84% of Executives Admit They’re Unprepared for the Next Wave of Disruption

If you’re a leader of an SME or startup, are you prepared for the next wave of disruption?

If the answer is no or you’re unsure, then don’t worry, you’re in the majority. A recent study by McKinsey and the World Economic Forum showed that 85% of executives feel unprepared for the next disruption in their industry.

The threats organizations face are driven by many factors, such as geopolitical instability, climate change, supply chain fragility, and AI disruption. Leaders need to promote a readiness for change to support their organization to deal with disruption and move and survive in fluctuating conditions.

This article explores why this readiness gap matters and how leaders can respond and remain resilient. 

The Converging Crises Reshaping Business Leadership

The picture of disruption is not simple. Going way beyond simply ChatGPT and how that is affecting attitudes toward staffing levels and changing AI roles, there are many factors that are causing disruption

Global risks are overlapping to create compounded, ever-more complex issues. Geopolitical events such as the Trump tariffs shaking up international trading attitudes, environmental pressures like climate change, and technological changes like generative AI, agentic AI, and the future forms of this quickly evolving technology combine to create complex challenges.

Let’s take generative AI tools like ChatGPT as an example. Generative AI automates creative workflows, reducing reliance on traditional teams. It enables rapid product prototyping and displaces legacy roles, requiring workforce reskilling. If a leader is prepared for changes, they can minimize the disruption and loss of revenue that this disruption can cause. 

Why Executives Feel Unprepared

Leaders should be well-versed in change by 2025, since technology drives so many changes and evolves industry attitudes toward many aspects of business, right? They should be, but they aren’t.

Let’s look at the reasons for this:

• Rapid change outpacing traditional planning cycles: Leaders struggle to adapt quickly, causing delays in strategic decisions.
• Insufficient crisis management training: Leaders lack the skills to handle unexpected disruptions effectively and calmly.
• Over-reliance on legacy systems and outdated KPIs: Leaders miss key insights, weakening response to new business challenges.
• Reference the 84% statistic and what it signals for corporate strategy.

The capability gap for the ability to respond to change quickly and positively is wide-ranging, with 84% of leaders reporting an unreadiness for disruption. This capability gap needs to be filled. The best place to start is by looking at customer feedback to shore up the organization’s readiness for crises. 

The Role of Customer Feedback in Crisis Readiness

Leaders can learn a great deal from data that the customers and employees of their organization provide. The best way to capture this data is fresh, so in real-time, allowing it to be analysed immediately and act as an early warning system for disruption by indicating trends before they happen.

Leaders can integrate structured feedback loops by regularly collecting input from employees and customers, analyzing data to identify trends, and adjusting strategies accordingly to improve responsiveness, innovation, and overall decision-making effectiveness.

The best approach is to process the employee and customer data using data-driven tools. But there are a lot of these tools out there, so how do you decide which is best for your needs? Check out a best reviews guide to filter the signal from the noise and get accurate, honest reviews from organizations that have used the tools you are considering to find the best fit. 

Building Resilient and Adaptive Leadership

The key to preparing the organization for disruption and the sudden changes it brings is to build resilient and adaptive leadership to steer the ship toward success despite choppy seas.

The best actionable strategies for improving executive readiness for disruption include:

Scenario planning and stress testing

Helps leaders anticipate potential disruptions, prepare responses, and adapt strategies, reducing uncertainty and strengthening confidence in managing change effectively.

Cross-functional collaboration

Encourages diverse perspectives and teamwork, enhancing problem-solving, communication, and flexibility, which builds stronger, more adaptable leadership during times of change.

Investing in leadership training with a crisis-focused curriculum

Equips leaders with essential skills to manage crises, improve decision-making, and maintain calm, fostering resilience when facing unexpected challenges

These are the hard skills, but don’t forget the soft skills needed for successful navigation of change and disruption. Leaders also need high emotional intelligence and communication skills to get their employees and managers through disruptive times. 

Conclusion

Were you surprised to learn that 84% of leaders are not prepared for disruption? Whatever your answer, if you are part of this statistic, it is not too late to improve your resilience and adaptivity so you can steer the ship through the changing seas of disruption and keep your company afloat.

When you have discovered the power of resilience in the face of constant disruption, you will see how you can turn panic into calm and crises into opportunities as you help your organization thrive and grow despite any challenge the market presents.