By Dr. Gabriele Lang

The intensity, complexity, and speed of change in today’s business world can feel overwhelming. Structures, processes, and ways of thinking are shifting rapidly. This dynamic brings opportunities—but only for those who take responsibility and act proactively.

Transformation Needs Leadership

As highlighted in the Deloitte Leadership Survey 2025 (370 executives, Austria) by Gudrun Heidenreich-Pérez and Céline-Sophie Röder, over 80% of companies are currently undergoing transformation. The main drivers are technological progress and cost pressure, with increased efficiency (57%) and cost savings (50%) cited as priorities.

In conversations with managers, I see confirmation: cost optimization dominates agendas. Yet transformation cannot succeed through numbers alone. It requires leadership.

The study identifies commitment, communication, and information (each around 50%) as key success factors. Paradoxically, these are also the biggest stumbling blocks—especially when employees are excluded. Nearly half of managers emphasize collaboration and partnership as essential competencies.

Today, leadership requires more than direction and creative vision. It demands the emotional ability to tolerate uncertainty and to guide others through ambiguity.

Avoidance Is Stagnation

In practice, I see people being busy rather than effective, and avoiding responsibility instead of embracing it. Passivity has become the default reaction to complexity.

Managers often tell me: “I don’t have any conflicts.” Yet moments later, stories surface about difficult colleagues, exhausting meetings, subtle accusations, and endless complaints. These unresolved tensions become obstacles to urgently needed change.

Let’s be clear: conflicts do not disappear because we avoid them. They harden. They slow progress. They erode cooperation. Avoidance is not strength—it is the fastest path to stagnation.

Responsibility: The Greatest Asset of the Century

Conflicts are not the problem. The real issue is how we address them. Progress begins when managers and teams stop glossing over difficulties and start solving them.

So, ask yourself:

• Which conversation are you currently avoiding?
• And what is the cost of your silence?

Those who approach conflict with calm, maturity, and constructive dialogue regain control and transform obstacles into catalysts for growth.

Ready to Take Action?

Conflicts and difficult situations cannot always be prevented, but they can be mastered—psychologically and tactically. The first step is self-awareness.

Discover how you respond under stress with the free Stress Type Check from UP’N’CHANGE:
https://upnchange.com/en/digitools/get-the-free-stress-type-check/

Seize the opportunity to transform stagnation into progress, and challenges into impact. Because real change begins with the first step.