Sokolov Executive MBA Program
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Sokolov Executive MBA Program
Deloitte’s Anna Marks: Four Tips for Today’s Leaders
A global executive’s perspective on redefining resilience, leading through technological disruption, and adapting to shifting workforce expectations.
- By
- March 23, 2026
- Leadership
Thriving—not just surviving—in an era of relentless change demands clarity, adaptability, and a willingness to keep learning.
That theme anchored a candid fireside chat between Anna Marks, Deloitte global chair, and Chris Lecatsas-Lyus, senior global director for Global Career and Leadership Development at Chicago Booth’s Robert Rothman, ’77, London Campus.
Speaking to students in Booth’s Sokolov Executive MBA Program in London, Marks drew on her decades of leadership experience at the professional services network Deloitte to share four practical tips on resilience, technological disruption, adjusting leadership styles, and the importance of lifelong learning. The conversation offered EMBA students practical guidance for leading with clarity and confidence in uncertain times.
Tip No. 1: Redefine Resilience
For Marks, “be resilient” isn’t just a motto. It’s a leadership discipline shaped by decades of personal and professional experience. Early in her career, Marks said she defined resilience as endurance: getting through high-pressure projects, juggling professional ambition with family life, and emerging intact. But as her responsibilities grew, so did her understanding of what resilience really meant.
Survival, she told EMBA students, is only the starting point. “Resilience to me now is: How do I thrive through this? And how do I help those around me thrive? Because that’s how we get better outcomes.”
Marks recommended three practices that ground her today:
- Cultivate the self-awareness to let logic temper emotion in high-stakes moments.
- Invest deeply in communities that both support and challenge you.
- Protect your mental and physical health with intention.
Energy, she noted, is not incidental to leadership—it’s foundational to it. “My advice to you is to think about what gives you energy, and then write it down and make it happen,” she said.
Tip No. 2: Lead Through the Workforce Revolution
If resilience is personal, the future of work is structural.
Marks emphasized that career pathways today look dramatically different from even a few years ago, and that the pace of change is only accelerating. She sees two primary forces driving that shift: technology and evolving workforce expectations.
“AI is redefining the role of the human in the workplace,” she said. As automation expands, Marks believes that distinctly human capabilities such as curiosity, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and relationship building will only grow in importance. “We have choices to make about how technology augments human capability,” she said, emphasizing the need for leaders who shape that interplay thoughtfully.
At the same time, Marks noted that younger workers are demanding careers with purpose, flexibility, and environments where they can thrive. She highlighted the challenge this presents for those in more senior leadership roles, especially those at larger corporations.
“Not everybody wants the same thing in the workplace,” she said. “As leaders, how do we create the careers that individuals are asking for?” Marks encouraged the EMBA students in attendance to stay agile, reimagine business models within their own organizations, and keep humanity at the center of what they do.
“Sometimes it’s about living a little with the discomfort of not being great, because that’s where the real learning happens.”
— Anna Marks, Deloitte Global Chair
Tip No. 3: Know Your ‘Sparring Partner’
Effective leadership isn’t just about saying the right thing, Marks said. It’s also about being mindful of who your “sparring partner” is.
“If I’m going into a meeting with somebody and I know that they are the kind of person who likes to delve into the detail, then I’ll go in with the detail,” she explained. She highlighted four distinct personality types:
- “Pioneers” who are adaptable and imaginative.
- “Guardians” who are structured and methodical.
- “Drivers” who are focused and logical.
- “Integrators” who are empathic and relationship-oriented.
Adjusting your leadership approach based on who you’re meeting can make a world of difference in getting what you want or need, she said. But this adaptability doesn’t mean compromising your principles or values: “It’s about how you engage with other people to get the best outcome,” Marks said.
Tip No. 4: Stay Curious and Never Stop Learning
Marks ended the talk by telling the EMBA students that she believes effective leadership requires a lifelong-learning mindset to drive transformation.
“There’s always something to learn,” she said. “However senior your position in an organization is, you should never stop learning.” Marks highlighted that this mindset extends beyond formal education—growing as a leader requires curiosity, reflection, and learning from everyone around you throughout your career.
Equally important, she said, is for leaders to create a workplace culture that supports lifelong learning through formal training, peer-to-peer knowledge sharing, and learning through experience.
“Sometimes it’s about living a little with the discomfort of not being great, because that’s where the real learning happens,” she said. By normalizing mistakes as opportunities to learn, she said, leaders can foster innovation while helping their teams develop new skills.
Just as critical is recognizing the limits of your own expertise and intentionally building a team that complements your strengths. “We all have our strengths in certain areas,” Marks said. “As leaders, we need people around us who will spot things that we don’t.”
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