ESSENTIALS FOR LEADERS AND THOSE THEY LEAD

With only so many hours in a day to juggle work, life, and everything in between, we’re always seeking ways to be more productive: to get more from our own work and to make meaningful investments in the future growth of our businesses and economies. The world economy has made huge gains in productivity over the past two and a half decades, despite a global financial crisis and a pandemic. Yet many countries are at risk of getting left behind. That threatens the potential prosperity of individuals, businesses, and economies. This week, we assess the ways leaders can foster productivity within their businesses and the economies where they operate.

AN IDEA

Invest in growth and well-being

In the past 25 years, global productivity has seen a meteoric rise and has helped raise living standards around the world. This is especially true in some emerging economies, whose productivity improvements could put them at the level of advanced economies 25 years from now. What do these economies (including China, Ethiopia, India, and Poland) have in common? According to senior partners Chris Bradley, Olivia White, and Sven Smit and their colleagues, they’ve made meaningful investments in areas that increase productivity, such as urbanization, infrastructure, education, and services. Such investments are more critical than ever to economic prosperity, as productivity levels have declined in some parts of the world, particularly in advanced economies. To help reverse the slowdown, businesses can make a critical impact by investing in the adoption of new technologies; in reskilling employees, especially those who are closer to retirement; and in hybrid working arrangements that work best for their people.

A BIG NUMBER

>90%

That’s how many of the world’s businesses are micro-, small, or medium-size enterprises (MSMEs). MSMEs are vital to growth and job creation: they account for almost half of global GDP and for much of the business employment in advanced and emerging economies. But the productivity of these companies lags behind that of their larger counterparts. McKinsey’s Anu Madgavkar, Jan Mischke, Marco Piccitto, Olivia White, and colleagues propose several strategies for improving MSME productivity and helping all economic boats rise. Policy makers, large companies, and other stakeholders, for instance, can create an environment that’s friendlier to small businesses (by improving access to technology, credit, and employee training); large and small businesses can pursue more opportunities for partnership, including mergers; and MSMEs can collaborate to strengthen their respective networks and capabilities.

A QUOTE

“Interacting is easier than ever, but true, productive, value-creating collaboration is not.”

That’s McKinsey’s Aaron De Smet, Patrick Simon, and colleagues describing the productivity paradox of the remote-work age. Employees have myriad tools at their fingertips for connecting with colleagues, no matter where they sit, yet the quality of those connections is on the decline. To turn the page on trivial interactions and actually get things done, the authors point to three types of “collaborative” interactions in the workplace. First is decision making, which relies on clear decisions right from the start. Second is creative solutions and coordination: empowering employees to come up with their own ways of solving problems. Third is information sharing. If leaders and companies develop a deliberate approach to when and why meetings are needed, they can alleviate interaction fatigue and enhance employee productivity.

A SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW

What postpandemic talent trend may be even more counterproductive for companies than high employee turnover? According to senior partner Aaron De Smet, it’s the large number of people who are disengaged from their work but choose to stay. In an interview with The McKinsey Podcast, he spoke about his team’s research on employee productivity, which points to six types of employees. These include quiet quitters, who are doing the bare minimum and can be hard to spot in a hybrid working world. De Smet suggests that open dialogue, especially with quiet quitters, is an important place to start. “Have an authentic conversation where you ask, ‘How are you doing? Are you productive? Are you satisfied?’” he says. “In a few cases, people will not give you the honest answer. But in many other cases, if you really listen, the answer will be there.”

— Edited by Daniella Seiler, executive editor, Washington, DC

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