A CEO for All Seasons: Mastering the Cycles of Leadership

by Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, Vikram Malhotra

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"A CRASH COURSE IN HOW TO BE AN EFFECTIVE CEO." --Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and Hidden Potential and host of the podcast

From leading global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company and the minds behind the New York Times bestseller CEO Excellence comes a compact, insight-packed guide to navigating the distinct phases of leadership that every CEO must pass through on their way to mastery.

In the high-stakes world of corporate leadership, becoming a Fortune 500 CEO is an Everest-like ascent - with only the savviest managing to avoid falling off the mountain. In A CEO for All Seasons you'll find an essential climbing route that will take you through every stage. Featured in this tip-dense guide is wisdom from some of the world's most iconic leaders, including Dell Technologies' Michael Dell, Merck's Ken Frazier, Nasdaq's Adena Friedman, Morgan Stanley's James Gorman, Blackstone's Steve Schwarzman, ASML's Peter Wennink, and Chevron's Mike Wirth.

Unique in applying a number of sophisticated metrics to isolate the world's top 200 CEOs, reduce them to a representative sample, and then reap their wisdom, the McKinsey team, in A CEO for All Seasons, spotlights the specific stage-based hurdles that CEOs face. From preparing for the role to starting strong to sustaining momentum to ensuring a lasting legacy, the book leaves no segment of the journey unmapped. Along the way, it offers proven strategies for maintaining forward progress and, crucially, alerts readers to common blind spots that can sabotage success, as revealed by a detailed survey of thousands of executives.

Whether you're an aspiring leader or a new-to-the-job CEO - or even a board member wanting to better steward your company's performance - this is the compact, hands-on guide you've needed. Its compendium of pressure-tested tips is a must-have game changer for leaders at all levels.

Genres: Business, Leadership, Buisness, Nonfiction

188 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 7, 2025

Reviews

[Evan Piekara · Rating 1 out of 5]

All style and no substance.

I was really excited for this book’s release and even pre-ordered it. It seemed to have it all - esteemed writers, a catchy title, interesting subject matter. I expected so much from this book and it sorely missed expectations.

First, the “insights” were extremely generic and nothing groundbreaking. These were insights like dress appropriately for the role, build relationships, and standout. A third of the book were one pager bios of the CEOs who were supposedly interviewed for this book.

This easily could have been a quick article and even then, there would not have been much to takeaway. Save your time and money and read something else.

[Steve Brock · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have selected this book as Stevo's Business Book of the Week for the week of 10/5, as it stands heads above other recently published books on this topic.

[Goatllama · Rating 1 out of 5]

We are rich! But we are not rich enough! What do??

OH

I KNOW

We fart out garbage book waste of paper!

YAY

[Peter Sandwall · Rating 3 out of 5]

weak. sold on the McKinsey reputation, unfortunately on brand.

[Christine O’Neal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a strong, readable entry in the growing genre of “leadership as cycle” literature. The central idea—that different phases of an organization require fundamentally different CEO archetypes—is both intuitive and operationally useful. Rather than presenting leadership as a fixed personality type, the book frames it as a sequence of roles: builder, operator, stabilizer, transformer. That alone makes it more realistic than most one-size-fits-all leadership advice.

Where the book succeeds is in its structural honesty. It acknowledges that:
• What makes a leader effective in one phase can make them dangerous in another.
• Organizations move through natural cycles whether leaders like it or not.
• Misalignment between leader type and system phase is a major source of failure.

That’s a useful corrective to the myth of the universally competent executive.

However, the framework still operates mostly inside a traditional, externally focused leadership model—one concerned with strategy, markets, capital, and organizational design. What’s largely missing is the constraint layer that comes from the human, relational, and cultural substrate the organization actually runs on.

In other words, the book models the seasons of the system, but not always the seasons of the field that sustains it.

Every organization has:
• morale cycles
• trust cycles
• meaning cycles
• legitimacy cycles

These don’t move at the same speed as strategy or financial performance. When leadership models focus only on external cycles—growth, decline, turnaround, expansion—they can miss the slower, deeper rhythms that determine whether the organization actually has the social and psychological coherence to survive those transitions.

That missing constraint is often what causes otherwise “correct” strategic moves to fail.

A turnaround that ignores cultural exhaustion fails.
A growth push that outruns trust capacity fractures the team.
A cost-cutting phase that violates internal meaning structures accelerates long-term decay.

So while CEO of All Seasons does an excellent job mapping strategic leadership archetypes, it would be even stronger if it incorporated the cyclical dynamics of the human and cultural substrate those leaders are operating within.

Still, as a practical leadership framework, it’s clear, memorable, and more structurally grounded than most books in the category. It’s especially valuable for boards, investors, and executives trying to understand why the “right” leader at one stage can become the wrong one at the next.

[Jeevan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A CEO for All Seasons is one of the most actionable leadership books I’ve read in a while. Instead of offering generic advice, it frames the CEO journey as four seasons Spring (preparation), Summer (transition), Fall (sustaining performance), and Winter (succession) and uses that structure to deliver clear, prescriptive guidance.

The authors draw heavily from CEOs and research, emphasizing that great leaders are the ones who renew their institutions, stay relentlessly curious, and “get better at getting better.” I especially liked the focus on mindsets and behaviors that actually move the needle: bold direction setting, treating the “soft stuff” as the hard stuff, listening before acting, and doing only what only you can do.

The book is packed with memorable ideas such as S-curves of renewal, laddering, the Lake Wobegon effect, the primacy effect, the say–do ratio, beginner’s mind, and the distinction between flag planters and road builders. It also doesn’t shy away from the realities of the job: the personal tradeoffs, the need for objectivity, and the importance of preparing successors so the institution thrives after you.

If you’re aspiring to the role, already in it, or simply curious about what separates top CEOs from the rest, this book offers a thoughtful blend of frameworks, stories, and practical tools. It’s less about hero worship and more about how to learn, adapt, and lead across every phase of the journey.

[Tommy Clark · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is a well researched and cited guide to the different stages of being a CEO. It helps understand the role of a leader at the level of personality and goals. It is only about 100 pages and has some very interesting quotes from CEOs such as Jamie Dimon, Satya Nadella, and others.

This book, however, feels most practical for senior executives at companies who are already candidates for being a CEO. For others, it is an interesting but not actionable perspective.

The book has reflection exercises as well as executive biographies which are interesting. I would recommend this book to anyone who is expecting or in a leadership role at a business to help reflect on themselves. For all others, I would bookmark it and read it when you find yourself in that position.

[Ligia Bonetti · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book’s core insight is that great CEOs are made through range, resilience, and adaptability(not a single perfect profile). The authors show that aspiring CEOs succeed by learning to lead across different contexts, building judgment through experience, and staying grounded in purpose while navigating constant change. It’s a practical and honest guide for leaders preparing for the CEO role, reinforcing that readiness comes from growth over time, not arrival at a fixed formula. Wished I had read it before becoming the CEO.

[Kelly Teen Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Libro.fm ALC program, I was able to listen to this audiobook in the morning on my way to work. A critical reminder that being a leader isn't about being hired, but having aspirations , dreams, grace, and grit. It's about being honest with oneself and everyone around you: at home and in office. it's about growth, not just gains.

[Andrew Beurschgens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Structured and not embellished so much as to forget or bury the key points. As Stephen Bartlett would say it was written without the extra padding to reach a certain length, so efficient from that perspective…..and good analogy of CEOs across the seasons to remember the changing seasons and how priorities change! Thank you

[Blair Epstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very quick read (which i think is a good thing) - insights from interviews with out-performing CEOs, translated into practical tips that apply to any leader. Really like how pragmatic it is, including reflection exercises you can do to make it real vs a long-winded business book. Worth picking up

[Charles Barthold · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title is deceptive. This book applies to anyone who wants to be a better leader. Great anecdotes and examples from some of the top CEOs in the world. If you don't have time to read, worth skimming.

[Terry Lutz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good insight but most of it seemed pretty basic leadership ideas.
The 4 cycle idea was interesting and helpful.
I’d recommend it to up start CEOs to give a well rounded insight into the responsibilities and difficulties of being a CEO

[Alex Wang · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very generic advice, despite the flashy brand name. As other reviewers noted, the advice is actionable for people who are in senior roles and perhaps CEO candidates, but less so for early-career people.

[PottWab Regional Library]

E

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

indont want to ever be a ceo but I can tell that some of the advice can apply to other areas of life

[Elizabeth Whittington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short read but insightful in terms of the CEO journey. It also has great points for those looking for lower-level leadership positions.

[Terrence Spurlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only on CEO’s.