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Global leadership insights eBook

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Published: July 31, 2023
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By Holly Higham, global head of marketing at Impact 

Impact polled over 500 global CEOs and senior leaders about the trends they’re seeing in their organisations. Ranging from learning styles to global challenges, workplace culture to the sustainability curve, this wide-ranging research aimed to get under the skin of our organisations and truly understand the key people challenges facing leaders today. 

Our shared challenges

Our survey also provides an insight into the current business landscape, in which the levels of change, disruption and uncertainty remain high. The results show that a lot of the challenges are common across all markets, regardless of region. In particular, they speak to high levels of concern around economic instability, environmental responsibility, hybrid working, and wellbeing, as well as the ways in which leadership practice must adapt and evolve to these challenges. 

Many of the results underscore the importance of culture and wellbeing. These two intersecting themes gesture to the significance of understanding humans as the foundation of all successful business. Human-centred cultures prioritise this by putting humans at the heart of everything they do, engaging people in purposeful work, forging trusting relationships, and providing the right balance of empathy, support, and challenge. 

The disconnect between leadership and employees

However, what the research also reveals is that we have a long way to go: 

  • Only 29% said team relationships are mostly positive in their workplace. 
  • Only 25% said their organisation encourages people to be themselves in the workplace. 
  • Only 28% said their organisation is committed to its strategic objectives. 
  • And only 26% said trust in the workforce had improved in the last 12 months. 

These stats reveal a major disconnect between leadership and employees, as many organisations continue to prioritise efficiency and profit over the quality of human interaction, resulting in toxic work cultures that ultimately lead to individual burnout and talent exodus.  

In this time of constant, complex challenge, leaders must adopt human-centred business practices that put people first and have a positive impact. In our free eBook, you’ll find five articles that explore the key challenges and concerns that the research highlights and provide practical guidance on how to tackle them. 

Download the Global leadership insights eBook