Case Study: Are the Right People in the Right Seats?

This fictionalized case study examines Shannon Levy, a newly hired CEO who is contemplating how to align her inherited senior leadership team with her vision to modernize the struggling retail real estate development company she has been brought in to turn around amidst challenges from e-commerce and the pandemic. Faced with internal resistance, Shannon is contemplating personnel changes to ensure strategic alignment. Her dilemma revolves around how to fulfill her core leadership philosophy of placing the right people in the right positions while striking a balance between being too aggressive or too reliant on consultants to guide these decisions. Two real world experts -- Michelle Mackay, the CEO of Cushman & Wakefield, and Jeff Jones, the president and CEO of H&R Block -- offer their advice.