Change is constant, but leadership?

“I am fed up.” “There is no point in making a point.” “The race to do more and more is just completely draining.” Such comments were always part of “some” leadership conversations. They are now part of nearly most of the conversations. Coaching sessions are journeys into the person’s potential. They have become dominated by stress catharsis of leaders burned out due to the constant change happening in organisations. No doubt the past year has been very unsettling. No country is safe.

“We used to make alternative supply routes through the Middle East as war erupted in Ukraine. Now even those routes have become a hazard.” Conflicts, recession, inflation, route closures, logistics, customer boycotts are making this so-called global world look very fragmented. Organisations are finding stability the biggest challenge. Companies are facing mega-shortages and shutdowns. Change, as we know, does also provide opportunities. The question is: Are the leaders ready to convert these adversities into opportunities?

The Global Leadership forecast report 2027 published by DDI i.e., Development Dimension International is out. It tells an interesting story. The Global Leadership Forecast 2027 is the largest and longest-running leadership study of its kind, with approximately 26.4 million data points revealing what leaders are up against in this quicksand changing world.

The report says that organisations expect leaders to perform through relentless change, but most are not prepared for it. Only 17% of leaders feel very prepared to anticipate and react to change. The rest of the 83% are vulnerable to change fatigue as demands continue to pile up. Nearly one in five frequently feel “used up” at the end of the workday. Just imagine an engine whose gas has been almost used up, how do you think it will work? That is why these findings are critical for company growth.

One of the main reasons for this mega-depleter is that most organisations are in a constant flux of restructuring. On paper, it looks simple. A plant may be shut down. A new unit may be added. Processes may be redesigned. These may look obvious changes in the Boardroom, but for the CEO and leadership team, these changes are a headache and in many cases a heartache. Course change or correction is a painful process many times with unforeseen consequences. The reset button may look fancy on machines but is very resilient in humans. There are some perturbing patterns emerging according to the DDI survey:

Pattern No. 1-Job hugging: This means even when people are stressed and burned out they may not voice it. Even if leaders feel inadequately equipped to deal with change they may keep mum. The DDI 2027 Leadership forecast has said in 2025 survey 40% of highly stressed leaders had considered leaving their leadership roles to protect their well-being. In 2026 only 15% of highly stressed leaders have considered leaving their roles to improve their well-being, and only 6% intend to leave within the next year. Unfortunately this is not due to more loyalty but due to uncertainty in the job market. They feel that changing companies will not make a difference, so let us stay put.

Pattern No. 2-Pose competence:  Due to the uncertain market situation and pressure cooker board meetings, leaders do not want to show that they need help for being equipped to manage change. That is why when the overnight policy changes disrupt the culture of the organisation they act reactively rather than proactively.

To deal with many of these unintended consequences it is important to first make leaders become change ready. Leaders with depleted ability to face change are very costly for companies. The DDI survey shows that depleted leaders are likely to respond 3.9 times late for many issues. They do not have the energy or motivation to address issues rapidly. They do not have the skills to pose the right question and engage the team. Thus, instead of relying on leaders to approach them, organisations should do a “change ready” assessment and program. For this to happen organisations must create a CDI – Change, Disruption, Innovation program:

CDI No.1-To lead is to change himself: The key driver of all these cut and pastes happening in organisations is the leader. We assume that all leaders are naturally ready for change. Most organisations do not bother to get them tested and trained for disruptions. DDI survey shows that in organisations that have restructured, only 11% of HR professionals say their leaders are very capable of navigating the pace and nature of change. When leaders were asked about their own change readiness, only 17% of leaders said they are change-ready. That is why the need to develop coaching interventions to assess and coach on the paradigm shift required in leadership mindset and skill set.

CDI No.2-Create a DI with HI and AI: The most important part is to get intelligence on the possible disruptions coming and keep a thumb on the pulse of the people inside the company. That is why an apex committee needs to be formed comprising people who will collect disruption intelligence through AI and other methods. Another role of this committee is to use human intelligence to determine which category of change preparedness are employees in. This will then be woven into a pattern of what strategic interventions need to be done to create alignment between the external and internal environment.

CDI No. 3-Develop CDI teams at all levels: There needs to be CDI teams at all levels. These teams should pick people who are change alert, disruption discoverers and innovative. These cells should have a coordination and communication system where they are able to share information and learn from each other.

CDI No. 4-Recognise and celebrate the early adventurers: Organisations need to create a culture of change as a permanent feature. That needs to be done through highlighting people who in the organisation have been early on the bandwagon. This means a well-thought-out media campaign of choosing people and branding them as “innovators”.

With disruption being the new norm, organisations need to be ready for it. That means the leader needs to be the first to go. Leaders need to develop a complete frame of mind of accepting it as they have accepted AI. Organisations might feel that it is an additional cost, but then look at the benefits. DDI survey says organisations with effective change leaders are 2.4 times more likely to meet or exceed financial targets; 2.6 times more likely to report high leadership quality overall; 2.9 times more likely to report high customer satisfaction; and 3.5 times more likely to report high employee engagement. That is millions of dollars of additional revenue. Yes, everybody wants to invest billions in artificial intelligence, but then Stephen Hawking did say, “Intelligence is the ability to change.”