Global Leadership Monitor Fall 2023 - Russell Reynolds Associate

Global Leadership Monitor H1 2024

A bi-annual global survey of over 2,700 leaders
Highest ranked threats
#1 Uncertain economic growth
#2 The availability of key talent and skills
NOTABLE DROP IN LEADERSHIP PREPAREDNESS
10-percentage point drop in leadership
preparedness to face increased regulation
Emerging threat
45% of leaders named geopolitical uncertainty
as a top-five threat to organizational health

Global Leadership Monitor H1 2024

Learn how these findings impact your organization
% of leaders selecting each item as a top 5 issue impacting organizational health in the next 12-18 months

Uncertain economic growth

64%

Availability of key talent/skills

63%

Technological change

53%

Geopolitical uncertainty

45%

Increased regulation

43%

Changes in consumer behavior

38%

Cyber threats

31%

Policy uncertainty

30%

Commodity price volatility

23%

Climate/environmental change

22%

Economic uncertainty, closely followed by the availability of key talent and skills, are the highest-ranked threats to organizational health in the coming months, with 64% and 63% of executives selecting each respective issue as a top threat.

Technological change also ranked highly, with 53% of executives indicating it will be impactful on organizational health in the coming months.

Geopolitical uncertainty (45%) and increased regulation (43%) also fall in leaders’ top-five concerns.
% of leaders selecting each item as top 5 issues impacting organizational health in the next 12-18 months

Hybrid work implementation

17%

Trade conflicts

11%

Major health threats

10%

Exchange rate volatility

10%

Investor activism

8%

Taxation

8%

Heightened scrutiny of diversity/inclusion

8%

Protectionism

7%

Populism

6%

Rising wealth inequality

6%

Economic uncertainty, closely followed by the availability of key talent and skills, are the highest-ranked threats to organizational health in the coming months, with 64% and 63% of executives selecting each respective issue as a top threat.

Technological change also ranked highly, with 53% of executives indicating it will be impactful on organizational health in the coming months.

Geopolitical uncertainty (45%) and increased regulation (43%) also fall in leaders’ top-five concerns.
% of leaders ranking each item as a top 5 issues impacting organizational health in the next 12-18 months

Select External Threat


Uncertain economical growth Availability of key talent change Tech change Increased regulation Changes in consumer behavior Geopolitical uncertainty Cyber threats Policy uncertainty Commodity price volatility Climate/environmental change Hybrid work implementation Major health threats Exchange rate volatility Trade conflicts Investor activism Heightened scrutiny of diversity and inclusion Taxation Rising wealth inequality Protectionism Populism
Uncertain economic growth and the availability of key talent and skills have remained top threats to organizational health over the past two years.

Technological change has steadily risen as an area of concern since dipping in early 2022. Over the past six months, this has remained a top-three concern.

Notably, geopolitical uncertainty has risen in importance in the past six months, with 45% of leaders selecting it as a top threat. The last time it reached this level was in H1 2022, when leaders were newly navigating the impact of Russia invading Ukraine.
% of leaders selecting threats as a top 5 issue vs ​% of leaders reporting their leadership team is prepared or very prepared

EXTERNAL THREATS

TOP EXTERNAL THREATS

L6M*

% PREPARED OR VERY PREPARED

L6M*

1. Uncertain economic growth

64%

-4%

42%

-7%

2. Availability of key talent

63%

-5%

39%

-8%

3. Tech change

53%

+2%

54%

-1%

4. Geopolitical uncertainty

45%

+8%

31%

-2%

5. Increased regulation

43%

+2%

55%

-10%

6. Changes in consumer behavior

38%

-1%

48%

+1%

7. Cyber threats

31%

+2%

67%

-1%

8. Policy uncertainty

30%

+2%

40%

-9%

9. Commodity price volatility

23%

-3%

57%

+3%

10. Climate/environmental change

22%

-1%

55%

-5%

Less than half of leaders feel their leadership team is prepared to address economic uncertainty and the availability of key talent and skills, despite them being the top perceived threats to organizational health.

Only 31% of leaders feel their leadership team is prepared to address geopolitical uncertainty; leadership preparedness to face technological change is markedly higher at 54%.

Leaders tend to feel that their leadership team is more prepared to address cyber threats and major health threats, with 67% and 61% stating that they’re prepared to face these respective concerns.
% of leaders selecting threats as top 5 issue vs ​% of leaders reporting leadership team is prepared or very prepared

EXTERNAL THREATS

TOP EXTERNAL THREATS

L6M*

% PREPARED OR VERY PREPARED

L6M*

11.

Hybrid work implementation

17%

-5%

50%

+1%

12.

Trade conflicts

11%

+2%

37%

-8%

13.

Major health threats

10%

-1%

61%

-10%

14.

Exchange rate volatility

10%

0%

50%

0%

15.

Investor activism

8%

-1%

47%

-6%

16.

Taxation

8%

+1%

48%

-3%

17.

Heightened scrutiny of diversity/inclusion

8%

0%

50%

-3%

18.

Protectionism

7%

+2%

24%

-10%

19.

Populism

6%

+2%

18%

-1%

20.

Rising wealth inequality

6%

+1%

30%

-10%

Less than half of leaders feel their leadership team is prepared to address economic uncertainty and the availability of key talent and skills, despite them being the top perceived threats to organizational health.

Only 31% of leaders feel their leadership team is prepared to address geopolitical uncertainty; leadership preparedness to face technological change is markedly higher at 54%.

Leaders tend to feel that their leadership team is more prepared to address cyber threats and major health threats, with 67% and 61% stating that they’re prepared to face these respective concerns.
% leaders reporting leadership team is prepared or very prepared to address external threat

Select External Threat


Uncertain economical growth Availability of key talent change Tech change Increased regulation Changes in consumer behavior Geopolitical uncertainty Cyber threats Policy uncertainty Commodity price volatility Climate/environmental change Hybrid work implementation Major health threats Exchange rate volatility Trade conflicts Investor activism Heightened scrutiny of diversity and inclusion Taxation Rising wealth inequality Protectionism Populism
Leadership preparedness has fallen across almost all external threats measured since H1 2023. Most notably, leadership preparedness to address uncertain economic growth fell 7 percentage points in the last six months and 16 percentage points in the last year. In addition, leadership preparedness to address the availability of key talent and skills has declined 8 percentage points in the last six months.

Leadership preparedness to address technological change and geopolitical uncertainty has remained relatively stable over the past six months, while leaders’ preparedness to address increased regulation has fallen 10 percentage points over the same timeframe.

What matters most to leaders in a world in flux?

Amid volatility on all fronts, which external business issues are leaders most concerned about? And where are they investing their time and energy to find a way forward?

 

To get a pulse on the top external threats leaders are facing today—and how prepared they are to manage them—we surveyed more than 2,700 global board directors, CEOs, C-suite leaders, and next-generation leaders across various industries. Here’s what we learned.

 

 

01. Leadership preparedness to address economic uncertainty continues to fall

Uncertain economic growth remains a top-five threat impacting organizational health, with 64% of leaders selecting it as a top threat. Strikingly, leadership preparedness to address uncertain economic growth continues to fall, dropping 7 percentage points in the last six months. And when compared with last year’s figures, there has been a 16 percentage-point drop in leadership preparedness. At present, only 42% of leaders believe their leadership team is prepared to deal with economic uncertainty.

 

Even so, while uncertain economic growth remains top-of-mind for leaders, its weight of importance has decreased over time as other key threats like technological change and geopolitical uncertainty continue to move up the leadership agenda and compete for their attention.

 

 

 

02. Leaders are becoming significantly less prepared to address the availability of key talent and skills

While we've seen some stabilization in the talent market over the last year, the availability of key talent and skills remains a prominent external threat, with 63% of leaders indicating it as a top-five threat impacting organizational health. While it's ranked as the second-highest threat to organizational health globally, it's the number one concern for CEOs in the US.

 

Moreover, employee turnover in the US is expected to be higher in 2024. Our research shows that globally, 63% of C-suite leaders would consider a career move beyond their current employer—an increase of 7 percentage points in the last year and 13 percentage points in the last two years. Within succession pipelines, attrition is even more likely, with 71% of next-generation leaders saying that they’re likely to make a career move, which is an 8-percentage point increase in the last year and a 14-percentage point increase in the last two years.

 

Against this backdrop, it’s unsurprising that leadership preparedness to address the availability of key talent and skills has dropped by 8 percentage points in the last six months, with now only 39% of leaders believing their leadership team is prepared to address this threat.

 

 

 

03. The threat of tech changes shows signs of stabilizing

Despite the continued buzz around generative AI, the anticipated impact of technological change on organizational health has stabilized, with 53% of leaders placing it as a top-five threat. This is only a 2-percentage point increase in the last six months. Similarly, leadership preparedness to face technological change remains relatively unchanged, with 54% of leaders feeling that their leadership team is prepared to address this concern.

 

For some leaders, this is playing out in a stagnating AI journey. Roughly one in three leaders indicated that they have not implemented generative AI at all, which is on par with figures from six months ago. For those who have started this journey, 30% are now in the piloted or implemented phase, an increase of only 3 percentage points in the last six months.

 

 

 

04. Geopolitical uncertainty climbs the leadership agenda

With the war in Ukraine, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, and 2024 being coined as the ‘ultimate election year', it’s unsurprising that geopolitical uncertainty has climbed the leadership agenda. Some 45% of leaders rate geopolitical uncertainty as a top-five threat, an 8-percentage point increase from six months ago.

 

When asked about the top-three stakeholders that will most influence their organizational strategy in the next five years, most leaders rate consumers (58%), investors (42%) and employees (41%) as the most impactful stakeholder groups. The importance of regulators is, however, on the rise. In our monitor, 39% of leaders noted regulators as a top-three stakeholder (up 4 percentage points in last year) while 34% believe that government will have the greatest impact on organizational strategy, an increase of 5 percentage points in the last year.

 

When it comes to speaking out on social and political issues, leaders are wary of raising their heads above the parapet. Only 44% of leaders think organizations should speak out on political and social issues their employees care about, and 54% of leaders say their organization only engages on issues when compelled or encouraged to do so.

 

 

 

05. The impact of increased regulation rises, while leaders’ preparedness to face this threat falls

Increased regulation has had a growing impact on organizational health in the last year, with 43% of leaders rating it as a top-five threat. At the same time, we’ve seen a 10-percentage point decline in leaders’ preparedness to face increased regulation in the last six months, with only 55% of leaders believing their leadership team is prepared to address this threat.

 

In addition, leaders anticipate that regulators will have a greater impact on their organizational strategy in the coming years, with 39% of leaders selecting regulators as one of their top-three most influential stakeholder groups. This is an increase of 4 percentage points in the last year.

 

While broadly, increased regulation may be viewed as a hindrance, when asked specifically about AI, there is a demand for greater regulation from leaders. As organizations increasingly embed AI in their products, services, processes, and decision-making, attention is shifting to how data is used by the software, particularly by complex, evolving algorithms. When surveyed about AI regulation, 68% of leaders agree or strongly agree that stronger regulation is needed to ensure the safe use of AI.

 

 

Explore the data in your region, industry, and role

Did you know that hybrid work implementation is more of a concern for leaders in the US? Or that cyber threats is seen as more of a threat in Australia than in any other country we surveyed? Find out what the top threats are for your region, country, industry, and role—and leaders' preparedness to face them.

Download data

What is the Global Leadership Monitor?

The Global Leadership Monitor is Russell ReynoldsAssociates’ bi-annual survey of global business leaders, tracking key threats to organizational health and leaders’ preparedness to face them.

What are global business leaders most concerned about in 2024?

In our H1 2024 survey of more than 2,700 leaders globally, senior business leaders cited the following top threats to organizational health in the next 12-18 months are:

Are global business leaders prepared for economic uncertainty in 2024?

Our research shows that senior leaders’ are feeling significantly less prepared for economic uncertainty than they were a year ago. In H1 2024, 42% of senior leaders say they are prepared for economic uncertainty, down 16 percentage points since H1 2023.

Are global business leaders prepared for talent and skills shortages in 2024?

Our research shows that senior leaders’ preparedness for the availability of key talent and skills is declining. In H1 2024, 39% of senior leaders said they were prepared to address the availability of key talent and skills, down 7 percentage points since H1 2023.

Are global business leaders prepared for AI and tech disruption in 2024?

Concerns about tech change show signs of stabilizing, as leaders begin to get to grips with AI’s capabilities. In our research, 57% of senior leaders globally said they feel prepared to address tech change in 2024. Click here for more insights on AI.

What is the sentiment among global business leaders around regulations in 2024?

Increased regulation has had a growing impact on organizational health in the last year, with 43% of leaders rating it as a top-five threat in our H1 2024 survey. At the same time, we’ve seen a 10-percentage point decline in leaders’ preparedness to face increased regulation in the last six months, with only 55% of leaders believing their leadership team is prepared to address this threat.

Why is leadership preparedness for external business threats so low?

Leadership preparedness to face the top external business threats continues to decline, as leaders are faced with multiple, competing priorities. Today’s leaders are tasked with piloting and implementing AI, managing continued political and economic uncertainty, as well as dealing with high leadership turnover, among other priorities. Amid this continued volatility, it’s unsurprising leaders are feeling significantly less prepared.

 

How our leadership advisors can help


Our leadership advisors are experts in building teams of transformational leaders who can help you look toward the future with confidence.


We’re well-versed in guiding organizations through change. If your leaders are concerned about weathering economic uncertainty, navigating technological change, or looking for guidance on how to engage and retain your leadership team, our advisors are here to help.


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About Global Leadership Monitor


The Global Leadership Monitor is a global survey of boards, CEOs, CxOs, and next-generation leaders that tracks key threats to organizational health and leadership preparedness to face them.


Methodology

 

About the Authors and the CLI team


Ela Buczynska, Tom Handcock, and  Gabrielle Lieberman of RRA’s Center for Leadership Insight conducted the research and authored this report.


The authors wish to thank the 2,700+ leaders from RRA’s global network who completed the 2024 Global Leadership Monitor. Their responses to the survey have contributed greatly to our understanding of leadership in 2024 and beyond.


Learn more about the team

 

 

Global Leadership Monitor

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