How To Lead In The New Era Of Moving Targets

FILE – MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred speaks during a news conference Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025, in … More Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

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How To Lead In The New Era Of Moving Targets

Corporate leadership and business success depend on having clear targets. Financial performance, shareholder returns, diversity, climate goals, and community impact have become performance indicators that CEOs were expected to meet—often exceeding prior benchmarks year after year. However, Under the Trump administration, leadership has shifted to aiming for lowered or disappearing targets.

This shift is particularly visible in the areas of diversity and climate change. In the U.S., targets in both categories are being challenged, weakened, or altogether dismantled.

For instance, Major League Baseball has removed mentions of diversity from its careers webpage. It joins many companies changing their DEI measures in response to President Trump making these issues a focus for his second term. The Trump administration also plans to repeal significant environmental regulations, including pollution limits and protections for wetlands, according to the New York Times.

At the same time, regulators and corporations in global markets are raising the bar on social and environmental compliance. New climate reporting standards such as the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are forming the baseline for emerging mandatory sustainability reporting globally. Corporate leaders, especially in multinationals, must navigate two conflicting realities: one where they drive value globally through DEI and sustainability targets, and another where they are political risks at home.

Leaders need to understand this complex territory and need new targets to ensure their companies thrive domestically and internationally.

Diversity Targets In Reverse

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) had been a fast-rising priority in boardrooms and C-suites. Companies publicly announced hiring goals, equity audits, and racial justice initiatives. Diverse companies earned 36% more in profits than less diverse ones in 2019. This supports the value of strong DEI programs, according to McKinsey.

Currently, the unspoken new target for DEI is effectively zero. The threat of lawsuits, government investigations, and executive orders are pushing companies to either reduce or eliminate DEI initiatives. Corporations are already scaling back, rebranding or staying quiet on DEI programs in response to political pressure.

Google, an early proponent of diversity, equity and inclusion, is a federal contractor that is evaluating changes to its programs to follow recent court decisions and U.S. Executive Orders on this topic. “We’ll continue to invest in states across the U.S. — and in many countries globally — but in the future we will no longer have aspirational goals, ” said Chief People Officer Fiona Cicconi.

Despite domestic pressures, multinational companies still need to comply with international standards such as the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive that mandates transparent disclosures on workforce diversity. U.S.-based firms operating in Europe must maintain strong DEI initiatives to avoid reputational damage, regulatory penalties, and pushback from investors.

Climate Change Targets In Reverse

The same reversal of targets is happening in the area of climate change. After decades of momentum around reducing carbon emissions, investing in renewables, and setting net-zero targets, the U.S. federal government has changed course under Trump. Officials have rolled back major climate policies, and they are now actively promoting fossil fuel production.

The future of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which once promised hundreds of billions in clean energy investment, is uncertain, according to Forbes. Corporate climate targets, once aligned with the Paris Agreement, are now being revisited. In many companies, the new climate target is less ambitious or paused altogether. In some sectors, the implicit target is simply not to mention climate at all. This has led to a new term: “green hushing.”

On the international stage the story is very different. The European Union’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) is being expanded. Japan has strengthened its 2030 decarbonization targets. U.S. companies that export goods or manage global supply chains need to follow guidelines like the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).

6 Ways To Lead With New Targets

It’s still possible to be a leader in this increasingly complex landscape but change is needed. CEOs need a new approach that reduces risk and creates opportunities in the US, complies with increasing expectations in global markets, and is rooted in the purpose and values of their organizations. Leaders should consider developing new targets based on the following areas of opportunity:

Purpose: First and foremost, corporate leaders need to make decisions that support the stated purpose of their organizations. Doing so will ensure that short term decisions don’t compromise long term strategy and value.
Region: Clearly delineate strategies for U.S. versus international markets. This will help reduce risk at home and increase profitability from global markets.
Employees and Stakeholders: Engage employees and external stakeholders in developing a unique narrative and set of targets that reflects their social and environmental priorities. There’s no better way to be authentic than giving a voice to the people that matter most to your organization.
Local Leaders: Empower regional teams to make decisions aligned with their regulatory environments. This ensures compliance without forcing a one-size-fits-all approach.
Data: Peter Druker’s famous saying “what gets measured, gets managed” is more important than ever. In the short and long term, leaders need reliable data based on double materiality, to defend the value of their investments in ESG.
Future-Proof: The collapse of DEI and climate change targets is temporary. CEOs should protect long-term value by maintaining the internal infrastructure, external partnerships, and data systems to rapidly scale DEI and climate efforts when the pendulum swings back.

CEOs can use these strategies to balance changes in domestic policy and growing international expectations. This will ensure that their organizations remain compliant, competitive, and reputable globally.

Under the Trump administration, the American corporate leadership paradigm has shifted from setting and achieving progressively higher targets to rationalizing or reducing them altogether. This reversal creates significant complexity for global companies that must meet rising standards elsewhere. In this age of contradictory mandates, the most successful leaders will be those who can manage ambiguity, navigate political currents, and remain accountable to the long-term global expectations of progress, even when the targets at home disappear.