74% of leaders say that without fundamental transformation, their organisation will cease to exist in the next decade
Only 29% believe their organisation has actually been successful at transformation 🦋
Welcome to the biggest execution gap 🕳️ in modern leadership
Russell Reynolds Associates surveyed 1,360 leaders. The findings read like a diagnostic on why change programmes fade rather than fail:
🔸 77% of leaders are personally committed to the transformation. Only 43% believe their organisation is taking the right approach: "We believe in the cause, but we have no faith in the plan" 👆🏼
🔸 62% of CEOs are highly confident in their top team's transformation capability, 40% of C-level leaders feel the same. But only 34% of next-gen leaders do. Confidence collapses by seniority. The further from the CEO, the less faith — yet next-gen leaders are the ones executing it 📉
🔸 Belief in the right approach also cascades downward: 61% of CEOs → 43% of C-suite → 32% of next-gen. The people closest to implementation have the least faith in it. Not an execution problem — it's an alignment problem
🏆 And yet, the upside is real:
→ 1.9x more likely to meet financial goals
→ 2.0x more likely to lead on innovation
💡 Partial transformation does not get partial rewards. It gets "a false sense of security"
Dave Ricks, CEO and Chair of Eli Lilly and Company, offered the line I keep returning to:
"Many change initiatives don't fail because of some dramatic revolt — they fade away due to boredom" 😴
Boredom, not resistance, kills ☠️ transformation 🦋
👉🏼 In my CEO coaching work, the CEOs who sustain transformation do 3 specific things:
🎯 1: They retell the story weekly, not quarterly. Narrative is infrastructure
🎯 2: They orchestrate the top team as transformation owners, not function owners
🎯 3: They extend the leadership circle to the next-gen layer EARLY. If your 30-year-old high potentials do not believe the plan, your 50-year-olds never will.
The top team is not a group of people with titles. It is a transformation muscle 💪🏼. You train it or watch it atrophy
❓ One question for every CEO reading this: Is your transformation BEING LED — or just ADMINISTERED?
📣 But don't take my word for it. Take it from a recent CEO client of mine:
"Though I was initially unsure of what it could offer, I entered with apprehension about the process & its value. Yet, session by session, I discovered the immense benefit of a recurring, safe, personalized environment where I could freely reflect outside of the usual corporate dynamics. Without the biases of hierarchy or internal politics, having a neutral professional sounding board allowed me to challenge my own assumptions, articulate my thoughts more clearly, & gain a powerful mirror for self-reflection. I am truly thankful for this transformative discovery”
#Leadership #MasteringExecutiveTransitions #ETQ
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:
1. Connect with me on LinkedIn for additional leadership insights
2. 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”
3. Enrol in my newly launched e-Learning programme Mastering Leadership Transitions - my transition methodology in a self-paced format for leaders at every level
4. Work with me on a per-session basis via EveryExpert - a flexible alternative to a full coaching engagement, starting with a complimentary 15-minute Chemistry Call
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
