Anupartha

09/03/2026

What works for a manager at home rarely works when leading across borders.

When leaders step into international roles, friction often starts between headquarters and regional teams. A global vice president focuses on scale and consistency, while a regional director deals with local regulations, market differences, and cultural expectations.

When both sides pull in opposite directions, organizations fall into alignment traps.

According to research on global leadership trends, effective executives handle this tension by choosing from three distinct approaches:

1. Global thinking: Setting universal standards where consistency is necessary, such as company-wide management policies.

2. Local thinking: Adapting completely where regional context dominates, such as country-specific benefits.

3. Glocal thinking: Blending both perspectives simultaneously, such as building a multi-region hiring process.

Leading across borders is rarely an either/or choice between headquarters rules and regional freedom. It requires knowing when to combine both.

Read the full article here:

The role of global leaders is complex. Learn challenges in global leadership and the importance of balancing local vs. global needs.

09/02/2026

Why do so many companies talk about growth but struggle to achieve it?

Research featured in McKinsey & Company suggests the gap often comes down to leadership behavior. Many executives say growth is a priority, yet their actions tell a different story.

For example, leaders report spending only around 22 percent of their time on long-term growth initiatives, with most effort directed toward shorter-term priorities.

The article explains that companies outperform when leaders convert five mindsets into consistent action.

That includes investing in long-term growth even during uncertainty, acting boldly on new opportunities, and placing the customer at the centre of decision-making.

Despite recognizing the importance of customer insight, only a small proportion of leaders consistently incorporate customer feedback into strategy or engage regularly with customers.

Talent also plays a major role. Many organizations acknowledge capability gaps but lack confidence in their talent strategy.

High-performing companies take a different approach by redeploying top performers into growth areas, bringing in talent from new sectors, and encouraging calculated risk-taking that drives learning and innovation.

The McKinsey & Company research makes a clear point. Sustainable growth happens when leadership mindsets translate into daily decisions, clear accountability, and disciplined ex*****on across the organization.

You can read the full article here: https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/achieving-growth-putting-leadership-mindsets-and-behaviors-into-action

09/01/2026

Most companies hunt for vision and expertise in their executives, but they completely overlook the environment those leaders create.

We all know transformational leaders excel in agility, risk-taking, and innovation. They usually have an impressive resume to prove it.

But hiring the right person means looking past those surface skills to understand their daily leadership style.

If you want an executive who drives change, pay attention to how they manage people. The best leaders build productive and innovative workplaces by focusing on a few core behaviors.

When interviewing your next executive, look for a candidate who:

✔️ Allows employees the freedom to find their best fit within the team
✔️ Focuses on working well beyond their own self-interest
✔️ Operates with clearly defined goals
✔️ Embraces mistakes as a necessary part of the learning process

These traits are what allow true transformational leadership to thrive in practice. A leader who actively builds up their team will always deliver better results than one who only relies on their own expertise.

What specific characteristics do you look for when you interview leadership candidates? Would love to read your thoughts in the comments.

08/31/2026

AI investment is rising. But where are senior leaders actually struggling?

A recent article in Harvard Business Review by Jazz Croft, Sumer Vaid, Lily Cheng, and Ashley Whillans draws on interviews with 35 global executives to examine how AI adoption is playing out behind closed doors.

📈 While confidence in AI’s potential remains high, 93% of surveyed AI and data leaders identified human factors as the primary barrier to progress.

Executives described a moving target. Unlike past transformation programmes with defined milestones, AI introduces ongoing disruption.

Direction shifts. Expectations evolve. Boards want visible progress.

Shareholders also want a clear narrative. Executive committees often push for speed, even when use cases are still immature.

At the same time, leaders report fatigue across organizations that have already experienced years of transformation. The challenge becomes managing urgency without eroding trust.

Another theme emerging from the research is disagreement over what “value” means.

Short-term ROI metrics can discourage experimentation, particularly when benefits compound gradually through time savings, better decision-making, or improved employee experience.

Leaders also highlighted emotional undercurrents, including identity threat among experienced professionals and uncertainty about risk.

Those making headway are broadening access to tools, simplifying communication, publicly modelling their own experimentation, and being transparent about what is known and what remains unresolved.

The conclusion is clear. AI adoption is shaped as much by leadership behavior as by technical capability.

Judgement, empathy, and visible adaptability determine whether investment translates into meaningful progress.

Read more here:

As AI becomes embedded across organizations, senior leaders are facing pressures that rarely surface in public forums. Drawing on in-depth interviews and focus groups with 35 executives across global enterprises, new research uncovers what executives are tackling as they lead efforts to scale AI: co...

08/27/2026

If you do not know exactly what is broken in your company, you will never hire the right leader to fix it.

The biggest factor in hiring a transformational executive happens before you even look at a resume. The more time you spend understanding your own business needs, the more likely you are to make a successful hire.

As a founder, CEO, or board member, you know your organization better than anyone else. You understand its deep-rooted challenges, its greatest strengths, and its true culture.

Before you start recruiting, take the time to reflect on what you actually need to move forward.

❓ What are your current weaknesses?
❓ What specific expertise is missing from the team?
❓ What personality traits will thrive in your environment?

Document these insights clearly. When you write down your must-have skills and cultural requirements, you prevent misaligned hires. You create a clear picture that stops you from chasing the wrong profiles and helps you spot the right candidate immediately.

Consider the famous turnaround at LEGO.

Years ago, the company was in deep financial trouble. The leadership realized they specifically needed financial discipline and strategic focus to survive.

They hired Jorgen Vig Knudstorp because he possessed those exact traits. He was the perfect fit for their documented needs, and he ultimately led the company to a 600 percent increase in turnover during his tenure.

The board succeeded because they understood their own gaps first.

So, how much time do you spend mapping out internal challenges before you begin interviewing for a new executive role?

08/26/2026

How much leadership time in your business is spent fixing problems that should never have escalated?

💰 A piece in The CEO Magazine highlights a hidden cost many organizations overlook.

Businesses carefully plan revenue targets, hiring, and systems, yet leadership capability is often expected to keep up on its own.

When it falls behind, the impact shows up in missed opportunities, inconsistent performance, and senior leaders stepping in to solve issues that should have been handled earlier.

The cost rarely appears as a single figure. Instead, value leaks through time. Executives spend hours managing avoidable performance issues, mediating conflict, and resetting expectations.

Research cited in the article from Gallup adds context.

➡️ Only about 21 percent of the global workforce is highly engaged
➡️ Disengagement costs the global economy an estimated US$438 billion in productivity in 2024.

In many cases, people leave managers rather than roles.

The article argues that one-off courses or leadership days rarely change behavior. Capability improves when development happens alongside real work, with targeted coaching and consistent application that strengthens decision-making and ex*****on.

You can read the full article here: https://www.theceomagazine.com/business/management-leadership/leadership-capability-gaps/

How is your organization ensuring leadership capability grows at the same pace as the business?

A lack of leadership capability planning can lead to unexpected costs, showing up in wasted time, missed revenue and burnout.

08/25/2026

History repeats itself, but the timeline has compressed from a generation down to a few years.

When drafting tables gave way to AutoCAD, an entire profession transformed. The abacus gave way to the calculator, and workers who resisted were replaced by those who learned to adapt.

Venture capitalist Navin Chaddha points out a growing readiness gap in the workforce, with over 40% of core workplace skills expected to change by 2030 and demand for AI literacy rising 70% in a single year.

Waiting for market changes to settle carries the highest risk. Across every career stage, the professionals who succeed treat new tools as something to actively work with, not something to wait out.

We break down how professionals at every level can adapt to this transition in our article:

https://www.anupartha.com/blog/the-new-rules-for-career-growth-in-an-ai-economy

How is your leadership team addressing the readiness gap across your organization?

08/24/2026

What's the one quality that separates a manager from an inspirational leader?

Modern leadership has moved beyond simply supervising tasks.

The most effective leaders today are those who inspire their teams to believe in a shared vision and feel motivated to contribute their best work.

This approach is known as transformational leadership.

It centers on:

- Creating a clear, inspiring vision that gives meaning to daily work.
- Building trust through consistency, transparency, and accountability.
- Empowering individuals to take ownership, innovate, and grow their skills.
- Communicating with empathy and clarity to foster strong relationships.

By focusing on influence and long-term growth, these leaders guide their teams toward meaningful change while nurturing individual potential.

They create an environment where people feel valued and motivated to go beyond expectations.

Read more here: https://remavassar.medium.com/shaping-the-future-through-influence-the-true-essence-of-transformational-leadership-f2c4d94f1415

What do you think is the most impactful trait of a transformational leader?

08/20/2026

For the better part of two decades, standard career advice focused on building people management skills, scaling teams, and climbing the corporate ladder.

That advice is losing value.

With the rise of an agentic workforce, traditional middle-management coordination roles like Program Manager are declining. Inefficiencies that used to require entire teams to manage are disappearing as workflows simplify.

Even senior executives are choosing direct ex*****on over title. Workday's former CTO left his C-suite role after less than a year to take an individual contributor position at Anthropic, choosing to build hands-on with frontier technology.

For mid-career professionals, staying close to technical application or direct output is becoming essential. Staying hands-on is no longer a step backward.

Read our full blog post to explore how these career playbooks are changing: https://www.anupartha.com/blog/the-new-rules-for-career-growth-in-an-ai-economy

08/19/2026

To succeed with AI, your strategy must focus on people.

Many C-Suite leaders see AI as just a technical challenge, but Harvard Business Review shows it is often a psychological one.

When employees fear they might lose their jobs, it creates a gap between them and the company's goals. Studies indicate that ignoring the human side of AI adoption can lead to increased employee stress.

If your team operates out of fear, they will retreat instead of contributing new ideas.

Data shows that 61% of employees with empathic managers report innovating at work, compared to 13% under unempathetic leadership. Furthermore, 84% of leaders see a direct link between psychological safety and tangible AI outcomes.

Empathy is essential for making technical progress. A company cannot fully embrace AI if employees feel unsure or afraid.

To successfully roll out these tools, leaders must prioritize trust to reduce fear of uncertainty. Without a sense of safety, investing in AI can become a costly struggle with internal pushback.

Read HBR's full article here: https://hbr.org/2026/04/empathetic-leadership-can-make-or-break-ai-adoption

What steps are you taking to create psychological safety so your AI investments pay off?

Research shows a wide gap between how executives perceive AI adoption and how employees actually experience it—most workers feel anxious and far less enthusiastic than their bosses assume. Without psychological safety, employees are less likely to experiment with new tools, more likely to produce ...