Great Leaders Have a ‘Portfolio Mindset’, What About You?
What Can You Learn from Big Tech’s Response to the Slowdown?
From post-pandemic euphoria to economic doom and gloom, it’s been a year like few others! Here is how the year played out in terms of the data we have been tracking with our clients across the globe.
We asked our data analysis team to pull out the numbers behind the trends of 2022.
To prevent statistical overload, they shared a set of themes and topics using screenshots from the Pitstop AnalyticsTM platform.
As if the pandemic wasn’t enough, 2022 began with the Ukraine invasion. From quarter 2 onwards, fears of recession and inflation began to dominate.
VUCA levels rose sharply throughout the year finishing 7 points up on the start of the year.
Post pandemic ambitions for growth faded as the year progressed. Levels of uncertainty and complexity rose by 12 points.
This increased VUCA presents challenges for those leaders who need high levels of visibility, predictability and control.
Turbulent and uncertain times present opportunities, as well as challenges. Leaders still see a lot of positive trends in the market space.
Some organizations are better positioned, than others, to profit from market turbulence and uncertainty.
Uncertain times require agility. However, new budgetary controls and procedures can result in threat rigidity.
Bureaucracy is up 6 points and agility down 7 points since the start of the year. This hinders the ability to capitalize on change & uncertainty.
For many, cuts and consolidation are the order of the day. Yet fundamental challenges remain when it comes to ensuring a laser-like focus, scrapping projects and making trade-offs.
The pressure on resources has never been greater (up 11 points). There is an essential requirement for disciplined prioritization and a dynamic alignment of resources.
Long-standing concerns about too many projects and initiatives, turned into alarm by mid-2022. Senior leaders reported being involved in at least 13 projects.
Project consolidation was a key trend by Qtr 4. But cutting is not enough. Disciplined prioritization is key to enabling a new intensity around those projects most critical to success.
Teamwork and collaboration accounted for almost three quarters of all executive work (73%) in 2022.
This new reality means that managing performance at an individual level is no longer enough.
2022 levels of collaboration
can generate inefficiencies, some frustrations too.
The odds that executives were doing the right work (57%) or working in the right way (47%) were no better than a ‘toss-of-a-coin’.
The extent of the opportunities around Ways of Working dwarf issues such as the ‘Great Resignation‘ and ‘Performance Paranoia‘.
Ways of Working emerge as the
No. 1 opportunity & challenge
of 2022.
The good news is there is lots of untapped potential! As much as 34% within many organizations!
What a prize awaits those leaders who can unlock this potential!
So, how did the year end-up?
Here is how the BIG numbers changed over the course of 2022.
2022 saw 2% more of the potential of teams unlocked and 4% for individuals.
Pressure remained stubbornly high, with every second executive (55%) operating at ‘peak pressure‘ levels.
Vitality (a proxy for wellbeing) nudged forward as people emerged from lockdown. However, the benefits were short-lived. Disappointingly, vitality ended the year on a level with 2021. In 2022, one in ten executives said their work negatively impacted on their health and wellbeing.
Analysis generated based on Pitstop Analytics data from a sample of 250 senior executives in large international organizations in Finance, Pharma and Tech.
