Building Leaders Without Silos

This report examines the effect that digital disruption—transformation caused by the emergence of new technology and business models—is having on the career trajectories and development plans of current and future executives. It identifies the leadership skills that are emerging as conventional roles merge, and how executives in today’s marketing, sales, customer service and information technology (IT) functions propose to develop them.

The Right Skills: Bridging the strategy design-delivery gap

When Benoît Claveranne was appointed Chief Transformation Officer of the AXA Group in 2016,1 his first act was to hire Sébastien Van Dyk to head up HR for the transformation teams. Mr Claveranne recalls, “If I did not have someone focusing specifically on people, I had no chance. Integrating talent strategy with the company’s overall strategy may be the most important question of all [for successful delivery].”

Preventing a "frozen middle": How to engage middle managers to close the strategy implementation gap

In a global survey of 500 corporate leaders conducted by The Economist Intelligence Unit,1 respondents pointed to middle and line managers as potential impediments to fulfilling strategic ambitions. The EIU interviewed Bharat Anand and John Seifert to explore the nature of— and solutions to—challenges in engaging the so-called frozen middle. Learn more by downloading our Q&A below. 

Bridging the Strategy Design-Delivery Gap: What the Leaders are doing

Progress Maker: Rick Defieux Co-founder, SJF Ventures

Progress Maker Profile

Written by The Economist Intelligence Unit

Rick Defieux

Co-founder, SJF Ventures

Challenge: Develop a new way of doing business that drives environmental and social impact as powerfully as profits.

Progress Maker: N.R. Narayana Murthy Founder of Infosys Ltd.

Progress Maker Profile

Written by The Economist Intelligence Unit

N.R. Narayana Murthy

Founder of Infosys Ltd.

Challenge: Improving future prospects for India and its people, over half of whom lived in poverty in the 1970s.

Progress Maker: Michael Mina, MD, PhD Resident physician in Clinical Pathology

Progress Maker Profile

Written by The Economist Intelligence Unit

Michael Mina, MD, PhD

Resident physician in Clinical Pathology

Progress Maker: Elsbeth Tronstad Senior Vice President, SN Power and State Secretary, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Progress Maker Profile

Written by The Economist Intelligence Unit

Elsbeth Tronstad

Senior Vice President, SN Power and State Secretary, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Progress Maker: Claire Fallender Director of Ashoka’s Global Venture and Fellowship

Progress Maker Profile

Written by The Economist Intelligence Unit

Claire Fallender

Director of Ashoka’s Global Venture and Fellowship

Challenge: How to harness entrepreneurship to solve the world’s most pressing problems.

Progress Maker: Andrew Ng Co-Founder, Coursera Inc

Progress Maker Profile

Written by The Economist Intelligence Unit

Andrew Ng

Co-Founder, Coursera Inc

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