These are challenging times for organizations everywhere. Forces ranging from artificial intelligence, economic uncertainty, and geopolitical fragmentation to evolving workforce expectations, increasing customer demands, and tougher competitive dynamics are redefining how leaders create value and sustain performance.
This report, the second edition of McKinsey’s State of Organizations research initiative, seeks to help leaders better understand these dynamics and address them effectively. Read the report here. It draws on a survey of more than 10,000 senior executives across 15 countries and 16 industries. While leaders remain focused on driving performance, as in the first edition in 2023, the emphasis has moved from short-term resilience to sustained productivity and long-term impact, powered by technology and AI at the core of organizational transformation.
The survey responses inform our conviction that three tectonic forces are reshaping organizations and will continue to define their success in the years ahead. First is the infusion of technology, now including AI alongside automation and data analytics, which are leading organizations to reimagine how work gets done, redefine domains and end-to-end processes, and rethink traditional structures.
Second are the intensifying economic disruptions and geopolitical uncertainty, which are increasing complexity. Organizations need to adapt swiftly yet sustainably to cope.
Third are the evolving employee expectations, shifting demographics, and new tech-driven working models that are transforming the workforce and requiring organizations to transcend traditional structures, redefine leadership, and refocus on performance.
Our research suggests that these forces are deep structural transformations that will test how organizations grow, operate, and lead. The report focuses on how they play out across nine themes, from unlocking the potential of an AI-enabled organization and introducing collaboration between humans and AI agents to finding value amid geopolitical uncertainty and achieving a higher performance edge. The big takeaway is that in an uncertain world, sustained performance and value creation are the priority, ahead of short-term gains.
The following are the nine most significant shifts transforming organizations today:
Join the conversation
Take part in one of our virtual discussions with industry leaders to explore the most important shifts facing organizations today and how the modern organization can forge a new path forward.
Building a more human-centric leadership culture
Charise Le - CHRO, Schneider Electric
March 4 at 7 a.m. CET / 2 p.m. HKT
Change in times of disruption
Tiffanie Boyd - CPO, McDonald’s
March 9 at 4 p.m. ET / 9 p.m. CET
Aiming higher with reshaped performance
Sarah Armstrong - CPO, Rolls-Royce
March 12 at 12 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. CET
