Leadership in Turbulent Times of Change

In a recent discussion with a senior executive responsible for global client relationships in a multinational company, we explored how accelerating change and diminishing predictability are reshaping leadership in organisations. His central message was clear: organisations should invest far more in understanding their operating environment, markets and customer needs - and relatively less in technology-led development. From a traditionally product-centric Finnish perspective, this represents a significant shift in thinking.

Conventional wisdom often defines core business as the production of products or services. Capabilities such as market insight, customer understanding, marketing and sales are typically categorised as support or enabling functions. He suggested a fundamental reversal of this logic: the customer interface constitutes the core business — while production should serve as enabling function.

The structural transformation of our era is driven by four major drivers: the ecological crisis, the digital revolution, global systemic fragmentation and a shift in societal values. The impact of these megatrends is increasingly difficult to assess — yet more important than ever. On the other hand, artificial intelligence significantly enhances analytical capability and foresight. However, as these tools become universally available, their ability to generate lasting competitive advantage diminishes.

The lifespan of technological advantage is becoming ever shorter — and is likely to continue shortening. This raises a critical strategic question: could deep customer understanding and durable customer relationships represent a more sustainable source of competitive advantage than technology alone?

I have participated in numerous transformations of leadership and governance models across companies and other organisations. These have frequently focused on the role, composition and ways of working of executive leadership teams. The objective has typically been to make leadership more strategic, more focused on core business priorities, and more diverse in perspective.

Leadership teams have been streamlined to reduce committee-style decision-making and narrow portfolio advocacy, in favour of more collective, accountable and enterprise-wide leadership. Too often, the CEO remains the only member of the leadership team consistently focused on the organisation’s overall long-term interest.

At the heart of these reforms is a recurring question: what truly constitutes core business leadership? Leadership teams in which a small minority own P&L responsibility while the majority “support” it are still surprisingly common. Yet it may be that those closest to sensing changes in the operating environment and market — and those who listen to customers, shape value propositions, market and sell - are in fact at the very core of the business.

Leadership in turbulent times of change is, above all, the ability to create clarity, trust and confidence in conditions of uncertainty. Increasingly, leadership is no longer an individual performance but a collective endeavour. Future leadership excellence is rooted in how leaders and teams think together, make decisions collaboratively and share responsibility.

As leadership structures become leaner, individual leaders carry broader and more complex portfolios. This amplifies the importance of people leadership over technical or functional expertise. In environments characterised by uncertainty and constant change, the quality of leadership becomes even more critical.

At the same time, societal expectations towards companies and other organisations continue to rise. Beyond product and service quality, organisations are expected to operate in a manner that is ethically sound, socially acceptable and sustainable. Leaders are increasingly expected to demonstrate moral judgement, ethical integrity, wisdom and resilience under pressure.

Enabling consistently high performance in organisations, teams and individuals requires continuous renewal of culture, values, mindsets and ways of working. Leadership today is broader in scope, spanning multiple portfolios, and deeper in reach, connecting strategy with execution.

Leadership has undeniably become more demanding. At the same time, it remains one of the most decisive success factors for organisations navigating turbulence and transformation.