Wired for Disruption

Disruptive environments require leaders to focus on five areas: stress, learning, trust, interdependencies and growth.

Changes and disruption now occur so fast that the human mind struggles to keep up. In the workplace, changing working patterns, the advent of artificial intelligence and a move toward more flexible teams go against people’s desire for stability and familiarity. Only through urgent, inspired and selfless individual and collective action will firms and workers survive.

The 2020 pandemic underscored the need for resilience and excellent leadership to help bring out people’s natural ability to change and adapt. Where leaders step up to reassure and inspire their organizations and teams, and inject meaning and shared purpose into the work, companies will cope better and grow stronger amid disruptions such as COVID-19.

Everyone can learn to thrive in disruptive situations. You can train your brain to cope with a faster pace of change and disruption through strengthening your neuroemotional agility – the ability to recognize and work through your nervous system’s different reactions to change. This ability needs practice, however, and leaders must...