Learning to Lead Long Before the Going Gets Rough
Leadership is at its most visible and most scrutinized when external challenges rise—and this represents a hurdle for strategic communications. While 2025 proved to be a pretty difficult year, the next year will certainly bring even more unexpected developments, and the time for leaders to prepare is now. How they show up will vary based on personality and corporate posture, but they will need to be ready no matter what.
There’s no shortage of challenges for business leaders to worry about these days.
An economic slowdown lurks around the corner, and changes in tariffs seem to be a constant in the news. For those of us working in energy, OPEC is strongly reasserting itself, leading to a bearish oil market that makes it hard to sign off on growth projects. Headlines out of the Middle East and Ukraine continue to offer uncertainty for global security in general.
This is when leadership is at its most visible and most scrutinized, representing a hurdle for strategic communications.
Obviously, it’s easier to talk about business prospects in a steadier market; it’s when the going gets rough that employees and analysts and influencers all look to executives for clear guidance. How they deliver that will vary based on personality and corporate posture, but they will need to be ready no matter what.
Companies are adjusting accordingly. Harvard Business Impact’s 2025 Global Leadership Development Study shows a marked shift: more focus on coaching executives on how to lead through transformation, and less on, for example, strategy execution in steady-state environments. As Hippocrates advised, “Look to the seasons when choosing your cures.” For this season, executives will need resilience, narrative control and the ability to project steadiness: all skills that must be honed through practice before the pressure hits.
A leader showing up well for their company must act with intention and a clear message.
That’s where DrivePath comes in. Our depth of in-house experience means we collectively have managed teams through multiple downturns and crises and know how to chart a path out. We also know how to coach the C-suite on leading their companies throughout the cycle.
Regular demonstrations of leadership before, during and after any challenge are critical, and it’s just as important how an executive shows up as what they say. DrivePath can support you in succeeding at both, by working alongside you and your team to bring out the best of what your company and its leadership have to convey. Like any skill, it sharpens with repetition, and DrivePath helps executives shape the message and work on the necessary posture, pacing and delivery.
“Executive presence isn’t about image or polish,” Sue Reynolds-Frost, managing director of leadership consultant Sloan Group International, wrote in Forbes. “It’s about harnessing your personal power rooted in authenticity, clarity and intention.”
It’s clear that 2025 has been a pretty difficult year. By one measure, the VIX index, we saw a peak in volatility unmatched since 2022. The next year will certainly bring even more unexpected developments, and the time for leaders to prepare is now.
Contact us today to discuss how we can partner to enhance your executive’s presence or visibility plan. We’re ready, are you?
