Creating the Leaders50

At Thinkers50 one of our core beliefs is that there is nothing so practical as a great idea. We have always sought to champion management thinkers and ideas able to make the leap from concept to practice.  

And so the inaugural Leaders50 is a natural development of our work. Leading organisations is where all the bright ideas, the frameworks, the tools, the tidy matrixes, the beliefs and visions, finally are confronted by the messy demands of reality.

In Summer 2024 we set out to find inspiring leaders of organisations from throughout the world.

Our starting point was a definition of leadership which we road-tested with thinkers and practitioners whenever we had the chance. Finally, we settled on a definition of leadership as inspiring purposeful action that achieves remarkable outcomes. This combination of inspiration-purpose-action-achievement-results seemed to capture the essence of leadership.

Our next step was to establish some ground rules. One of the things about leadership is that if you ask people about leaders they often tend to talk about political, religious, military or sporting leaders. Of course, there are wonderful examples of leadership within these groups. But, we wanted to highlight leadership within organisations which don’t have the constraints, idiosyncrasies, baggage and geographical limitations of those categories. Similarly we ruled out leaders who are primarily activists, artists, athletes or actors.

So, we decided that all the leaders featured in the Leaders50 should be currently active leaders in organisations. (Along the way it is also notable how often people suggest leaders who have actually retired. Somehow the halo of being a leader carries on.) We wanted their organisations to be significant in scope and/or impact. They could be for profit or not-for-profit, but needed to be independently financially viable.

The next step was to establish our criteria. What kind of leadership do we believe in or advocate? How can and should the achievements of leaders be measured? What are the benchmarks, the standards? What marks a leader out from the crowd?

Faced with such big questions we asked much smarter people from our Community for their views on what we should be looking for. Distilling their wisdom down we decided that the foundation elements for any leader are their contribution in three areas: 

• Organisational Impact: How is the leader enhancing their organisation’s performance and aligning it with a clear, purposeful vision?  
• Economic Contribution: Is the leader’s work contributing to the local, national or global economy in a positive way?
• Social Purpose: Is the leader advancing social and environmental sustainability, ensuring that their initiatives benefit both humanity and the planet in a harmonious and lasting manner?

Of course, leadership does not solely breathe the rarified air of organisational impact, economic contribution and social purpose. And so, the second level of analysis is concerned with character: 

• Role Model: Does the leader act as a positive role model for future leaders by demonstrating empathy, ethical behaviour, and inspiring others through their actions?
• Stakeholder Satisfaction: To what extent does the leader foster stakeholder satisfaction, particularly among employees and customers, by creating a culture of trust and collaboration?
• Leadership Style: Does the leader exhibit a distinctive and effective leadership style that positively influences the organisation’s culture, innovation and overall success?

In our frenetic times it is tempting to see leadership as something practised in the moment and solely focused on that moment. But it is clear to us that true leadership stretches into the future and seeks to constantly build for that future. The final element in our criteria looks to the future and the ability of the leader to build a lasting legacy. In particular, we ask:

• Leadership Development: Is the leader and their organisation successfully developing leaders who are prepared to meet future challenges and opportunities? 
• Organisational Resilience and Adaptability: Is the leader fostering organisational resilience and adaptability by equipping individuals with the skills, mindset, and resources needed to thrive in a rapidly changing environment
• Visionary Impact: Does the leader have a compelling and forward-thinking vision that inspires others and drives the organisation toward long-term success and sustainability?

Armed with our definition and criteria we set out to canvas the Thinkers50 Community of world-class management thinkers across the world. More than 600 Community members were asked to nominate current leaders whose leadership they find inspiring. Suggestions began arriving very quickly and have been arriving ever since. What constitutes inspiring leadership is something which people have an opinion on—perhaps not surprisingly as many in our Community are at the forefront of the study of leadership and organisations.

During September we investigated each and every name suggested to us. We looked into the leaders and their organisations, cross-checking with others in the Thinkers50 Community. Our colleague Lauri Lähteenmaa examined the financial performance of the organisations. Spreadsheets were produced.

By October we had a long list of around 200 names, whittled down from more than 600.  This was shared with friends and advisers on five continents. The long-list became a shorter-list and then a short-list and eventually our final listing of 50 inspiring leaders.

We have spent enough time around academics to know that it is sensible and realistic to provide some caveats to the Leaders50. Leadership is not a precise science. The Leaders50 listing is ultimately based on the judgments of people. The fortunes of organisations and those who lead them ebb and flow. Events can overtake and overwhelm the best run organisations and their leaders.

What remains certain is that leadership is important—perhaps never more so. The challenges facing the world, organisations and individuals are enormous. We do not know all of the elements which will be necessary to begin to tackle these challenges. But, we do know that none of those challenges will be overcome without leadership. Leaders50 shines a light on some exceptional leaders in the hope that others may learn from them, be inspired by them and take on the mantle of leadership.

Acknowledgements

Leadership is a team activity. We have been fortunate to have some great team members throughout the world as we have assembled the Leaders50. Shane Cragun has been a sounding board as the project has evolved from his base in Kuala Lumpur. In India Amit Kapoor at the Institute for Competitiveness did not hesitate to involve his team in our early research and content creation. Thank you to Neera Vohra, Meenakshi Ajith and Jessica Duggal. In Canada, Dan Pontefract offered blooming constructive and helpful feedback at all stages. In Australia we drew on the head and heart of Kirstin Ferguson. Bernd Vogel of the  Henley Centre for Leadership Africa provided essential insights on leadership in Africa. And, in Spain we were pleased again to have the support of Executive Excellence and Federico Fernández de Santos.

We were delighted to have some great partners on board to share ideas with and generate content. In particular the effervescent Sanyin Siang, director of Duke University’s Coach K Center on Leadership & Ethics at its Fuqua School of Business, provided suggestions, positivity and enthusiasm throughout. Anders Indset and Robin Weninger from the Global Institute for Leadership & Technology signed up immediately and offered insights and opinions at every stage. Likewise, we were delighted to be joined by The Leadership Consortium. Cara Shortsleeve and Anne Morriss have been enthusiastic, knowledgeable and fun partners. We have also begun working alongside the Stockholm School of Economics. 

We look forward to developing the Leaders50 with our Community, friends and partners. The next Leaders50 will be announced in 2026.

Feedback

If you have any feedback, thoughts or suggestions on the Leaders50 please let us know by emailing .