Popular stereotypes of successful CEOs as charismatic white men with Ivy League degrees, who never falter under pressure, are misleading. Elena Botelho, who co-leads the CEO Genome Project and advises top leaders, says actual success in the C-suite has more to do with being decisive, staying adaptable, and delivering reliable results.
Jun 17
Why Speed and Trust Are Critical to Solving Hard Problems
When it comes to solving complex, layered problems, the default for many organizational leaders is to take their time to work through the issues at hand. Unfortunately, that often leads to problems that linger with no clear resolution. Instead, Anne Morriss offers a different pro ... Show More
28m 43s
May 2017
4 Behaviors of Top-Performing CEOs
Elena Botelho, partner at leadership advisory firm ghSmart, talks about the disconnect between the stereotype of the CEO and what research shows actually leads to high performance at that level. She says the image of the charismatic, tall male with a top university degree who’s a ... Show More
29m 24s
Dec 2023
Best of IdeaCast: Behaviors of Successful CEOs
For the qualities that top-performing CEOs have in common, research shows some surprising results. It turns out that charisma, confidence, and pedigree all have little bearing on CEO success. Elena Botelho, partner at leadership advisory firm ghSMART and coleader of its CEO Genom ... Show More
27m 32s
Sep 2024
Leading from the inside-out: Why CEOs must make time for self-reflection
The greatest CEOs are necessarily driven, decisive, and confident. But McKinsey senior partner Ramesh Srinivasan, senior partner emeritus Hans-Werner Kaas, and coauthors of their new book, The Journey of Leadership: How CEOs Can Learn to Lead from the Inside Out, say CEOs must we ... Show More
17m 41s
Oct 2025
What sets the world’s best leaders apart
Most leaders set out to be the best—but few make that Mount Everest–like ascent successfully. What do the world’s most iconic CEOs do differently? McKinsey Senior Partners Carolyn Dewar, Kurt Strovink, Scott Keller, and Vik Malhotra break it down in their new book A CEO for All S ... Show More
9m 3s
Nov 2023
182. CEO alpha: How to cultivate great leaders for greater gains
<p>For any company, having a CEO who makes effective, strategic decisions can help teams go far. CEOs who excel at this have what McKinsey senior partner <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/sacha-ghai">Sacha Ghai </a>calls “CEO alpha.” In today’s episode, Sacha speaks wi ... Show More
33m 53s
Jul 2024
How much should a leader know about their team?
CEOs ultimately take responsibility when something goes wrong on their team. But leaders have a lot on their plates. How can they stay on top of what the people under them are doing, without burning themselves out? To learn more, Isabel Berwick speaks to Cath Bishop, a former Oly ... Show More
17m 24s
Sep 2025
BCG Presents: The So What from BCG
Who Wants to Be a CEO? The role of the CEO is both powerful and punishing. Christine Barton, BCG’s CEO Advisory lead in North America, explores how to make the job more fulfilling. It starts with clarity of purpose, building the right leadership team, and minimizing activities th ... Show More
24m 57s
Jul 2022
Red Flags You Won’t See on a CEO’s Resume
For a long time, we have believed that strong corporate governance is enough to prevent CEO malfeasance. However, new research shows that the lifestyle behaviors of executives can spell trouble for companies, regardless of the guardrails in place. Aiyesha Dey, an associate profes ... Show More
22m 44s