Why today’s CEOs are unprepared—and what they must do now
A quiet crisis is unfolding in Australia’s executive suites. CEO turnover is rising, the challenges ahead are unlike anything we’ve seen before, and yet many leaders are equipped with tools fit only for yesterday’s problems. This article explores why the mismatch matters, what forward-thinking CEOs must do now, and the small shifts that will make the biggest difference.
The problem: the context has changed—but leadership hasn’t
There’s been a changing of the guard across Australia’s top companies. ASX200 CEO turnover hit a three-year high in 2024, with nearly 1 in 5 roles turning over. But here’s the catch: most new appointees rose through the ranks in more stable, linear, and operationally-focused eras. Meanwhile, the playing field has changed dramatically.
Boards and executive teams now face a radically different environment—AI disruption, decarbonisation pressure, geopolitical instability, and rising stakeholder scrutiny. It’s not just uncertain. It’s nonlinear. And conventional leadership playbooks simply won’t cut it.
Insight 1: The capability gap is real—and risky
Many CEOs today are being handed a transformational brief—but without the mindset or methods to deliver it. They’ve mastered optimisation and control, but not complexity or adaptation.
According to the PwC Global CEO Survey, only 31% of CEOs feel confident their organisations can adapt over the next decade [1]. Worse, leadership development programs remain focused on conventional strategy, change management and CSR, not adaptive leadership, digital literacy, complex problem-solving, and resilience.
This mismatch isn’t theoretical—it’s real and costly. Think, for example, of reputational damage and financial consequences of poor executive decisions at Qantas, Optus and Rio Tinto. Or energy players faltering on transition strategy. The next big failure won’t be due to bad luck. It’ll be due to leadership blind spots.
Insight 2: Leading CEOs are self-disrupting
Future-ready leaders are already doing things differently. They ask better questions. They sense weak signals. They challenge legacy assumptions before the market or regulators do it for them.
They also invest in the skills most others avoid:
• Systems thinking to understand interconnected risks.
• Strategic foresight to foresee big medium-term opportunities.
• Ethical technology fluency to leverage the AI frontier.
• Co-design to rebuild and maintain stakeholder trust.
This isn’t soft. It’s hard-edged strategy. And it’s becoming a source of competitive advantage.
Insight 3: High-potential leaders are asking better questions
In recent executive development programs I posed a challenge to future CEOs: What questions are you wrestling with most? Their responses reveal a sharp awareness—and a hunger to evolve:
“How do I stay relevant when I was trained for a world that no longer exists?”
“Where’s the line between bold leadership and reckless risk-taking?”
“How do I lean into strategy when operational volatility is overwhelming?”
“What’s the smallest set of capabilities that will give me the biggest edge in this new era?”
These aren’t questions about metrics. They’re questions about identity, courage, and renewal.
Three moves every CEO should make now
If you only have time to do three things to future-proof your leadership, these will give you the greatest return.
1. Curate a new information diet that sharpens context awareness
In a world of constant disruption, the best leaders aren’t those with all the answers—but those who are best at sense-making.
A McKinsey study on the behaviour of “outlier CEOs” found that top performers consumed broader and more contradictory sources of information, enabling them to challenge internal assumptions and anticipate system shifts before competitors did [2].
» Action: Prioritise 30 minutes twice a week to read outside your industry bubble—systems trends, geopolitics, tech ethics, behavioural science. Follow sources like The Institute for the Future, MIT Tech Review, or BehavioralEconomics.com. Diversify your inputs to elevate your strategic perspective.
2. Lead a systems challenge inside your business
Nothing builds systems thinking and adaptive capability faster than tackling a real, messy problem. PwC’s 2024 CEO Survey shows that 45% of CEOs feel unprepared to manage complex, interconnected risks—but experiential learning is the most effective way to close that gap.
Harvard Business School research confirms experiential problem-solving builds leadership agility more effectively than traditional training [4].
» Action: Choose a thorny issue—burnout, trust deficits, AI deployment, or scope 3 emissions. Map the system. Identify leverage points. Lead a small team through a rapid-cycle inquiry and solution design process.
3. Form a peer learning circle focused on future-fit leadership
High-performing CEOs are 3x more likely to engage in structured peer learning [6]. In today’s volatile environment, shared reflection builds confidence, sharpens insight, and reduces leadership isolation.
» Action: Assemble 5–8 executives from diverse industries. Meet monthly to explore frontier questions. Build trust, challenge thinking, and co-learn what traditional development never taught you.
Why these three moves?
They’re practically achievable—no restructure, budget line, or public announcement required.
They build the exact muscles this era demands: sense-making, systems navigation, and adaptive learning.
They reposition leadership from reactive to generative—turning threat into transformation.
Conclusion: the call for leadership renewal is personal
Australia’s corporate leaders are entering a new era—but too many are using old maps. The world doesn’t need perfect CEOs. It needs leaders who are willing to unlearn, reframe, and adapt. Those who step forward now—while others hesitate—won’t just survive. They’ll shape the next chapter of human progress.
Q. What’s one leadership instinct that served you well in the past—but could now be holding you back? It might be time to let it go.
References
1. PWC (2025) 28th Global CEO Survey
2. McKinsey & Company (2022) CEO Excellence Report
3. Schwartz & Rock (2006) Neuroscience of Leadership, In: Strategy+Business
4. Center for Creative Leadership (2018) The Value of Diverse Experiences in Leadership
5. Harvard Business School (2019) Working Paper: Learning Through Action
6. Donella Meadows (2008) Thinking in Systems
7. Egon Zehnder (2023) The CEO: A Personal Reflection
8. Cambridge University Press (2020) Handbook of Behaviour Change
9. IMD (2021) Leading in Turbulent Times