Writing in The World Today in June 2016 we ventured that two almost unthinkable developments could soon happen. The UK could vote to leave the European Union that month, and Donald Trump could be nominated as Republican candidate for US President and then elected. Both seemed outlandish. Neither was widely considered in corporate or political risk assessments.
These events have now become templates for a world in which what was previously unimaginable is close to becoming routine.
Four years ago, we started our research into the role of leadership in an age of uncertainty with a simple question: why were so many leaders in government, business and non-governmental organizations struggling to cope with the gathering pace of disruption? There has, of course, always been disruption; what is different now is the sheer pace of change and the total transparency in which events unfold.
