Leading through crisis
Globally, organisations and individuals are facing increasing and multi-faceted forms of crisis. Social, political, and economic turmoil seem to be around every corner.
Stress among workforces around the world has reached an all-time high – according to Gallup, 44% of employees cited experiencing stress a lot on the day prior to being surveyed.
The cost of living crisis has direct implications on work. 47% of UK employees are impacted by money worries, yet research suggests that financial wellbeing is the least common area included in HR strategies and only 11% are actively focusing on it as part of an overall HR and wellbeing strategy.
A McKinsey report also highlights disruptions due to climate change as a major future trend that will shape how organisations function and present a potential barrier to thriving.
“Permacrisis” was named Collins Word of the Year 2022 and is a term that describes ‘an extended period of instability and insecurity’. It acknowledges these multiple ongoing crises the UK and the world have faced and continue to face, including climate change, geopolitical instability, cost of living, loneliness, mental wellbeing and physical health.
Essential skills for experienced and emerging leaders
In order for organisations to navigate resiliently through such adversity and ambiguity, what skills are required for leaders today, and tomorrow, to manage multi-faceted forms of crisis?
We researched the landscape of skills currently cited as being crucial to leadership and crisis to formulate our view, resulting in six primary skills each with four further secondary skills underpinning them. We believe these skills are vital for experienced and emerging leaders to navigate this continuously uncertain environment with humility and strength.
Leaders who predict, prepare and progress
Today’s problems are more complex than ever and navigating crisis looks set to be a permanent feature for leaders and individuals in the years ahead. The pursuit of continuous learning should be at the forefront of this endeavour – developing leaders who have the skillsets to thrive as we’ve explored, equipping them to predict, prepare and progress, to drive organisational growth and performance in difficult times.
We recognise that this level of complexity often requires learning across several niche areas as part of one programme – and our expertise and focus on leadership, wellbeing, sustainability and innovation means that we are equipped with a toolkit to support customers through crisis, using inclusive design and engaging experiences that will create lasting impact.
For more information on how to navigate your organisation through conflict, crisis or change, contact your learning partner or email learningsales@capita.com
To learn more, take a look at our insightful report ‘Leading through crisis’:
Find out more about our learning solutions:
Steph Bright
Senior Consultant – Research & Insights
Steph has a multi-disciplinary learning background having worked across various roles in learning production, customer success and solution design over the last 8 years. Within Capita Education & Learning Steph is responsible for facilitating research and thought leadership to support customer growth and the development of research-driven learning solutions. She is studying a Masters in Organisational Psychology and is a member of the Capita Leadership Council.
