What the Harvard Business Review termed ‘The Great Resignation’ is continuing to pick up the pace. Businesses across all industries feel the pressure to adapt into agile, resilient organizations ready to face tomorrow’s challenges. If they don’t, employees are voting with their feet. To adapt, we believe that leaders must abandon old styles of leadership and instead focus on empowerment, humility, and growth.
For example, in the Medical Devices sector, the pandemic ushered in changes, disruptions, and advances, the likes of which have rarely been seen before. Leaders’ ability to plan around severely extended lead times, identifying replacement parts, even redesigning to accommodate for supply availability, will require better resiliency and agility. Proactive supply chain solutions will be a top priority for medical device manufacturers, according to Plexus.
The market size for AI in healthcare is also expected to grow from $10.4 billion in 2021 to $120.2 billion by 2028. That’s a great opportunity for those best able to figure out effective ways to integrate advanced computing and connectivity into their existing or upcoming portfolio of healthcare and life sciences products. Investment in healthcare technology is therefore growing rapidly and is predicted to reach nearly $660 billion by 2025.
Developing new capabilities
In 2022, the Defense and Space sector is also expected to focus on innovation to develop new technologies and solutions, create new markets, and expand growth opportunities. Many companies took advantage of the downturn to invest in advanced manufacturing capabilities, and in 2022 are expected to roll out these investments more broadly, including smart factories. Fitch Ratings expects aircraft deliveries to materially increase during 2022 and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to drive much of the industry improvement.
The pandemic exposed the degree to which weakened supply chains pose a risk to economic and national security, says Deloitte. To address this challenge, focusing on ways that defense supply chains can better prepare to respond to supply shocks is critical. Leadership development across supply chain and logistics will therefore come to the fore.
Leaders in Defense & Space also need to be increasingly environmentally aware. For example, Boeing is progressing toward meeting its 2025 environmental targets in its operations with a goal of reducing greenhouse emissions, specifically, by 25% in 2025 from its 2017 baseline.
Leadership thinking at all levels
To be successful, leaders will need to master competencies in engagement, collaboration, trust, and transparency. Unlocking value from digital requires new ways of working and a new culture, according to McKinsey.
Companies will need to move away from what are typically lengthy R&D cycles and instead develop minimum-viable products that allow teams to test and learn from early deployment: “To facilitate this shift, a new operating model may be required.”
No surprise, then, that a Forbes interview of more than 20 executives, CEOs, and private equity investors identified upskilling and ‘people strategy’ as a top priority: “Consider how to retain talent, as well as keeping teams engaged, developed and motivated.” Despite predicting a staged recovery rather than a quick bounce back, leaders “should be thinking about growth and start planning now.”
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