McKinsey: Four Key Leadership Behaviors

At Alchemus Prime, we take a behavioral approach to, well, everything. So, encountering recent research from McKinsey that talks about four critical leadership behaviors was music to my ears!

McKinsey surveyed 189,000 people in 81 organizations around the world, and found:

…leaders in organizations with high-quality leadership teams typically displayed 4 of the 20 possible types of behavior; these 4, indeed, explained 89 percent of the variance between strong and weak organizations in terms of leadership effectiveness…

Here’s an analysis of McKinsey’s top four leadership behaviors from the perspective of the science-based Alchemus Prime Diamond Model:

  1. Effective problem-solving: being able to solve a problem hinges on being able to accurately recognize, define, and frame the problem. We use design thinking to reframe challenges to ascertain what the root causes are, and whose perspectives matter, and then use integrated behavioral, design thinking, biomimicry, and meditation tools to help resolve the core issues. We take this approach because inevitably most problems our clients encounter have some mix of interacting social, economic, environmental, and personal aspects.
  2. Strong results-orientation: at the end of the day, process is crucially important in order to deliver results. We leverage design thinking to maintain a high level of mindfulness of process, and help clients with proven behavioral tools to keep a clear focus on results based on SMART goals and quantified metrics that stem from strong core values, and a vision and mission that reflect the team’s authentic identity. We go to the root of the leadership team’s integrity and work from there to ensure ethical, structural, and procedural alignment in the organization, which forms the foundation of high quality results.
  3.  Different perspectives: Strong leaders welcome and consider multiple perspectives. We structure this into processes with our clients using biomimicry, mindfulness, behavioral, and design thinking tools. With our guidance, and using our 360-degree win-win perspective, insights gleaned from varied perspectives allow leaders to make decisions that best serve their clients, stakeholders, employees, and the Earth.
  4. Support for team members: We nurture strong, trusting, and resilient relationships that endure. As I’ve noted before, trust is a key ingredient for creative and cohesive teams. We help team members connect authentically using guided mindfulness exercises; nature immersion; and creative, analytical, and team-building processes. We choose clients carefully based on their core values, passion for service to people and planet, and integrity, so that we can build trust.

It’s affirming to find our approach in alignment with the latest research on leadership, as we are a leadership company focused on addressing climate change and wellness problems together through behavior change integrated with other science-based tools.

 

At Alchemus Prime we use science-based tools to foster the kind of leadership that is changing economic and social systems to help address climate change and wellness challenges. Our behavioral approach aligns with the latest research from McKinsey.

At Alchemus Prime we use science-based tools to foster the kind of leadership that is changing economic and social systems to help address climate change and wellness challenges. Our behavioral approach aligns with the latest research from McKinsey. This picture was taken in the California desert during one of our executive retreats.

 

Thanks to my brother, Nicholas Cornelius, who posted the article that inspired this post.