Leading in the Era of the "Polycrisis"

While leaders in Davos lament the era of the “polycrisis” or the swirl of global emergencies and crises that confront business leaders, I had the good fortune to hear some sage crisis management advice this morning from U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.

Surgeon General Murthy addressed the U.S. Conference of Mayors at their 91st Annual Winter meeting in Washington D.C. He spoke passionately about the scarcity of optimism and camaraderie in American society and linked those deficits to declines in physical and mental health.

He also made the astute observation that highly functioning business leadership teams – those with high levels of mutual trust and respect - are far better poised to succeed in the era of the polycrisis. That may seem obvious, but it strikes me that gauging ego, arrogance and distrust in the executive suite should be a first step in crisis planning.