Leaders Solving for Tomorrow

Your expert for questions

Anja Sbanski
Partner, People & Organisation, PwC Germany
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Developing transformative leaders in a complex world

Our innovative leadership development programme supports senior leaders to think through the scale of strategic transformation needed to solve for sustained outcomes.

Our world is confronted with a new scale of complex challenges due to the disruptive and urgent issues that result from human interactions with global megatrends. Facing unprecedented global crises, societies across the world are expecting organisations of all kinds to rethink the way they operate to contribute solutions towards a better future. Organisations that fail to do so will face declining trust from their stakeholders, ultimately risking losing their social licence to operate.

As a result, what’s required of leaders is becoming more complex and challenging as seemingly contradicting problems emerge, and the expectation of those who lead is becoming ever more demanding. 

Organisational success will be driven by those leaders and teams who deeply understand the interconnectedness of the major trends shaping the world today. Those who move beyond ‘either/or’ towards ‘yes/and’ thinking for themselves, their teams, and organisations. Those who enable fast-paced, adaptable decision making, while being curious and open minded to diverse perspectives, and different approaches. What’s been done in the past won’t work in today’s context.

That’s where our Leaders Solving for Tomorrow programme comes in. It’s a collaborative leadership development programme grounded in reality that brings leaders from different organisations and industries around the world together to help think through some of the world's most pressing problems. It prepares them for the challenge of running their organisation in an uncertain world, with competing and conflicting leadership challenges. 

The programme is grounded in reality and builds on some of our best in class thought leadership

PwC identified five Megatrends, which we characterised as deep and profound trends, global in scope and long-term in effect, touching everyone on the planet and shaping our world for many years to come.

With the ADAPT framework, we describe the immediate issues the Megatrends are causing today, largely as a result of human interaction with the trends. The framework summarises some of the most pressing challenges that governments, organisations and individuals need to find answers to: Asymmetries of wealth and opportunity, climate change, the speed and scale of technological development, the imbalance of age and demographics across the world, global fracturing and rising nationalism that causes increasing polarisation, all together leading to the erosion of trust within society.

Business, in particular, must focus on achieving sustained outcomes and building trust to preserve and create financial and social value in a world of increasing risk and opportunity.

One of the immediate implications from ADAPT is that the world needs people to stand up and lead. At all levels, throughout organisations, governments and society alike. And what is required of leaders is becoming more complex and challenging as seemingly irreconcilable problems emerge, the expectation of those who lead is becoming ever more demanding.

Challenges of running an organisation in a complex, interconnected world

We have identified critical and most urgent dilemmas leaders are facing today which are defined by the complex and fast-changing context leaders are required to navigate.

These are the Six paradoxes of leadership. The idea of a paradox is not new for many leaders, but we believe these six are the most critical to master in today’s world. Together they constitute a system that leaders need to navigate and balance gracefully as they manage the seemingly impossible number of demands they face. The challenge leaders face across all aspects of society is to recognise that paradoxes exist and to learn to be comfortable in holding this reality.