The 3 steps smart CEOs are taking in a volatile tariff environment, according to the head of a major global leadership advisory firm

Business leaders around the world are struggling to enjoy their breath. Executive managers are dealing with the volatile stock market, very uncertainty in customs tariffs, and a group of other issues that have arisen during the past few months.

Constantine Alexandrachis, CEO of Russell Reynolds Associates, advises the councils of corporate and executives for decades. He says that political and geographical uncertainty is largely up to leaders, according to the company’s recent report on C-SUITE’s priorities in 2025. “There have been no widespread changes in politics in this country like this for a long time.”

Alexandrachis spoke luck About the most feared executive managers at the present time, and how the shaky markets have caused artificial intelligence, and why senior executives make many trips to Washington.

This interview has been edited and intensified for clarity.

Wealth: What keeps the executives at night?

Constantine Alexandrarakis: Executive chiefs are concerned. They spend a lot of time in Washington, as you know, in an attempt to relinquish their case. This is not just uncertainty. It is actually the uncertainty about uncertainty. Executive chiefs began to see a real impact on their work. They start, behind closed doors, to be more open about their concerns about some customs tariff policies. There have been no widespread changes in politics in this country for a long time. [Corporate leaders are] Trying to have experience in government relations quickly they do not have.

They also think – if they are doing business in Asia – how do they revolve around some of the restrictions that occur? There is awareness that the reality here, and that it will affect us in different ways, and [CEOs are] Tactical attempt to see how to adjust.

But there is a point of view that this may be a moment that can actually jump what we all play, in terms of artificial intelligence, to find new competencies.

How will new competencies be found with artificial intelligence?

If the revenues become unexpected, this means that the expenses of the financial statements must be managed more carefully. Are there ways to use artificial intelligence to jump productivity gains that can help in the time of the crisis?

There is an emerging consensus that you can get, through corporate jobs, up to 25 or 30 % of productivity gains through the implementation of agents, and the benefits that these can generate. In every situation in which the economy is pressed, there is a window of innovation and change that has risen. So just as in the epidemic, where the use of remote communication technologies and other communication technologies have been accelerated, the executive presidents say: “Is this an opportunity to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence to help us on the expense line?”

Do we see an era of “CEO as a diplomat?”

Almost all the CEO I spoke to is to take a trip through [Washington D.C.]And the team searching for our government relations is more preoccupied than ever. [Leaders] The other side also transmits from [political issues] Whether it is in Canada, China or so.

Are the search teams for government relations in Overdrive now?

They are definitely. Someone asked me, “I mean, is this normal? Doesn’t that happen after every new president is elected?” And I say, “I mean, somewhat, but not noticeable. This is noticeable. This is noticeable.”

What makes a good government relations specialist, and where do you find it?

The high -level things I say are: people who understand how to reach the right leaders in Washington, how to enter the White House, and relationships with current people with an impact in management, and they can build a strategy on how to link the company’s issues to today’s issue, and push the company’s interests in this regard.

What is the challenge for talent at the C-SUITE level with which you are now working with it?

The biggest challenge if you are a major executive official is: Is this the moment of uncertainty as you make a change? Whether you are an executive manager in a new company or a large leader, it is a little more difficult at the present time to accelerate what the economy is going, and what resources you can access in a new job, the extent of slowing investments, and the duration of the supply chain shocks.

[Uncertainty] It hurts people’s willingness to be mobile. He does not stop employment in his paths, but it creates more questions when someone is recruited for something.

What is the best leaders now to move at this time of uncertainty?

In general, they are three things: one exudes gravel, which is about focusing on the implementation of the strategy. The second number is the exudation of confidence [while also] To be modest about the challenges we face in the environment. And the third goes outside.

The best leaders during these times, in turn [focus] Outside and stay close to its customers, go out and spend time with them more than they do. It means facing the negative impact of focusing internally at a time when the world turns and does not want to miss any of your customers’ movements.

Do you think that corporate culture will come out of this period differently?

I think it is an opportunity for companies to go out stronger in their culture, depending on how to move uncertainty together. Companies that are sure and non -volatile will appear and provide a safe haven for their employees, compared to the uncertainty and fluctuations they see in the outside world, stronger. Their cultures will appear stronger.

This story was originally shown on Fortune.com

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2025-05-02 13:35:00