At a recent gathering of the Page Society Future Leaders Exchange focused on Leadership and Transformation, I had the pleasure of hosting a conversation on enterprise leadership mindset alongside several of my Gagen colleagues. I shared the perspective that an enterprise leader is one who leads with purpose and focuses on the success of the entire organization and its stakeholders. This type of leader prioritizes organizational outcomes and an interconnected approach rather than focusing solely on their own department or team.
The topic is top-of-mind for companies right now—in MIT Sloan’s Global 2025 CEO Survey, 79% of leaders from major international organizations said it was extremely important to have leaders who act on behalf of the entire organization and not just their units. The rest said it was very important. And nearly 65% expect at least half of their senior and mid-level managers to behave as enterprise leaders. In light of ongoing transformation, their CEO research emphasizes a shift from a hierarchical model to one that emphasizes navigating complexity, holding an enterprise-wide view, enabling consistent excellence and building future leaders.
...an enterprise leader is one who leads with purpose and focuses on the success of the entire organization and its stakeholders.
— Maril MacDonald, Founder & CEO of Gagen MacDonald
What can organizations do to cultivate an enterprise leadership mindset?
Enterprise leadership isn’t about stepping into a senior role. It’s about leading for collective impact instead of a narrow focus on performance metrics. Enterprise leaders who think far and broad and collaborate openly are more important than ever. As problems get more complex, you need a holistic view to manage paradoxes and complex tradeoffs if you want to create value for all stakeholders.
Mid-level leaders can’t develop this holistic perspective on their own, so it’s critical for senior leaders to be role models. We all need to understand the separate and competing realities that exist in a complicated business. Therefore, it’s incumbent upon us to make sure everyone is getting the full, in-depth view of the business and market environment within which they need to operate.
In today's environment, rife with risk and uncertainty, we need to support and encourage our people to embrace different perspectives and test assumptions. Leaders need to encourage a culture of curiosity, experimentation and continuous learning, where new ideas are fostered and tested across multiple vantage points. This builds the shared understanding for cultures that are truly powered by enterprise leadership.
