Adopting activist leadership, speaking with confidence, and shattering DEI misconceptions

Readers & Leaders

A new season for new ideas ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ 
Readers & Leaders
Readers & Leaders

THIS MONTH'S PAGE-TURNERS ON BUSINESS AND BEYOND

With the onset of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, the spirit of renewal is in the air. In this edition of Readers & Leaders, experts outline bold, new approaches to tackling familiar challenges, such as leadership, communication, inclusion, and sustainability. 

In her Author Talks interview, Brunswick Group partner Lucy Parker makes the case for a new kind of leadership in business: activist leadership. To be a successful leader, she says, you must deliver financial value hand in hand with social value. In other featured interviews, Matt Abrahams, lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business and host of the Think Fast, Talk Smart podcast, offers tips for speaking confidently in spontaneous situations; Netta Jenkins, CEO of Aerodei, shares how misconceptions about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) can reduce both employee productivity and retention; and Siddarth Shrikanth, climate investor and McKinsey alumnus, brings the biodiversity crisis to the forefront.

For more fresh perspectives, order Power to the Middle, by McKinsey partners Bryan Hancock and Emily Field and senior partner emeritus Bill Schaninger, for a new model for companies to radically alter the way they hire, train, and reward their most valuable asset: managers. 

IT BEARS REPEATING

An image linking to the web page “Author Talks: How you can future-proof your business for sustainable, long-term growth” on McKinsey.com.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Matt Abrahams on why spontaneous speaking doesn’t have to make you shake in your shoes: “One of the things that happens when we speak spontaneously is that many of us are uncovering what we want to say while we are saying it. That leads us to speak more than we need to. Being concise, clear, and focused is key.” Watch the full interview.

Netta Jenkins explains why shortfalls in inclusion efforts can impact your company’s bottom line: “Inclusion is about identifying the privilege and power that you hold, and sharing it with those around you. And if we got better at that very basic level and implemented that within the workplace—and then allowed and equipped employees with the tools to do the same—we would see a lot more change.” Watch the full interview.

Siddarth Shrikanth makes a new case for strengthening our connection to nature: “It can be as simple as creating space for nature wherever you live, getting involved in activism, and volunteering, just the things that build connection. There’s both the systemic piece that we can be a part of and the individual piece in our own lives that is increasingly powerful in a world where we feel so dislocated.” Watch the full interview.

BUSINESS BESTSELLERS TOP

8

BUSINESS OVERALL

BUSINESS HARDCOVER

DECISION MAKING

ECONOMICS

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

WORKPLACE CULTURE

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

SUSTAINABILITY

BOOKMARK THIS

If you’d like to propose a book or author for #McKAuthorTalks, please email us at Author_Talks@McKinsey.com. Due to the high volume of requests, we will respond only to those being considered.

— Edited by Emily Adeyanju, an editor in McKinsey’s Charlotte office

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by "McKinsey Readers & Leaders" <publishing@email.mckinsey.com> - 03:55 - 1 Oct 2023