​Business leaders faced an all-time-high rate of change in 2023, spurred by rapid advancements in generative AI according to Accenture’s new Pulse of Change index, and the pace will accelerate throughout 2024 and beyond.

For many executive teams, the Change Index doesn’t make for easy reading. In short, Accenture’s global survey of 3,450 C-suite leaders identifies, ranks and quantifies the change that companies are dealing with across 6 key factors - Technology, Talent, Economic, Geopolitical, Climate and Consumer & Social - and indicates that while 60% of executives see change as an opportunity, 52% don’t believe their businesses are change-ready in 2024, and only 27% feel they’re in a position to scale up the benefits of generative AI.                                       

How do leaders keep up though, and is there a certain type of leader who delivers results in today’s ‘pedal to the metal’ world? As it happens, yes, a new leadership identikit is emerging, one that is distinguishable by a specific set of traits, skills, beliefs and behaviours, ensuring a leader can simultaneously run the business and transform the business. 

It’s a brand of leadership that will break traditional leadership moulds; research studies by Korn Ferry and Egon Zehnder show that about 14-16% of all executives fit this identikit currently and that with the right ‘raw material’ these leaders can be developed.

Nine shared beliefs and behaviours 

How can you identify or develop this new type of leader? In conversations we’re having with entrepreneurs behind billion-dollar-plus businesses, CEOs of international law firms through to C-suites of global challenger brands and the Fortune 50, there’s often a sense of “I know it when I see it”.

However, these leaders share 9 specific beliefs and behaviours, and a foundational mindset.

After carrying out 1,355 in-depth executive interviews for CEO, C-suite and professional services Partner hires since 2020, we’ve distilled the shared beliefs and behaviours of this 14-16% into nine conviction statements. As a nod to Carol Dweck, one of the world’s leading researchers on motivation and mindsets, we call this new type of leader a ‘Growth Leader’.

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1. I prioritise self-care. 

Put wellbeing front and centre. There are still many misperceptions of what stress is, what resilience is what self-care is, and how self-care works. Growth Leaders prioritise their time and self-care, and their routines and rituals are sacrosanct. You cannot, even as their CEO, suggest that “business always comes first” or override their diaries without an extraordinary reason; it’s always explicitly understood when you hire a Growth Leader that their wellbeing is priority number one. 

Because they experience the benefits of self-care daily, Growth Leaders set a high bar for their team’s self-care too. Indeed, they will often implore it in others, prioritise it, and invest in it. Throughout the recent health crisis, Growth Leaders demonstrated that their productivity, logical reasoning, problem-solving and decision-making were largely impervious at times when their peers struggled. They have the willpower too to say “no” to anything that detracts from their self-care, or their team’s. 

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 2. I’m always looking to learn.

Build people’s growth muscles. Growth Leaders are committed coaches, they invest more in informal and formal training to develop high-performance mindsets, functional skills and leadership skills, including their own. As a Chief Commercial Officer for a global consumer goods company proposed: “Upskilling our team is an always-on process, as it has been for me every year – and in every role I’ve held – and it’ll be a big focus again in 2024 for the entire business”.

“For me, I’ll be focused more on soft skills than hard skills specifically those related to leadership. It’s a common perception that those in leadership positions have learnt all they need to know about leadership, but I disagree. And if there’s one hard skill we’ll be investigating closely as a business, it’s AI”. It’s in areas such as AI that Growth Leaders aren’t afraid to close gaps in their own business models or capabilities, often through partnerships or joint ventures with other businesses.

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3. I go all in.

Keep raising the bar. Growth Leaders share a profound belief that there are opportunities everywhere, and they put growth at the top of every agenda. It’s a mindset that permeates every aspect of their team and organisation, from board meetings to performance evaluations; and it’s unwavering, they seek clarity where other’s see complexity, regardless of industry or market conditions.

They demonstrate this kind of commitment when they seek high-impact hires or the funds to invest in growth initiatives, and they will break the proverbial bank if need be. Growth Leaders possess the vision and know-how to get buy-in across stakeholders and are impassioned by their North Star, have thought through all the barriers to success, always have a game plan, and can flex their elevator pitch on speed dial to FAQ’s.

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Studies suggest that around 14-16% of current executives fit this mould, with potential for further development​

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4. I make it safe to fail.

Make losing a learning curve. Growth Leaders set ambitious targets and goals that push the boundaries of what is considered achievable, and listen to understand, to motivate and to drive their teams towards excellence. Importantly, they create a portfolio of initiatives and play the odds by diversifying risk, safe in the knowledge that one of their “big bets” will cover their smaller losses. 

They instil a culture that empowers people to make decisions too, so their team can iterate on solutions that ladder up to the organisation’s growth aspirations. As opposed to punishing people for failing, they celebrate what has been learnt, while holding themselves and their teams accountable for delivering results, fostering an ethos of continuous improvement.

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5. I put my customers first.

Solve customer problems and needs. Customer-centricity isn’t just a buzzword, it’s a mindset that organisations must adopt if they want to succeed in the future. It’s a simple concept to grasp, dating back to medieval innkeepers no doubt, but for most companies it is very difficult to carry out. Growth Leaders are resolute nevertheless in putting the customer at the centre of all their decisions. 

They create strong customer-insight driven organisations, are keen to understand the basic principles of design thinking, and to leverage the proliferation of technology and tools that are crucial to supporting growth. As the CMO of a global financial services company describes: “I can follow a customer from their dusk to dawn, wherever they are in the world. But success is not delivering a new feature, or selling a new product, it is about getting meaningful and actionable insights to solve the customer’s problem”.

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6. I choose progress over perfection.

Understand what’s good enough. Good data is crucial for good decisions, but Growth Leaders value speed over perfect insights and know when to back themselves. They use data to make a thoughtful decision and to pursue a goal vigorously, but they will objectively take bigger leaps of faith in the right circumstances. They understand that it’s needed for growth, and to role-model the behaviour they want to see in their team.

When a product or solution is underperforming however, Growth Leaders are decisive in killing them off. For instance, after years of toasting unprecedented success in the Alcohol & Beverage sector for instance, CMOs are now building expertise in portfolio optimisation - and routinely terminating legacy brands - to reinvest in their leading brands and potential ‘disruptors’, linking marketing and operations for faster bottom and top-line impact.  

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7. I love to break down barriers.

Fight for budget $’s. In traditional organisations, the focus of leaders is to maximise value for shareholders. In today’s more open and empowered organisations, Growth Leaders focus on co-creating meaningful value with and for all stakeholders, including customers, employees, partners and our broader society.

Although Growth Leaders understand the realities of shareholders, and according to McKinsey generate 80% more shareholder value than their peers over a 10-year period, but they won’t sacrifice long-term growth. To help guard against these pressures, they make deliberate resource allocation decisions and fight for budget, clawing back resources for promising initiatives. They break down silos, diffuse turf battles and clear the path for their teams to deliver.

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8. I have a winning growth story. 

Communicate with purpose. Growth Leaders know their North Star, that purpose is power, and that their ‘why’ has a stronger gravitational pull for stakeholders than their ‘what’. Being able to articulate a purpose that goes beyond brands, categories, and businesses is how Growth Leaders rally, connect with, and lead their teams towards organisational goals.

Communication is their ‘master key’; Growth Leaders are active listeners and communicate clearly, creatively and consistently, going beyond conventional channels to inspire employees, shape investor perceptions, and to convey their aspirations to customers. They use a variety of media, events & industry forums to highlight wins and results, unabashedly.

9. I champion the diversity of thought.

Diversity is more than a KPI. Growth Leaders champion diversity from the top because they know it unlocks a level of trust that is invaluable in the workplace. They conscientiously create a two-way dialogue with team members at every level, signalling that every voice matters, encouraging authenticity and empathy, and harnessing the power of different perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds.

Adam Grant, Organisational Psychologist and Writer (‘Work Life Podcast’) explains the benefits of organisational growth succinctly: “Diverse groups are more creative. They feel uncomfortable, and that discomfort motivates them to do extra preparation and to share new information”. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google is even more matter-of-fact: “A diverse mix of voices leads to better discussions, decisions, and outcomes for everyone”.

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Conclusion

By 2027, according to McKinsey, 75% of companies currently quoted on the S&P 500 will have disappeared. Bought out, merged or bankrupt.

The simple truth is that traditional leadership doesn’t cut it anymore. A new type of leadership is needed to navigate the accelerating pace of change, to deal with the threats and to capitalise on the opportunities.

Perhaps there is no better example than Microsoft, written off as a 20th-century phenomenon, fat and happy with their Windows monopoly. Their approach to leadership has recently undergone a complete transformation - attributed to their CEO, Satya Nadella – centred on moving from a “know-it-all” to a “learn-it-all” mindset. At the time of writing, the company’s stock has risen 200%+ in parallel.

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My last question is, do CEOs have any priorities more pressing than finding and developing their Growth Leaders?