Leaders Must Adapt to a Changing World

By Tom Preston and Luciana Nuñez

In a world defined by disruption and uncertainty, leaders must evolve or risk falling behind. In The Future-Fit Leader, authors Tom Preston and Luciana Nuñez identify four essential skills that define effective leadership today. Their insights offer a clear path for leaders ready to meet the future with confidence.

In 2008, Marshal Goldsmith wrote a book called “What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There.” Had he written the book today, he might well have named it “What Got You Here, Definitely Won’t Get You There.” The need for leadership adaptability, skill, and flexibility has never been greater. Rarely has the world seen the current levels of disruption across geopolitics, technology, global trade practices, supply chains, demographics, and a host of other variables – all simultaneously.

In this high-stakes environment, future-fit leaders must cultivate a new set of core capabilities. Strategies must evolve constantly. Cultural fluency, emotional resilience, and digital acumen are no longer optional—they are foundational. Based on extensive research and our work with top executives across the globe, we’ve identified four essential leadership skills that drive impact now—and they can all be strengthened through coaching.

1. Emotional Intelligence

While the concept of emotional intelligence isn’t new, its importance is magnified in our increasingly digital landscape. As human interactions become more transactional and technology-mediated, your ability to “read the room” and connect genuinely becomes even more critical for fostering strong relationships and creating a positive work environment.

In times of rapid change, leaders with high emotional intelligence can maintain composure and provide clear, empathetic communication. This helps to reassure stakeholders, maintain trust, and guide organizations through adversity. Additionally, leaders with strong emotional intelligence create environments where team members feel psychologically safe to express ideas without fear—crucial for fostering innovation.

Coaching can help develop all four key areas of emotional intelligence: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. 

2. Digital Literacy and Technological Fluency

As a counterbalance to emotional intelligence leaders must become extremely comfortable and adept at leveraging technology to drive innovation and performance. Understanding digital tools, data analytics, and AI will be crucial for making informed decisions in a tech-driven world. While not every CEO needs to learn coding, senior leaders must understand transformative technologies and create the right conditions to unleash their power in a well-orchestrated manner.

The key for leaders to embrace technology is to approach it through the lens of a growth mindset, defined by psychologist Carol Dweck as the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication, effort, and learning. Coaching can be the key enabler to help leaders approach this warp-speed transformation with a sense of openness and possibilities.

Leaders can embrace technology by:

• Developing digital literacy through continuous learning
• Creating hands-on experience opportunities
• Building a digital vision integrated with strategic goals
• Creating strategic alignment between technology and business initiatives
• Leading remote and hybrid teams effectively
• Building resilience in a tech-driven world

Coaching can help by supporting change management, encouraging creativity, and balancing technology with human connection.

 3. Adaptability and Agility

The ability to adapt quickly to changing circumstances and pivot strategies as needed is vital in a world characterized by rapid change and uncertainty. Agile leaders can help their organizations stay resilient and competitive; they can pivot strategies, adjust goals, and reallocate resources swiftly in response to new challenges or opportunities.

Agile leaders are also more resilient. In a volatile environment, unforeseen disruptions can occur at any time. Adaptable leaders can respond to these crises with flexibility, ensuring their organizations remain resilient.

Coaching can help develop adaptability and agility by focusing on:

• Cultivating a growth mindset to view challenges as opportunities
• Improving decision-making skills to make quick, calculated decisions
• Strengthening trust and collaboration in teams
• Encouraging flexibility in leadership style

4. Cultural Competence

This is the next-level evolution of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) through a broader and more holistic lens. In a globalized world, leaders must work effectively across diverse cultures and create inclusive environments that leverage the strengths of a diverse workforce.

Today, executives need to lead people of all ages, races, sexual identities, religions, geographies, and abilities. In the future, this trend will become even more pronounced, with a workforce that for the first time will include six generations under the same roof.

Cultural competence requires an advanced ability to understand, appreciate, and interact effectively with people from different backgrounds.

Future-fit leaders will need to develop:

• Self-awareness of their own cultural background and biases
• Openness, curiosity, and humility toward different perspectives
• Knowledge of other cultures without judgment
• Cross-cultural communication skills
• Adaptability in interactions with diverse individuals

Coaching can enable leaders to have the courageous conversations necessary for creating an environment of cultural competence and true inclusion.  Coaching will equip them to understand multiple aspects of culture and identity, reflect on their existing filters and biases, and create personal commitments to action. 

A Last Reflection: Leading in a World Where Certainty Is Over

In a VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) world that’s in constant flux, leaders can no longer expect, and even less promise, certainty. Certainty is over, and the next best thing is clarity.

The good news is that clarity is something you can create. A good start is using these self-reflection prompts:

• What is the core purpose of my leadership role?
• What are the most important goals for my business right now?
• Are my priorities aligned with these goals?
• What criteria am I using to determine what is most important?
• How does my current business strategy align with my long-term vision?

The future belongs to leaders who can navigate uncertainty with grace, leverage technology with wisdom, adapt with agility, and build bridges across differences. By developing these four essential skills, you won’t just survive the future—you’ll help shape it.

About the Authors

Tom Preston, co-author of COACHING POWER, is the founder of The Preston Associates, one of the world’s premier executive coaching firms. With decades of experience coaching leaders across industries and geographies, he has helped organizations achieve extraordinary outcomes. A former private equity executive and bestselling author of Coach Yourself to Success, he brings deep insights and practical wisdom to his work.

Luciana Nuñez, co-author of COACHING POWER, is Head of Americas and Partner at The Preston Associates. She is an accomplished executive coach and former CEO with more than 20 years of leadership experience at Fortune 500 companies, including Bayer, Danone, and Roche. She blends her strategic expertise with a passion for coaching, serving as a board member, investor, and advisor to entrepreneurs and executives worldwide.

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