How the right operating model can close your performance gap

How the right operating model can close your performance gap

Author: McKinsey People & Organizational Performance July 30, 2025 Duration: 24:16

A smart strategy is vital—but in today’s fast-changing world, it isn’t enough. Our research suggests that even high-performing companies fail to deliver on the potential of their strategy, to the tune of about 30 percent. But the right operating model can change all that. “The opportunity that comes from closing the 30 percent gap between strategy and performance is real,” according to McKinsey Partner Dickie Steele. On this episode of McKinsey Talks Talent, Dickie joins McKinsey Senior Partner Brooke Weddle, Partner Bryan Hancock, and Global Editorial Director and Deputy Publisher Lucia Rahilly to share a new system for reexamining your operating model to create unique competitive advantage.

See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information


Hosted by McKinsey People & Organizational Performance, McKinsey Talks Talent is a series of conversations for anyone tasked with building and guiding teams through constant disruption. Rather than offering abstract theories, this podcast grounds itself in the practical realities leaders face today, from government policy shifts to rapid technological adoption. Regular hosts and talent experts Brooke Weddle and Bryan Hancock sit down with a range of globally recognized practitioners and thinkers. Their discussions dig into the tangible aspects of transformational change, leadership development, and the nuanced work of actually placing people at the center of strategy. Each episode moves beyond simply diagnosing challenges to explore how organizations can genuinely leverage their workforce as a durable source of advantage. You’ll hear specific ideas on navigating the evolving social contract of work, reshaping organizational design, and fostering the agility needed in modern business. It’s a resource for executives, managers, and policymakers who understand that the most complex questions in today’s landscape are ultimately human ones. Tune in for grounded perspectives that connect talent directly to performance and resilience.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 43

McKinsey Talks Talent
Podcast Episodes
The problem with ‘bringing your whole self to work’ [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:08
Being yourself at work has become a corporate mantra—and it certainly started in a well-meaning way. But it can also have significant downsides, according to Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, author of Don’t Be Yourself: Why Auth…
US manufacturing’s next test: Building a workforce for a new era [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:50
Manufacturing is back at the center of the US economic agenda. Yet the sector faces a persistent talent shortage—and to bridge it, leaders will need to rethink how they attract, train, and retain a new generation of manu…
How smart people end up in the wrong careers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:17
Many high performers think they’re doing everything right—yet still feel somehow wrong about their day-to-day. And the advent of AI means work-related decision-making is more complex than ever. As job uncertainty ups the…
What leaders can learn from Homeboy Industries [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:53
In the US, many companies still struggle to fill essential roles. What if part of the solution involves talent that has traditionally been overlooked? Take Johanna Carbajal, who spent her adolescence shuttling between ju…
Building a talent pipeline for the AI era [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:49
AI is ushering in a new era of work, and smart employers are staying ahead of the curve by rethinking how to cultivate the skills their organizations need to thrive. The best leaders realize they won’t be able to do it a…
Talent wins: the growing business of women’s sports [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:48
On this episode of McKinsey Talks Talent, McKinsey talent experts Brooke Weddle and Bryan Hancock join Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly for a conversation with Jason Wright, managing partner and head of investment…
What the labor market isn’t telling you—yet [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:10
AI is fast transforming work as we’ve known it—and the latest data on jobs doesn’t always reflect the changes underway. “One word sums it up best: ‘uncertainty,’” says Svenja Gudell, chief economist of global employment…
The future of work is agentic [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:29
Think about your org chart. Now imagine it features both your current colleagues—humans, if you’re like most of us—and AI agents. That’s not science fiction; it’s happening—and it’s happening relatively quickly, accordin…
The surprising state of employee health [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:32
Leaders have long recognized the importance of a healthy workforce to driving economic productivity. But they might be surprised at the value at stake—and at the size of the employee population in less-than-fine fettle.…
How to get return to office right [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:02
Return to office (RTO) is on the rise. But in the words of McKinsey partner and talent expert Bryan Hancock, “It doesn’t matter where you ask someone to be. What matters is what you do with them once they’re there.” On t…