And 81% are seeing zero bottom-line impact
Read that again 🤯
McKinsey & Company's State of Organizations 2026 — 10,018 leaders across 15 countries & 16 industries. The word you are looking for is not "transformation", its "theatre"
Just 1% of US C-suite respondents describe their GenAI rollouts as mature
86% of leaders say their organisation is not prepared to adopt AI in daily operations
1 in 6 companies has no C-level owner for AI adoption. None
Yet the PR machines keep churning out AI-everywhere narratives 📣
What nobody is talking about:
-> 72% of leaders admit they are NOT fully ready for upcoming changes. Even among optimists, only 1/3 feel prepared. 43% admit they divested assets too late
🧠 2 numbers that explain why AI is not compounding:
→ Only 30% of organisations reallocate resources enterprise-wide
→ 74% refuse to consider reallocating more than 10% of their workforce
💡 You cannot capture an AI dividend without reallocating humans, capital & decision rights. Most organisations are trying to win a new game with the resource allocation of the old one
And clarity collapses downward:
56% of C-suite have clarity on must-win battles. 44% of senior managers. 27% of middle managers
Two out of three middle managers — the exact people meant to operationalise the AI strategy — cannot tell you what it is 😬
The hopeful finding:
Companies focused on BOTH people AND performance are 4.3x more likely to sustain top-tier financial performance for 9 of 10 years 🎯
The quote that stopped me, from Bettina Dietsche at Allianz: "In five years, two-thirds of the skills we need will be completely different. And five years is basically tomorrow"
We are not in a technology transition. We are in a leadership transition disguised as a technology transition
❓3 Qs I would put to every CEO & ExCo right now:
1️⃣ Who owns AI on your C-suite? Named. Accountable. Not "it's everyone's job"
2️⃣ What is the biggest resource reallocation you will make in the next 12 months? (If the answer is "we are not," re-read stat one)
3️⃣ Can your middle managers articulate your must-win battles in one sentence — without the deck?
If the answers are thin, you are in the 81% with nothing on the P&L to show for the activity ✍️
📣 But don't take my word for it. Take it from a recent COO client of mine:
💬 "Navid challenged my assumptions and beliefs by questioning me and being quite direct. I recommend Navid's approach to executives going through a career transition and keen to maximise their leadership impact. While our initial contract has concluded, I will continue to engage Navid on discrete aspects of my career.”
#ETQ #Leadership #MasteringExecutiveTransitions
About Navid Nazemian
Ranked as the world’s #1 Executive Coach by CEO Today for the third year running, I partner with senior leaders to navigate complexity, accelerate performance, and lead through critical transitions. Over the past two decades, I’ve supported hundreds of executives in overcoming unproductive thinking and solving their most complex leadership challenges—helping their organizations build world-class cultures and create lasting value.
If you’d like to reflect on a leadership challenge, an upcoming transition, or how I might support you, you’re very welcome to reply directly to this email.
You can also:
- Connect with me on LinkedIn for additional leadership insights
- Explore my international best-selling book ‚Mastering Executive Transitions: The Definitive Guide‘ described by Dr. Marshall Goldsmith as “THE ultimate guide to executive transitions to help leaders achieve their highest potential”
- Leave a review for my book here
What's Next? More insights on leadership, transitions, and executive effectiveness are coming your way next week. I’d genuinely value your perspective—feel free to share your reflections by replying to this email. I read every response.
Navid
