Today’s businesses face unprecedented challenges operating in a global environment that is highly disruptive and increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA). Disruption has significantly impacted the way the world works, as many of us have experienced today and in recent years. Today’s businesses, government, and individuals are responding to shifts that would have seemed unimaginable even a few years ago. The current wave of disruption, including the recent corona-virus (COVID-19) pandemic, the known forces of Industry 4.0 (such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics), globalization, and demographic change, is reinventing the workforce. Internet technologies have enabled drones and driverless cars, which are transforming supply chains, logistics, health care, and even defense and security, such as the war against terrorism.

Organizational crises present complex financial, social, and ethical issues and challenges as any emotionally charged situation that, once brought to public notice, invites negative stakeholder reaction and thereby has the potential to threaten the financial well-being, reputation, or survival of the firm or some portion thereof. The most profound crisis of our lifetime is the impact of Coronavirus (SAR-COV-2) which is known as COVID – 19 on lives, livelihoods, families, societies, businesses and government institutions. COVID-19 outbreak was first reported from Wuhan, China, on 31 December 2019. A crisis occurs suddenly without warning and in an unprecedented manner, as with the COVID-19 pandemic. As the World Health Organization (WHO) continues to provide daily updates on the continued increase in the number of confirmed cases and fatalities arising from COVID-19 across the world, leaders in business, government, and other organizations face unprecedented challenges in managing the fallout of this pandemic, which has encroached not only on public health but also in global economic well-being and has disrupted individual lives, families, and society.

Despite these challenges, the team of C-suite executive coaches and leadership development consultants from the Centre of Executive Education (CEE), in supporting our clients, have witnessed countless examples of CEOs and C-suite leaders stepping up and embracing the challenge as if it were their calling. Apart from the COVID-19 pandemic, there were other crises, such as the global financial crisis (GFC) in 2008–09, the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2002–03, and post 9/11 terrorist attacks, that impacted businesses significantly. CEE coaches and consultants were in constant contact with business leaders across a host of industries during these crises. From these interactions, they observed specific and important leadership skills and competencies emerge, which, validated against the CEE’s longitudinal research, have helped to develop the crisis leadership model which was published in the book, “Leadership in Disruptive Times: Negotiating the New Balance” (Business Expert Press, 2022).