FEATURE Industrial AI
The best leaders will combine ambition with patience. They will understand that meaningful progress takes practice, experimentation, and resilience
This also requires authenticity. Many
organisations claim that trust is one of their core values, yet their systems, processes and policies suggest otherwise. If every decision requires approval, every expense is scrutinised and every action is tightly monitored, employees quickly recognise the gap between stated values and actual behavior. Q5: Recent research suggests that empathy, compassion and kindness are becoming critical leadership skills during periods of uncertainty. Have these qualities become more valuable in the modern workplace, and if so, why? A: Without question. These qualities are often described as soft skills, but that phrase does them a disservice. They are performance skills.
Empathy, compassion and kindness build
trust. They create psychological safety, which is essential when organisations are trying to adapt. If people do not feel safe asking questions, admitting mistakes or expressing uncertainty, they will hide problems. Those problems do not disappear. They come back later, often at a much greater cost. This matters even more in a period of continual change. When uncertainty is high, people need to feel heard, understood and included. That does not mean leaders should avoid difficult decisions. It means they should create an environment where people can engage honestly with those decisions. Innovation depends on experimentation, and people are only willing to take those risks in environments that are psychological safety. Q6: Many organisations are facing several forms of disruption simultaneously, from economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions to AI and workforce transformation. How can leaders prioritise when everything feels urgent? A: It starts with clarity of identity.
Organisations need to understand what makes them unique, where they create the most value and what they should not be doing. This is especially important when every
trend feels urgent. AI is a good example. Many CEOs are under pressure from boards, investors or shareholders to act quickly, but if you ask why AI is important to that specific organisation, the answer is often unclear. The fear is simply being left behind. That is not strategy.
Leaders need to identify the few areas that will have a disproportionate impact on the business. They also need the discipline to stop activities that no longer support the mission.
automationmagazine.co.uk The challenge is that adaptive performance
In uncertain environments, focus becomes a competitive advantage. Leaders who are grounded, able to self-regulate and clear about the organisation’s identity can help teams avoid panic and distraction.
Achieving success Q7: Is it true that the most successful companies neither resist disruption nor simply imitate competitors? What separates organisations that adapt successfully from those that struggle? A: The organisations that adapt successfully do not simply copy competitors or blindly resist disruption. They start with a clear understanding of who they are. That clarity helps them decide which changes matter and which do not. Not every trend deserves attention. Not every technology deserves investment. The best organisations know their areas of maximum impact. They are also willing to experiment. Leaders do not need to be right all the time. They need to create controlled, thoughtful experiments that help the organisation discover what works. Progress is rarely linear. Most success stories involve testing, failure and adaptation. The danger is believing you can stay exactly where you are while the world changes around you. That is often far riskier than experimentation. Q8: One expert argues that leaders must focus on building adaptive organisations rather than trying to control every outcome. What practical steps can businesses take to become more adaptable? A: Many organisations still operate with models designed for the industrial era which work well when the environment is stable. They struggle when the environment is unpredictable.
This is why I distinguish between operational performance and adaptive performance. Operational performance is about efficiency, consistency and measurable output. Those things matter, but they are not enough. Adaptive performance is about creativity, problem-solving, resilience and the ability to respond when conditions change.
is harder to measure in the short term, so many organisations neglect it. They talk about culture, innovation and agility, but they do not develop the skills or systems that make those things real. Practical steps include redefining failure as practice, giving people more autonomy to shape their work and creating regular opportunities for experimentation with feedback. Culture is the nervous system of the
organisation. It shapes how people respond under pressure. If people are punished for ideas that do not work, they stop offering ideas. If they are trusted and supported, they learn faster. Q9: Is it possible to sustain the energy needed to lead during continual change? How can leaders avoid burning out while still providing confidence and direction for their teams? A: Yes, but only if we rethink what high performance means. In business, high performance is often misunderstood as more hours, more pressure and more intensity. Elite sport offers a better model. Athletes do not train at maximum intensity every day. Improvement comes through cycles of stress, recovery, adaptation and refinement. Businesses often ignore this completely. I use the Performance Triangle to explain this: work, nutrition and rest. When one element dominates and the others are neglected, performance deteriorates.
This is especially important in a world of continual change because adaptation requires energy. Human beings are wired for stability, so working outside our comfort zone is cognitively demanding. Burnout is not the unavoidable cost of ambition. It is often the result of poorly designed performance systems. Recovery is not the opposite of performance. It is part of performance. Q10: Looking ahead, do you believe the pace of change will continue to accelerate? If so, what capabilities will distinguish successful organisations and leaders over the next five years? A: The pace of change will continue to accelerate. I do not believe leaders can wait for stability to return. The organisations that thrive will be those that build the capacity to perform during times of uncertainty. That will require highly developed adaptive skills, strong leadership presence and a deeper understanding of how humans learn, improve and grow. Also, if you understand how people respond to stress, uncertainty, feedback and recovery, you can design better organisations.
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Automation | September 2026 21
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