I've spent my career straddling the structured discipline of Fortune 500 companies and the entrepreneurial scrappiness of startups. Each side has its strengths. Startups move fast, fueled by creativity and urgency. Corporations scale big, built on systems and predictability. But the future of leadership belongs to those who can bridge the two; leaders who think like founders and lead like CEOs.
When you're working on CEO succession, with the clients we serve, there's less of a debate about whether people are qualified. It's much more about: 'Can they scale; can they adapt; can they evolve?' This reflects the fundamental shift in how organizations evaluate leadership potential in uncertain times.
For decades, HR professionals were denied their "seat at the table" in company leadership. But during the COVID pandemic, it became abundantly clear that the C-suite could no longer ignore chief people officers, who guided companies through existential business challenges, including lockdowns, remote work, and the Great Resignation. Now, a quieter and more structural shift is underway. The seat remains, but the authority attached to it is moving elsewhere.
