Everywhere we look, we’re met with uncertainty. How will artificial intelligence (AI) evolve? What will the global climate look like in 10 years? How will the economic and regulatory landscape change? And what does that mean for business? The questions are endless. We don’t know what challenges we may face in five, ten or twenty years, but organizations can prepare for the unknown, now. Cognitive diversity is a catalyst for agility, innovation and resilience at all levels of an organization, setting it up for success and enabling it to tackle the challenges the future brings. Writer, journalist, broadcaster and growth mindset expert Matthew Syed is inspiring audiences with the profound impact cognitive diversity can have at the organizational level. “When you get cognitive diversity correct, you eliminate the blind spots,” said Syed. “You broaden the collective intelligence of the group. Organizations that are really moving ahead, that are capturing market share, that are solving interconnected problems, have this cognitive diversity. And they're very conscious and strategic about how to make it work.” In this interview with Syed, we’ll explore cognitive diversity as a future-forward way of thinking that propels organizations toward success. Syed further expanded on these concepts at AESC’s Global [...]

Leaders have disproportionate impact on the outcomes of their organizations. When good leaders are in place, organizations and their constituents thrive. Conversely, when bad leaders are in place, organizations and their constituents suffer. For this reason, organizations spend a great deal of effort to get the right leaders into place. The Problem: Emergence vs. Effectiveness Unfortunately, much of the advice about identifying and developing great leaders is flawed because it fails to distinguish leadership emergence from leadership effectiveness. Leadership emergence concerns the ability to get into a leadership position, whereas leadership effectiveness concerns the ability to build and maintain a high-performing team. With only a moment’s consideration, it is apparent that these two concepts have different implications for leadership performance, but few attend to this distinction. by Ryne A. Sherman, PhD, Chief Science Officer, Hogan Assessments Personality concerns the characteristic ways in which a person thinks, feels, and behaves, and personality psychology attempts to understand these individual differences. Many studies have examined the relationship between personality and leadership, but most simply compare the personality characteristics of those in leadership positions to those who are not. As a result, we know that people who are extraverted, conscientiousness, open to ideas, and [...]

State of the Executive Search and Leadership Consulting Profession Over the past decade, the executive search and leadership consulting profession has experienced remarkable growth, driven by the increasing demand globally to attract and retain top-tier talent. Over the last few years, the pandemic’s worldwide disruption exposed both strong and ineffective business leaders. As AESC CEO Karen Greenbaum puts it, “Some organizations may have found that they didn’t have the right leaders during the pandemic. The global lock down created a need for a rapid pivot and leaders were tested like never before. Some excelled but others lacked agility, adaptability and resilience as well as the ability to lead a rapid digital transformation." This need for diverse talent who can lead through change and for leaders with new competencies and skills has significantly increased the demand for talent and leadership advisors with deep experience, diverse networks, and in-depth industry, function and market expertise. Growth Reflects Value According to AESC research, the global executive search and leadership consulting profession generated $16 billion in revenue in 2019, marking a steady increase from $9.7 billion in 2012. Though there was a brief pandemic-related 12% dip (dropping revenue to $14 billion), the ensuing rebound in 2021 [...]

For successful outcomes, a company’s shared beliefs and assumptions need to be foundational, intentional, and purpose driven. In March, AESC member Heidrick & Struggles, a provider of global leadership advisory and on-demand talent solutions, announced its acquisition of businessfourzero, a London-headquartered consultancy specializing in developing and implementing purpose-driven change. Although the two companies are not new to each other, they are in the early stages of this business relationship It’s an opportunity for Heidrick & Struggles to shape culture based on its own four pillars — purposeful leadership, personal change, broad engagement, and systemic alignment (see illustration, directionTK). The challenge for most organizations in merger and acquisition will be to “balance a 10-X opportunity against maintaining business stability by having a combined culture that is intentional, purpose-driven, and foundational,” as Heidrick & Struggles' partner Rose Gailey says. These qualities, Gailey says, are the key for any organization when it comes to culture and its being a successful driver of solutions for “the things that keep CEOs up at night — operating models, talent acquisition and retention, leadership, burnout.” Culture forms foundation During the Covid-19 pandemic, organizational culture was challenged, but it also was “the essential glue” that held organizations together, [...]