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A leader’s guide to sustaining growth

Leading Off

Be courageous ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ 
Leading Off
Leading Off

Brought to you by Alex Panas, global leader of industries, & Axel Karlsson, global leader of functional practices and growth platforms

Welcome to the latest edition of Leading Off. We hope you find our insights useful. Let us know what you think at Alex_Panas@McKinsey.com and Axel_Karlsson@McKinsey.com.

—Alex and Axel

All leaders want to realize sustained growth at their organizations, but few accomplish that feat. Among S&P 500 companies, for instance, only one in ten reports growth above GDP for more than 30 years, McKinsey research shows. How can leaders push their organizations to consistently grow and outperform their peers over the long run? They can start by developing a growth mindset. Making a conscious choice to pursue growth helps to shape their decision-making and actions across all areas of the business—and they maintain this attitude even in the face of unexpected or disruptive challenges. This week, we look at how leaders can turn their mindsets into behaviors that enable growth.
An image linking to the web page “Achieving growth: Putting leadership mindsets and behaviors into action” on McKinsey.com.

Although many leaders say they are committed to long-term growth, their actions don’t always match their ambitions. A McKinsey survey of more than 500 leaders shows that respondents spend only 22 percent of their time on long-term growth initiatives. What’s the antidote, then? McKinsey’s Andy West, Greg Kelly, Jill Zucker, Michael Birshan, and coauthors note that leaders of companies that outperform their peers align their behaviors with five critical mindsets: prioritizing growth, acting boldly, maintaining a customer-centric approach, attracting and nurturing talent, and executing with rigor. When leaders adopt these mindsets, say the authors, they are better able to spend more time on long-term growth initiatives, rather than getting sidetracked by short-term issues. The mindsets also enable leaders to allocate resources to growth opportunities and consistently communicate that growth is their North Star. “The journey to growth is a marathon, not a sprint: It often requires more than 18 months to see results,” the authors say. “To get there, leaders need more than just ambition and business savvy; they need a holistic approach with courage and resilience at the core.”
An image linking to the web page “‘The inner work continues every day’: An interview with Frank D’Souza” on McKinsey.com.

As cofounder of Cognizant, a global IT outsourcing company, Frank D’Souza quickly learned to manage growth—of both the organization’s performance and its people. In an interview with McKinsey’s Hans-Werner Kaas, D’Souza says that developing a strong client-focused culture was critical to maintaining long-term performance. As Cognizant expanded rapidly—including hiring 75,000 people in D’Souza’s last year as CEO—D’Souza worried about maintaining its culture. His leadership team focused on honoring high-performing employees, establishing meaningful rituals, and “taking time to document and retell the stories of the big and little things that moved the company forward over the years,” he says. “These specific examples were a powerful way for us to make the culture come to life and spread it throughout the organization.”
An image linking to the web page “How product design can yield ‘triple wins’: Growth, margin, and sustainability” on McKinsey.com.

For consumer goods makers, product and packaging design is about more than creating eye-catching looks. It’s an integral part of achieving an elusive trifecta—boosting sales, cutting costs, and reducing carbon emissions—to support long-term growth. McKinsey analysis shows that consumers increasingly care more about buying eco-friendly products and that most products’ lifetime emissions are determined by design decisions. Sustainable designs can also lead to improved customer experience. To go for the “triple win,” leaders can ask their design teams to pursue concepts that can unlock these broader benefits, Partner Dave Fedewa says on the McKinsey on Consumer and Retail podcast. “Sometimes companies see it as a trade-off—an ‘or’: growth or cost or sustainability,” he says. “What we’re finding is that, when you get into it at the right level of depth and with the right tools, it’s an ‘and’: growth and cost and sustainability. That’s what we call triple wins.”

Lead by prioritizing growth.

— Edited by Eric Quiñones, senior editor, New York

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by "McKinsey Leading Off" <publishing@email.mckinsey.com> - 04:38 - 10 Feb 2025