IMD-OWP22-PostEvent-Report-V11[8]

→Leadership

COMMON SENSE OR COMMON PRACTICE?

To borrow a much-used metaphor from the last two years, responding to uncertainty has arguably become the “new normal”. How can leaders respond to the rapid changes and crises of the “new normal”?

In recent years, society has experienced a veritable “tsunami” of challenges and rapid changes. The COVID-19 pandemic infected every country with deadly consequences and fundamentally transformed the way people live and work. The US presidential transfer of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden was beleaguered with controversy and a stampede on Capitol Hill that questioned the very nature of democracy.

Just as the world anticipated a steadier state in early 2022, COVID-19 transmuted into monkeypox, Russia sent shockwaves through the world by sending troops into the Ukraine, and stock markets plummeted to their lowest levels in years. These geopolitical events have challenged the very notions of safety and predictability in society, saturating leadership with unprecedented challenges and complexity.

HEATHER CAIRNS-LEE Adjunct Professor of Leadership

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