It’s understandable, leaders are hard-wired to jump in and take the reins in times of uncertainty and pressure.  It’s a deeply held pattern of thinking and behaving that can serve leaders well. The impacts in the short term deliver the desired results - what you want to see happen, actually happens. In the longer term this pattern keeps senior leaders busy in execution, puts noise into the system and negatively impacts the very thing businesses need right now; an uplift in capability.

Complexity and inflection points

59% of CEOs surveyed for the KPMG Global CEO Outlook 2025  believe expectations and complexity have evolved significantly in the last five years and acknowledge they must rethink their organizations’ roles and capabilities as well as adapting their growth strategies.

Right now, in this period of significant change we’re navigating not just one, but multiple big shifts or inflection points at once: AI disruption, workforce transformation, geopolitical volatility, economic pressure, changing customer demographics are affecting almost every aspect of work and life. While it might be tempting to try to address each of them sequentially, the reality is that is simply not possible. Nor is it possible for one leader to hold it all.

The level of complexity and uncertainty this next decade is bringing is like nothing we have experienced to date and the old ways of leading, the systems and structures that have been so carefully constructed to support that leadership approach, are no longer fit for purpose. The complexity leaders are navigating today cannot be managed by one person at the top. It requires distributed thinking, judgment at every level and teams that can move without waiting for permission. Controlling leadership diminishes this capability at every turn.

Role refocus

It is time for leaders to refocus their role and determine what is truly required of them as a leader if the business is to thrive. It is about strengthening their own leadership capability in order to build capability in their team. For some this will mean seeking structured feedback on their leadership and being intentional about the kind of leader they need to be, NOT what their personal preference is.

They will undoubtedly need support to develop these skills and my guess is it is not in a traditional leadership development program. Their technical excellence is not what is required of them, presumably they have a team for that. What is required is to build a strong, aligned, capable team.

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