By Karen Greenbaum, Forbes Council Member, and President and CEO of the global Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC).
C-level executives around the world are concerned their organizations aren’t ready to drive change in key business areas including diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI); digital transformation; and sustainability, according to my organization’s latest survey of 1,000 C-suite executives. In that same analysis, executives cited culture, bias and leadership as three of the greatest barriers to achieving gender equality. While these reasons are inhibiting development, they are also the key levers for a diverse and inclusive culture.
C-level executives and board members must be adaptable and agile to thrive in a post-pandemic business environment and drive necessary change. If the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it is business leaders around the world must learn to quickly adjust their behavior, pivot company strategies, learn new skills, shift from physical to virtual and take on new responsibilities at a moment’s notice. The crisis has also shown us that people hold business leaders to higher standards than ever before, with 68% expecting them to step in when governments fail to fix societal problems, reports the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer.
Since 1959, the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC) has set the quality standard for the executive search and leadership consulting profession. Its members are the leaders in executive talent and leadership advisory solutions. AESC facilitates diverse and innovative thinking in global leadership. World-class executive search and leadership consulting firms join AESC to demonstrate their deep commitment to the quality standard AESC represents and to shape the future of the profession. Business leaders worldwide retain AESC members as trusted advisors to minimize risk and gain competitive advantage in their industries.
The BlueSteps Career Management Blog is written with a C-level audience in mind on career management topics ranging from executive compensation, executive resumes, and interview tips to networking, executive job search, and gaining visibility as a professional in one’s industry. The BlueSteps Executive Search Blog links senior executive candidates to actual retained search recruitment insights from AESC member executive recruiters, BlueSteps career advisors and other guest writers.
