Alan McLaren is a leadership advisor who has personally advised more than 600 chief executives across a wide range of industries and geographies. He also served as global chair of YPO, at a time when the organization represented more than 32,000 executives across 150 countries. His work has centered on how senior leaders make decisions, build culture, and earn trust at scale.
Background
Alan’s career has moved through operational and leadership roles in large organizations, with early experience in sales and training. He described a period at Canon, where he worked as a sales manager and later in the sales training area, as formative in shaping his views on standards, culture, and how leaders set expectations inside a business.
Over time, Alan took on broader executive responsibilities and was appointed president of a business during a difficult period. In that role, he said he had to close four offices and fire 175 people, a reminder for him that leadership sometimes requires actions that are far from the idealized image of the role. He also emphasized that such decisions are easier to understand when they are viewed in the context of what the business needs at a specific moment, rather than as a fixed leadership style.
His later work has focused on advising CEOs and senior teams, including through his leadership at YPO, where he operated in a peer-led environment that relied more on influence than authority. That experience reinforced his view that effective leadership is less about formal power than about clarity, consistency, and the ability to build trust across different people and situations.
Across those roles, Alan has developed a practical view of leadership shaped by execution, culture, and judgment under pressure. The through line in his career is an interest in what actually helps organizations function well when the stakes are high and the answers are not simple.
Core Expertise
Alan is best known for advising senior leaders on leadership judgment, culture, and decision-making. His perspective is especially grounded in working with chief executives, turnaround situations, and peer-led leadership environments, where the challenge is often less about formal authority than about getting people aligned and willing to execute.
A recurring theme in his approach is that leadership is a people business first, which means standards, communication, and trust have to be handled deliberately. He also places strong emphasis on incentives, unintended consequences, and the need to test decisions both intellectually and emotionally. In his view, good leaders think through the numbers, the culture, and the human impact at the same time, rather than treating them as separate issues.
Academia
The transcript provided does not include Alan’s undergraduate education.
The transcript provided does not include graduate, executive, or professional education details.
No additional academic credentials or professional certifications were referenced in the materials provided.
Key Perspectives that Alan McLaren Shares on the Podcast
Alan argues that the best leaders are servant leaders, but he defines that in practical terms rather than as a slogan. For him, servant leadership means serving the team, creating trust and clarity, and being consistent enough that people know what to expect. He repeatedly returns to the idea that leaders should give credit when things go well and take responsibility when they do not.
He also stresses that pressure exposes how leaders really behave. In his view, good judgment depends on recognizing one’s own triggers, avoiding incongruence between words and actions, and making decisions with an eye to unintended consequences. He is skeptical of overly elaborate frameworks, preferring simple discipline, strong communication, and enough self-awareness to keep an organization aligned even when the room is tense.
A Quote from this Conversation with Alan McLaren
“When things are going well, give credit to the team and when things are going poorly, take responsibility.”
