In this second episode of our two-part series on navigating the four seasons of successful CEO leadership, Carolyn Dewar and Kurt Strovink, two of the authors of the upcoming book A CEO For All Seasons, share insights drawn from top-performing CEOs on how to navigate the middle two stages of CEO leadership—starting strong as a new CEO and staying ahead—to maintain long-term effectiveness while at the top.

Carolyn Dewar, a coauthor of the New York Times bestselling CEO Excellence, is a senior partner at McKinsey & Company and founded and co-leads the firm’s global CEO excellence client service line. She is a frequent keynote speaker on leadership and transformation.

Kurt Strovink, a coauthor of the national bestseller The Journey of Leadership: How CEOs Lead from the Inside Out, is a senior partner at McKinsey & Company. Kurt leads the firm’s global CEO services practice and is also a member of McKinsey’s Board of Directors.

Related insights

A CEO for All Season: Mastering the Cycles of Leadership

Sending it forward: Successfully transitioning out of the CEO role

Staying ahead: How the best CEOs continually improve performance

Stepping up: Becoming a high-potential CEO candidate

Starting strong: Making your CEO transition a catalyst for renewal

The inner game of women CEOs

The CEO’s essential checklist: Questions every chief executive should be able to answer

Leadership lessons from the world’s best CEOs

Serving a greater purpose: CEO Excellence revisited

Building leaders from the ground up

The art of 21st-century leadership: From succession planning to building a leadership factory

CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets that Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest

McKinsey Insights on Strategy & Corporate Finance

McKinsey Strategy & Corporate Finance on LinkedIn