In recent years, management teams have been coping with unprecedented work environments. The dominant element of which has been how to cope with running an organisation of remote workers during a pandemic. Throw into this mix an economic slowdown, geopolitical disruptions, and the Rise of the Machines, and now is not the time to be timid with strategic plans.

The challenges loosely fall into three categories:

1. Accelerated Challenges: issues that are seemingly rampant as a result of recent conditions, most notable of which is the COVID crisis. An example of this is the increased pressure placed on employee mental health as agoraphobia or illness anxiety disorder have become more prevalent.
2. Lingering Challenges: issues that have arisen in recent years and show no signs of abatement. An example of this is finding the optimal mix of in office and remote work for maximal engagement and efficiency.
3. Perennial Challenges: issues which seem to be present no matter the decade in which we live. An example of this is how to foster effective leadership and staff capability building.

What emerges from the survey data is that a majority of leaders think their organisations are inefficient and needlessly complex, while around half think their organisations are not prepared for the systemic shocks and external pressures that are likely to appear in the coming years.

To help managers be better prepared, there is one principle to rule them all: established ways of working and legacy management approaches will struggle to achieve the desired results. This is because business as usual mindsets have developed to address what was faced in the past, and while history does rhyme, the notion that because someone was able to steer an organisation through last year's storm does not mean they automatically know how to manage this season's hurricane.

To help leaders address these impending challenges and reframe their existing paradigms, I am penning a series of articles that form the basis of my FY24 strategic outlook. These articles encompass the ten areas I think are shaping up to be the most likely areas to drive opportunities for organisational growth and transformation.