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Claudio Fernández-Aráoz
Executive Fellow, Executive Education, Harvard Business School
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In an era of relentless disruption and complexity, the ability to detect and respond to change is the defining challenge for modern organisations. They must be in a perpetual state of adaptability, ready to predict, respond to and embrace change.
Having spent decades in leadership assessment and board advisory, and now serving as an Executive Fellow for Executive Education at Harvard Business School, Claudio has seen first-hand that people decisions remain central to successful adaptation. Referring to Jefferey Sonnenfeld’s HBR classic on What Makes Great Boards Great, he argues that “It’s not rules or regulations that make boards great. It’s the people on them and how they work together.”
He uses the example of the conclave that elected the current Pope. Despite being a body of 133 cardinal electors, most in their seventies, speaking different languages and following unconventional governance, they selected a leader with a global perspective and compassion. In just a day and a half they agreed on someone with experience across continents, fluency in several languages, and concern for both artificial intelligence and global peace. Claudio says this highlights a clear lesson; “If you have the right people on board, they’ll do a terrific job at adapting, growing, and building lasting greatness. But no matter what the governance rules are, if you don’t have the right people, nothing will happen.”
Adaptability is fast becoming the quality that separates thriving leaders from failing ones. A 2018 Harvard Business Review study found that a third of a CEO’s work is inherently proactive: It involves anticipating problems, gathering facts, analysing options, and making timely choices. Claudio stresses that strong adaptability is not just about reacting; it’s about having the right team, as this frees leaders to think critically and respond effectively to emerging challenges. Claudio explains; “You need time, and the only way to have time is to make sure that you have a great team where you can delegate. It comes down to making great people decisions.”
Claudio believes we are entering a new era of talent spotting, where traditional markers of IQ and experience are no longer sufficient. He says: “In this acceleratingly unpredictable world, even if someone has a perfect competency fit, the job itself will rapidly change. The key is assessing their potential to continue learning and adapting so they can perform successfully when conditions change.”
He identifies five hallmarks of this potential:
In a world defined by disruption, success will belong to those organisations that prioritise people over process. By having a relentless focus on talent—spotting it, nurturing it, and ensuring the right people are in the right roles, organisations will be able to lead with resilience, vision and purpose and be better prepared to compete in rapidly evolving markets.
* This article is based on an interview conducted in preparation of the TCS / Peter Drucker Society Europe – report on ‘New Leadership for the Perpetually Adaptive Enterprise’ [INSERT LINK]