McKinney Consulting Inc.

I am the Founder and CEO of McKinney Consulting Inc., established in 2001 in Seoul, South Korea. I started the business as an executive search firm focused on multinational companies in South Korea, and then I took us global a few years later. Our global search partner Kestria has a network of over 40 offices on six continents. Gradually, I expanded my business into leadership and HR consulting, and then into executive coaching, and team coaching, 

In 2021, we celebrated our 20 Year Anniversary, and after years of consideration, and prodding by M&A professionals, I made the expansion into M&A Advisory work. With 13+ years of leadership experience in the athletic footwear industry and over 20 years in the management consulting industry, we’re well positioned to expand into M&A Advisory Services.

The common thread that connects our multiple service offerings is that all our clients are multinational company leaders who value high-performance leaders. We can help them find the M&A deals they seek. Identify the leaders with the best fit to manage their key positions. Consult and coach these individuals and teams to meet their personal goals and help align their key performance indicators to the organization’s vision and leadership values. We’ve got you covered.  
•	My executive search business is a retained model, and we focus on placing bi-lingual middle-senior-level executives for multinational companies. 
•	We specialize in the Industrial/Production, Consumer/Retail, and Technology Industry sectors and have experience in Healthcare & Life Sciences, Professional Services, Energy, Natural Resources & Infrastructure, Education, Financial Services & Banking NGOs, and Not for Profit organizations. 
•	My Certified Master Coaches and HR Consultants have 20+ years of industry experience prior to consulting and coaching.

Chief Executive Officer

The Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC)

The Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC) is the worldwide professional association for the retained executive search and leadership consulting industry. Through its industry-recognized Code of Ethics and Professional Practice Guidelines, the AESC promotes the highest professional standards in executive search and leadership consulting. AESC regional Councils identify and act on regional issues related to executive search and leadership and vote on new member applications.
I am an elected member of the Asia Pacific Council for a three-year term until 2027.

Member, Council of APAC

Kestria

Kestria Institute Council Member

Kestria is the world's largest alliance of boutique retained executive search firms.
Our reach currently spans 40+ countries and 90+ cities and counting. What sets us
apart is our shared entrepreneurial spirit and drive to deliver excellence in executive
search.

Wherever the location, whatever the industry, we provide you with consistent first-class service. With globe-spanning connections and local knowledge, you have a
single point of contact for your international and local search requirements. We
recognize that every search has differing requirements and tailor our approach to fit
your needs.

We've successfully completed 40,000+ searches for over 4,000 clients, serving
everyone from game-changing start-ups to major global players. 50+ nationalities,
40+ languages spoken and 52% female-led businesses. This diversity enriches our
awareness of cultural differences – and means we have every imaginable base
covered with regard to industry, region, and size of the company.
Find out more on www.kestria.com

Managing Partner Kestria South Korea

Eastpoint Partners Limited

Eastpoint Partner Limited is a provider of bespoke advisors to assist companies looking to enter new markets in Asia, either organically or via M&A; to raise capital for companies or funds; to assist in strategic-led services and user roles; specific expertise in energy transmission.

Specialized advisors, investors, independent board representatives, and asset managers in the origination, execution, and distribution of infrastructure, energy, resources, renewables, and technology deals.

Partner

Virtual Advisory Board (VAB)

The Virtual Advisory Board is a community of highly experienced, executive-level talent from 65+ countries representing over 100 industry sectors. Our members serve as Non-Executive Directors (NEDs)and offer advisory board consulting for businesses around the globe.

Virtual Advisory Board Chair South Korea

Korea Business Leaders Alliance

The Korea Business Leaders Alliance (KBLA) is an invitation-only community of senior business leaders in Korea. Founded in late 2012, incorporated in 2015, the KBLA offers opportunities for business intelligence, networking, peer interaction, learning, professional development, and relationship-building that can't be had anywhere else. Our meetings and events are always innovative and high-quality.

Co-Founder

Western Governors University

An adviser, observer and assessor during demonstration teaching (DT) plying a crucial role in guidance and education during this period of time.

Clinical Supervisor

Seoul Global Center

The Seoul Global Center is a comprehensive support center for foreign residents in Seoul. They provide various services in business and living matters. The Seoul Global Center was launched on January 23, 2008 as a key initiative in the Global Zone Project and has now grown to be the largest all encompassing foreigner.support services organization of any large city in the world. It currently has 17 locations scattered strategically across Seoul in the form of Global Business Centers, Global Village Centers, Global Migrant Worker Centers and also has start-up company incubation spaces within the business centers for 25 start-up companies

Head of Seoul Global Center

Executive Search & Management Consulting Company

Brand development. Developed brand strategy.Strategic Consulting, including business plan & sales strategy development. Marketing strategies for company. Consultant to client companies on executive placements.

Executive Director Marketing

Airwalk International

Managed operations of the Athletics Footwear division for Korea and China. Managed all R & D and Production activities in sub-contract facilities.

Country Manager-Korea/China

Guiding leaders to thrive in uncertainty, unlocking proactive agility for transformational results | Executive Search | Coaching | Founder | Author | Keynote Speaker

Bring Proactive Agility™ to Your Organization: Turn Uncertainty into Advantage.

Media Recognized: Yahoo Finance,  Entrepreneur, Business Insider, Forbes,  SUCCESS, MSN.

Keynote Speaker | Workshop Facilitator | Executive Coach | Executive Search Consultant | M&A Deal Originator

Available globally from Seoul, South Korea & Charlotte, North Carolina.

My journey, shaped by extraordinary resilience from a life-altering accident at 14, fuels my mission to empower leaders with agility and purpose.

I served in senior leadership roles for 13 years at Adidas, Reebok, and other leading athletic companies.

With over 25 years of experience in executive search and leadership consulting, my approach combines hands-on C-suite experience with guiding transformation for organizations of all sizes. 

I help unlock proactive leadership and build cultures for lasting impact, whether inspiring ambitious start-ups or Fortune 500 giants across Asia, North America, and beyond.

New Book Publishing Q1 2026 :GLOBAL MINDSET: A Guide for Cross-Cultural Leadership Co-authored with Bryan McKinney, (My Son!) Director at McKinney Consulting.

If your organization values cross-cultural insights and transformative leadership, consider connecting about workshops or bulk booking events.

Services:
•	Keynote Speeches (Proactive Agility™, Leadership, Global Mindset)
•	Actionable Workshops
•	Executive and Leadership Team Coaching
•	Global Executive Search
•	M&A Origination

Clients have included world-renowned brands, SMEs, top leaders, and hundreds of executives over the past 25 years.

Ready to future-proof your organization or energize your next event? Let’s connect to explore how Proactive Agility™ can drive your organizational transformation, develop your leaders, or elevate your conference.

[Visit stevemckinney.com and mckinneyconsulting.com] for testimonials and speaking reels, or message me directly here to get started.

I’ve gained 4,200+ followers this month.

But it’s because of what I did 30 years ago…

Let me explain:

In 1994, I was recruited to Adidas from Reebok.

And during my time at Adidas…

I learned an invaluable skill that I still use daily - 30 years later!

I had to recreate the entire commercialisation process from scratch - from the moment marketing says "we need a product" right through design, development, marketing, sales, and to it reaching the customer's foot.

During this time, I created things out of need.

Systems, processes, quality control measures.

You name it.

I'd find a problem.

Then ask, "What do I need to know?"

Now I apply this same obsessive attention to detail to everything, including my LinkedIn analytics.

Here's my current LinkedIn tracking system:

For every single post, I track:

◾ Content engagement rates

◾ New subscribers gained

◾ Day of the week posted

◾ New followers gained

◾ Post title and topic

◾ Post impressions

I created a spreadsheet to capture every detail because I want to know exactly what's driving results.

And it’s paying off.

My LinkedIn results in October alone:

◾ Content engagement rates: 5,831

◾ New newsletter subscribers: 1,919

◾ Day of the week posted: Planned for every day except Sunday 

◾ New followers gained: 4,864

◾ Post impressions: 75,657

Why this matters:

When you're building authority on a professional and competitive platform like LinkedIn, every post either moves you closer to or further from your goals.

Without tracking the details, you're essentially posting blind.

The same obsessive approach that helped me recreate entire business processes at Adidas and Reebok now helps me understand which content attracts the right opportunities for my company - McKinney Consulting.

What metrics do you track on LinkedIn?

Share them below.👇

Steve McKinney

Bring Proactive Agility™ to Your Organization: Turn Uncertainty into Advantage.

Are you scanning for the signals, or waiting for the storm? Leaders who anticipate change transform uncertainty into their most significant asset.

Building global leaders who inspire and transform 

I am a Master Certified Coach and the founder of an executive search firm. I have over 20 years of experience helping Fortune 500 and other multinational organizations identify and place great leaders. I also conduct executive coaching for global leaders to inspire and transform them to achieve their full potential.

My unique skills and network have led me to M&A deal origination opportunities for buyers and sellers in Energy Transition Deals, primarily in Asia. I am passionate about helping leaders to make a positive impact on the world. 

I have received a 2nd chance at life and desire to make the most of it by helping others succeed.

Growing up, I toured and recorded several albums singing and playing the bass guitar from 9 years old with my family group and others, from Opryland in Nashville. Tennessee to Carnegie Hall in New York City to the Blue House for the President of South Korea, I have been privileged to perform meaningful concerts.

However, the most important event which has changed my life occurred at the age of 14. I was in a tragic car accident that took my older brother James’s life. Somehow, I miraculously survived rolling over several times down a cliff inside the car with a broken back.

I have made a career of succeeding from managing the largest factory for Reebok International in Busan, South Korea, Head of Footwear Product Development for Adidas International (global) in Portland, Oregon, to establishing an executive search, coaching, and M&A Advisor firm in 2001.

My team and I have placed hundreds of mid-senior level executives for various positions in multinational companies, from SME to Fortune 500 in South Korea and across borders in other countries with our global search partners.

Also, I have coached over 300 start-up company CEOs and other leaders successfully and more individuals on how to have a global mindset to inspire and transform their multinational organizations.

I am also a partner at Eastpoint Partner Limited, a provider of bespoke advisors to assist companies looking to enter new markets in Asia, either organically or via M&A; to raise capital for companies or funds; to assist in strategic led services and user roles; specific expertise in energy transmission.

My credentials include Leadership Coaching Strategies from Harvard University, Master Certified Coach in Behavioral Coaching, and an Advanced Diploma in Organizational Neuropsychological Coaching, and earned a B.A. Music Ed. from Mars Hill University, North Carolina.

In 1995, I was the Head of Footwear Product Development at Adidas International headquarters in Portland, Oregon.

Here's the delegation process I built that's still serving me 30 years later:

Picture this scenario. Your company's about to go public. The brand is red-hot. Orders are flooding in. You need to deliver more products than ever before.

But there's a catch.

You can't hire anyone new.

Classic chicken-and-egg problem. You need PEOPLE to execute the business, but you need the business first to get the BUDGET for the people.

What do you do?

Many would panic, work 80-hour weeks, or let quality slip. None of which would work for us.

So here's what we did:

I sat down with each team member and identified their superpower (beyond their CORE role).

Bill? Technical genius. From now on, he'd handle all technical queries for the entire team.

Sue? Fashion guru with incredible design instincts. She'd provide color analysis and trend monitoring for everyone.

Each person got 2 roles: their category leadership AND a team contribution. Everyone contributed something special to the group effort. No one felt singled out or overburdened.

Now we had the bandwidth of a much larger team.


Here’s why it worked so well:

1. It Maximized Resources: Bill's technical expertise served multiple      
 categories instead of one. Sue's fashion sense elevated every product line                     

2. It Created Genuine Buy-In: When you ask someone to contribute their strongest skill, they feel valued.

3. It Built Cross-Functional Knowledge: Team members started understanding challenges beyond their own areas.

4. My Time Was Freed Up for Strategy: Instead of being the bottleneck for every decision, I had specialists handling their areas of expertise.


30 years later, I still use this approach.

When resources are tight, look inward first.

Your team has more capability than you're using.

The key isn't finding MORE people.

It's finding more ways to leverage the brilliant people you ALREADY have.

Don’t think of delegation as dumping tasks.

Think of it as unlocking superpowers.

Honored to be featured today in Executive Diary Magazine.

This interview explores how a life-changing accident at age 14 led me on a journey toward resilience and leadership agility.

My greatest lessons came not in the boardroom, but in real moments, like late nights on the warehouse floor, and bridging cultures in international business.

These experiences inspired my Proactive Agility™ philosophy: turning uncertainty into new opportunity.

Leadership, I've learned, starts with listening, adapting, and helping others find courage in uncertain times.

What moment most shaped your leadership journey?
 How did challenges help you see new possibilities?

Here is the link to the full interview: 
https://lnkd.in/gpRXijh5

17,158 people now follow my journey on LinkedIn.

4,800+ of you joined in just the last 30 days.

So, if you’re new here—welcome!

It’s time I properly introduced myself.

I’m the founder and CEO of McKinney Consulting, based in Seoul, South Korea.

A brief timeline of the journey so far:


1990s:

I spent 13 years in senior leadership roles with Adidas and Reebok, leading global footwear development and managing large-scale manufacturing operations. Those years taught me what it really takes to build teams that perform under pressure and lead across borders.


2001:

I founded McKinney Consulting in Seoul, focused on executive search for multinational companies in South Korea.


2002-2003:

We expanded into HR and leadership consulting, then executive and team coaching for leaders in fast-growing companies and multinationals.


2007:

We joined the Association of Executive Search Consultants (New York) - a mark of global best practices in our industry - and began offering payroll, accounting, and employment-of-record services.


2017:

We became the exclusive Korea partner for Kestria, the world’s largest executive search alliance, with over 40 offices across six continents.


2021:

We celebrated 20 years in business and expanded again - this time into M&A advisory, connecting the dots between leadership, strategy, and capital.


Across this journey, we’ve served over 150 of the Fortune 500 and hundreds of ambitious leaders in Asia, North America, and beyond.

Today, my work is focused on:

💠 Executive Search & Leadership Advisory

💠 Keynote Speaking on Proactive Agility™ and Global Mindset

💠 Executive & Team Coaching

💠 M&A Deal Origination


📘 Coming Soon (Q1 2026):

My co-authored book, Global Mindset: A Guide for Cross-Cultural Leadership, written with Bryan McKinney (my son!)

If you’re leading through change, navigating cross-cultural growth, or simply want to future-proof your organization…

I share insights here daily on leadership, agility, and transformation.

Thanks for being here.

— Steve

The Tragedy!

I broke the vertebrae in my back at 14 years old.
Our car had flipped 5 times.
I remember the sound of metal folding in on itself.
Then... nothing.
Total silence.
My brother was in the car, too.
He was 16.
We were on our way to school.
A normal morning until the car went off the road and down a very steep hill.
I tried to move my body.
But nothing was working.
I had no idea that my spine was broken.
I kept asking where my brother was.
Seconds ago, he was sitting next to me.
"James? Where are you, James?"
I kept calling out to him.
But I couldn't see him.
He’d been thrown from the car.
When the ambulance arrived, they loaded me into it.
They had to slow down because every bump felt like my back was fire.
I still didn’t know my brother was gone.
When my mom got to the hospital, she’d just lost her firstborn.
Yet somehow, she was calm.
She looked me in the eyes and said:
“We can’t worry about him now. He’s in a better place. We have to worry about you.”
As I'm sure you can imagine, that day never left me.
I felt like I had to grow up overnight.
I stepped into his role in our family band.
Learned his parts. Tried to fill the monumental gap he left behind.
Since then, I’ve tried to use whatever time and talent I have to help others.
Because I wasn’t supposed to survive that crash.
The odds weren't stacked in my favor.
But I did.
And I know it was for a reason.
 
Picture: (Hugh (dad), Peggy (mom), James (brother Steve (me), our last album with James, 6 months before our accident.

Breaking the Approval Chain 🚦

Bureaucracy slows everything down, sometimes to hilarious extremes. 🐢

Ever watched a great idea die in the approval process?
One signature leads to three.
Three lead to five.
And suddenly, the spark is gone.

A client once needed nine signatures to hire one person. By the time it cleared, their top candidate had joined a competitor.

Not a lack of interest, just a lack of speed.

Bureaucracy kills momentum, innovation, and morale.

The best leaders simplify.
They push decisions closer to where work happens.
They empower teams to move, not wait.

Here’s a challenge:
What if you removed just one approval step this quarter?
How much faster could your team move?

What’s the longest or funniest approval chain you’ve seen, and how did you finally break through the red tape?

Share your story below. Let’s laugh, learn, and maybe fix a few bottlenecks together.

Growing up in a close-knit Appalachian town, I learned early that true leadership isn’t just about weathering storms; it’s about preparing for them long before the clouds gather.

Growing up in a small town tucked deep in the Appalachian Mountains, I was shaped by roads that twisted, rose, and sometimes disappeared in fog and ra

Open article: The Mindset Shift: From Reactive to Proactive Leadership by Steve McKinney • 2 min read

The Mindset Shift: From Reactive to Proactive Leadership

Leaders today face more uncertainty than ever, markets shift, strategies need rewriting, and teams look for direction amid constant change.

Through years of executive search and coaching, I’ve noticed a clear pattern: the most successful leaders share five defining traits. They don’t just 

Open article: The 5 Traits That Set Proactively Agile Leaders Apart by Steve McKinney • 2 min read

The 5 Traits That Set Proactively Agile Leaders Apart

I grew up in a Southern gospel singing family.

Travelling and performing at 9 years old.

We were in church four or five times a week, so I'd seen more than most kids my age - sung at more funerals than you've probably attended.

That year, I desperately wanted a pony.

My mom tried everything to discourage me:

"We don't have the money. We don't have a barn. Where would you keep it?" 

But I'd been learning in church that if you pray with faith, God hears your prayers, right?

She warned me not to get my hopes up.

"God answers prayers, but he doesn't give us everything we want. Sometimes it's better that way."

I kept praying anyway.

Christmas morning came. Cold winter day in North Carolina, frost covering the windows.

I got up first, saw the presents under the tree, and then looked outside.

The windows were frosted, so I scratched away at them.

As my view cleared, I could see a dark shape next to our picture window.

There was a PONY in our yard! Bridle on, rope hanging down.

"I got my pony." I shouted.

"That's not your pony," my parents said. "We didn't buy a pony."

But I'd prayed for one, and there it was.

"No, look. Look! I got my pony!"

Turns out it really wasn't mine.

It had broken loose from a farm 3 miles away, passed about thirty houses on a busy highway, and stopped at this little boy's house (mine!).

It took us over a week to find the owner and return it!

Coincidence? Maybe.

But it built something in me at a very young age - faith to believe in something bigger, to pray and try anyway.

I still believe that pony was meant to teach me something...

Even if it wasn't meant to stay.

Have you ever experienced a moment in your life that taught you to believe in something bigger?

Share it below!

Most leaders assume:
“If we have a replacement ready, we’re safe.”

But here’s the reality.

Succession planning isn’t just about replacement; it’s about readiness for what’s next.

Not long ago, we worked with a regional manufacturing company where one unexpected resignation sent shockwaves through three departments. Plans were on paper. But no one was truly prepared to lead forward.

The gap wasn’t a lack of competence. It was a lack of Proactive Agility™. That ability to anticipate, adapt, and act before disruption demands it.

We helped them shift focus from positions to potential.

The results:

🎈 Emerging leaders shadowed key roles six months earlier than planned

 🎈 Cross-functional stretch projects developed real bench strength

 🎈 And internal promotion rates jumped by 30% within a year

That’s when succession planning became succession momentum.

This is what future-ready organizations actually build:

✨ Learning pipelines, not just backup lists

 ✨ Agile leaders who think two moves ahead

 ✨ Shared accountability for leadership transitions

 ✨ Cultures that reward readiness, not tenure

One department head stood out. She used to see succession planning as HR’s checklist. Now, she runs quarterly “role readiness reviews,” mentoring her team around decision agility and growth mindset.

The real shift wasn’t the process. It was leadership’s mindset; from safety nets to launch pads.

Most companies prepare for who might leave.
The best prepare for who must lead next.

Stop treating succession planning as insurance.
Start making it your organization’s next competitive advantage.
—
Steve McKinney
Founder & CEO, McKinney Consulting
Bring Proactive Agility™ to Your Organization: Turn Uncertainty into Advantage. Executive Search | Executive Coaching | Keynote Speech

The most dangerous communicator in your company is the one who's "good at talking."

Everyone loves the smooth talker. The confident one. The one who always sounds like they know what they're doing. The one with total conviction.

I’ve coached leaders across tech, finance, and media.

And the same pattern shows up every time:

Being articulate ≠ being clear.

Being confident ≠ being competent.

The most "impressive" communicator in the room often causes the most damage, because no one questions them. Their words sound right. But their thinking might be fuzzy. Disjointed. Misleading.

In too many organizations, we reward decisiveness over depth. Style over substance.

It’s how bad strategy sounds brilliant, vague ideas get the go ahead, and projects derail but no one knows why.

True communication power doesn’t live in how well you speak.

It lives in how well others understand you.

The best leaders:

🔹 Say less, but say what matters

🔹 Use plain language, not jargon

🔹 Speak to teach, not to impress

Charisma can mask confusion.

If your best communicator is also your biggest bottleneck, it might be time to rethink what "good communicator" looks like.

This is what I train leaders to do:

Replace charisma with clarity, so teams actually follow through.

I coached a struggling manager in front of the entire team.

And it transformed our company culture.

I'm not talking about public humiliation or throwing someone under the bus.

Here's what happened:

Early on at McKinney Consulting, we had a newly promoted manager struggling with harsh client feedback.

The easy route would have been to pull him aside privately or micromanage his recovery.

Instead, I chose transparency. Right there in front of our team, I walked through what had gone well and where he could improve.

The immediate reaction was interesting. You could feel the tension in the room - people weren't used to seeing growth conversations happen so openly.

What followed over the next few weeks was remarkable. The team started behaving differently.

People began sharing their own setbacks without being asked. They started offering support to colleagues who were struggling.

The whole dynamic shifted from hiding mistakes to learning from them.

When employees saw that growth mattered more than blame, they became willing to take risks.

They'd experiment with new approaches, admit when something wasn't working, and ask for help before problems became disasters.

The manager in question? He turned things around completely.

This wasn't a one-off cultural shift. It became how we operated.

Leadership isn't just about the big glamorous decisions.

It's about the small, visible actions that signal what you actually value.

Most leaders say they want innovation and growth, but their actions suggest they want perfection.

The gap between what we say and what we do is where culture actually lives.

There are no shortcuts to building the culture you want.

The only thing that works is consistently demonstrating the behaviors you expect to see.

The No. 1 question I get asked about leadership during a crisis is also the one that reveals why most leaders fail when it matters most.

"What actions become most critical to protecting the culture of an organization?"

Here's what I've learned after years of working with C-level executives through mergers and market upheavals:

3 actions stand out above everything else:

     1. Over-communicate the why behind changes.

     2. Invite feedback - even uncomfortable truths.

     3. Adjust strategies fast when new information emerges.

The best leaders I've worked with don't just focus on what needs to change.

They're crystal clear about what won't change. Core values and commitments that anchor people when everything else feels unstable.

I've seen this play out dozens of times.

The companies that emerge stronger aren't the ones with the slickest crisis management plans. They're the ones where leaders pause amid the chaos to ask:

"What do we want to stand for now?"

When you're honest about uncertainty whilst still keeping a clear vision, your culture gets redefined for the future.

Crisis doesn't destroy culture.

Poor leadership during the crisis does.

Discover how applying the four transformative hallmarks of Proactive Agility™ empowers leaders and organizations to anticipate change, shape business culture, and achieve lasting success in an unpredictable world.

As a child, I watched my mother build a thriving Mary Kay business in our Appalachian Mountain town. Whenever a competitor appeared or the market shif

Open article: Why Proactive Agility™ Matters: The Superpower Every Leader Needs by Steve McKinney • 1 min read

Why Proactive Agility™ Matters: The Superpower Every Leader Needs

A story on leadership selection in shifting times.

A few years ago, I worked with a global manufacturer searching for a regional leader in one of the most unpredictable markets I’ve seen. Prices shifte

Open article: Executive Search in Volatile Markets: Lessons from Hiring for Agility by Steve McKinney • 2 min read

Executive Search in Volatile Markets: Lessons from Hiring for Agility

In a world where disruption has become the norm, the leaders who stand out aren’t just experienced; they’re agile enough to turn constant change into their greatest advantage.

In a world where disruption has become the norm, the leaders who stand out aren’t just experienced; they’re agile enough to turn constant change into 

Open article: The Agility Advantage: Why Change-Ready Leaders Are Every Company’s Top Priority by Steve McKinney • 2 min read

The Agility Advantage: Why Change-Ready Leaders Are Every Company’s Top Priority

In executive search, it’s easy to spot experience on a resume. What’s harder is uncovering how a leader really behaves when certainty disappears.

Most hiring teams assume: “If we just find someone with the right credentials, they’ll adjust to anything.” But here’s the reality. In times of change

Open article: Top Interview Questions to Uncover Agility and Adaptability in Executive Search by Steve McKinney • 3 min read

Top Interview Questions to Uncover Agility and Adaptability in Executive Search

In today’s unpredictable business landscape, culture isn’t just a backdrop; it’s the catalyst that determines whether agility takes root or fades after the first wave of change.

Anticipating change, not just reacting to it, has become a leadership differentiator. But sustained agility is rarely the result of one person’s effor

Open article: Culture as Catalyst: Creating Organizational Environments Where Agility Flourishes by Steve McKinney • 2 min read

Culture as Catalyst: Creating Organizational Environments Where Agility Flourishes

Most leaders think agility means:

“Reacting faster to problems.”

But this simply isn’t true.

Real agility means turning uncertainty into advantage before problems hit.

We recently worked with a global pharmaceutical company whose next-gen leaders were stuck in crisis mode. Through a mix of coaching, mentoring, and hands-on leadership projects, we helped shift their mindset and build real resilience.

Our results:

◾ 24% improvement in agility scores

◾ Half earned promotions earlier than expected

◾ And a shift from reactive habits to future-focused leadership

This is what actually builds resilient leaders:

◾ Growth mindset over perfectionism

◾ Scenario planning over wishful thinking

◾ Continuous feedback over annual reviews

◾ Emotional intelligence over technical skills alone

One newly promoted manager stands out. She went from struggling with ambiguity to guiding her team through rapid organizational change, in just a few months. The difference wasn’t talent. It was coaching that built her ability to stay steady and proactive, no matter the pressure.

Most companies wait until leaders are drowning to throw them a lifeline.

Smart organizations build swimmers before the storm hits.

Stop waiting for your high-potential leaders to figure it out alone.

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