for renewal, both for themselves and the organizations they lead. Just as essential is the transition out of the CEO role, where effective communication amid succession planning can help maintain the bottom line. Instead of being concerned about their reputation during the transition, the best CEOs focus on how the change will affect the organization. Discover five actions CEOs can implement to find success, outlined in an edition of the McKinsey Quarterly Five Fifty.
—Edited by Vanessa Burke, editor, Atlanta
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