In 2008, when the GFC started unravelling global financial markets and businesses, I had the good luck (rather than foresight) to be based in the UK, having made the decision to join global turnaround firm, AlixPartners. For the next 4 years, I parachuted into the trenches alongside leadership teams living and breathing ‘special situations’ as we navigated crises, restructurings, turnarounds, re-wrote business plans and made tough calls.
In 2020, I was a cofounder of newly founded business Leaders on Demand. Back living in Australia, we faced another ‘special situation’ as we faced the world’s most stringent lockdowns because of Covid-19. Still in start-up mode, my co-founders and I relied heavily on our special situations heritage to navigate a challenging environment as we built our team, organisation, supported customers and refined our market positioning.
And now, business as usual is being redefined and many leadership teams are facing ‘special situations’. CEOs are navigating a landscape marked by volatility, rapid technological shifts, and heightened board and stakeholder scrutiny. "Special situations" leadership—where adaptability, transformation, and resilience are paramount—is now a strategic imperative, not a niche skillset.
Why Special Situations leadership matters now
The business and economic cycle of 2025 is defined by complexity and unpredictability. CEOs are expected to turn turbulence into opportunity, recalibrate short-term actions for long-term gains, and lead with speed and clarity through ambiguity. Traditional, steady-state leadership is no longer sufficient; what’s needed is the ability to act decisively amid disorder, unite teams around a shared purpose, and transform business models in real time. All whilst leading authentically, with courage and whilst maintaining a level of self-care.
The pressure is rising… Boards are more involved than ever, demanding action and results, while shareholders expect CEOs to deliver growth and resilience, not just stability. The stakes for executive leadership have never been higher, and the margin for error is shrinking.
How do I bring Special Situations leadership into my executive role?
Given my experience leading in Special Situations, here’s what I’d be focussing on if I wanted to embrace Special Situations leadership:
- Adopt a collaborative but fast-paced approach to change - Move beyond BAU and incremental improvement to a mindset of driving rapid change and outcomes that matter. This means being comfortable with ambiguity, deciding and acting quickly, and fostering trust, buy-in and mobilisation from the broader organisation.
- Assess and drive resilient, high performing cultures: In times of crisis and high change, culture is a CEOs measure of change. Understanding the emotions running through an organisation and how to shift culture to prioritise high trust/high performing cultures is essential.
- Balance the time horizons and prioritise ruthlessly: While short-term planning and prioritisation is necessary, don’t lose sight of long-term sustainability of the organisation. This balancing act requires engagement and alignment across the ELT to ensure execution is focussed on high-impact outcomes.
- Leadership bandwidth for surge capacity: Competing priorities mean ELTs require surge capacity to deal with the urgent and important. It’s not enough to have the right talent in the right role, you’ve got to ensure there’s sufficient trust to make it ok to ask for help.
- Engage proactively with Board & other stakeholders: Stakeholder scrutiny is at an all-time high. CEOs should communicate transparently and closely with stakeholders to ensure alignment and buy-in for decision-making and execution.
- Foster person resilience and adaptability: Leaders are being defined not just by the outcomes delivered but how they’re delivered. Humility, the courage to act beyond past experience, and the ability to bounce back quickly and learn from setbacks are key indicators of success.
Questions for Executive Leaders
In my coaching conversations with CEOs and executive leaders, we’re rumbling on questions like these to explore how executives can bring more special situations leadership around the executive table:
- Where in my business am I seeing signals of disruption or inertia that require us to face the reality of the situation and deal with the elephant in the room?
- How do I and the team feel? Is this aligned with how we want to feel? Am I actively measuring and shaping our culture to ensure it supports desired performance?
- What am I doing to balance the urgent prioritises of the next 90 with the strategic imperatives of the next three years? What’s my decision criteria for the trade-offs and tough calls I need to make?
- Does the team have sufficient capacity and capability to execute on our plans? Who am I most worried about and what does support look like for them?
- What would [insert stakeholder] say about the discussion we’ve just had? Are we communicating transparently with our stakeholders to align on the outcomes we’ve prioritised?
- How do I need to support the team (and myself) to build transformational leadership capability? Am I managing my energy for sustainable performance?
- How am I leveraging external perspectives (advisors, coaches, mentors) to challenge assumptions and elevate thinking?
The era of business as usual is over. Leading with a special situations capabilities —embracing rapid change, building resilient cultures, and acting with adaptability —will define those who not only survive, but thrive, in the years ahead.
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