Managing risk amid global uncertainty
This year however, we have witnessed how tensions have quickly escalated to major conflicts involving energy, security, technology, and the whole works – pushing themes like sanctions, energy chokepoints, and technology rivalry to the fore of 2026. Clearly, the situation has affected financial decisions and non-priority spending of companies, which are riding out the storm while deferring investments and other perceived risks to mitigate costs and cushion those impacts.
Keeping it together
Amidst these mounting challenges, however, what would give an organization an edge or set the team apart, is how it can remain focused and convert challenges into opportunities. From my perspective, this boils down to the importance of having change leadership that could guide, influence, and support individuals and the organizations through periods of change and challenges, ensuring successful adaptation and growth.
Dive in with me on what it takes to cultivate a change-ready culture, step up from resistance to resilience, and continuously build trust and engagement. This is by no means a blueprint on how leaders should act or lead their organizations in navigating the complexities and uncertainties or rising to challenges; but more of how we can lean into each other’s learning and experience to make the best of a crisis or a non-favorable climate.
When I say ‘transformational leadership’ or cultivating a ‘change-ready culture’, what do these ‘fancy words’ really mean? For me, it really boils down to the importance of visionary leadership during times of significant change, and how leaders can foster an environment that embraces change, innovation, and build resilience within teams.
As leaders play a crucial role in guiding teams through changes, having core qualities like agility and flexibility would bode well with navigating uncertainty effectively. Agility in leadership revolves around the ability to sense changes, anticipate future trends, prepare adaptable strategies, and make swift decisions.
Meanwhile, flexibility refers to the capacity to adjust strategies or modify approaches to suit different scenarios, circumstances, or team members, where open-mindedness and the willingness to listen will help bridge the connect with diverse team dynamics and encourage creative problem-solving that helps with sustainable transformation in the long run.
Matter of fact is, we are proud and thankful with how our teams in APAC showed extreme resilience and had continuously bounced back in more ways than once against external circumstances and other odds that were beyond our control; and having doubled down on supporting our customers with teams and tech they could count on.
In doing so, we are fueled by how there is always more that we can develop and innovate, more that we can bring to life for our customers, our partners, for each other and for our ecosystem that we operate in.
Our full suite of capabilities in cybersecurity, cloud, connectivity, and data and AI mean we can support customers and our own employees entirely in their journey of digital infra evolution. Now, coupled with balancing AI evolution and geopolitical shifts, we have been transforming our own model that focuses on moving from a traditional mindset to one of agility and flexibility.
This is because while technology can be available and ready, the real transformation will only move at the speed of people – from skills to culture, and processes. It is therefore imperative for the top leaders and management to get hands-on and play their role in the overall picture, as putting people at the center of everything we do is more essential than ever in these current times.
As an advocate of authentic and honest conversations, I encourage leaders to be open to tough and sometimes uncomfortable questions so that we enable a culture of trust, clarity, relationship-building, and alignment to ensure strategic vision goes together with operational execution during change initiatives.
This will also particularly help people to stay motivated and productive, and even go above and beyond to do what’s expected of them. But more importantly, it helps people deal with unpredictability, anxiety, and feelings of unease that may arise from rapid disruptions, changes to status quo, and perceived threats from fear of the unknown.
Conclusion
As we navigate the unending complexities of challenges and crises, I’m very much convinced that effective leadership plays a pivotal role in driving sustainable transformation.
By embracing adaptability, fostering resilience, and maintaining a clear vision, leaders can guide their organizations to ride out the turbulent storms while laying a solid foundation for long-term growth.
With a strategic focus and steadfast commitment to change management, an organization will have what it takes to transition individuals and teams to a state that is future-proof and ready in the sense of not just surviving adversity, but emerging stronger and thrive.
To have a conversation with us, connect with our sales team.
Author
Edmond Wong
Edmond Wong is the APAC President for Orange Business, a position he was appointed to since Feb 2026. He brings with him extensive experience leading business, delivery and sales operations,transformation programs, and sales performance across the APAC region. Having lived and worked in countries including Singapore, Melbourne, Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing, he has a proven track record of driving profitability and strategic initiatives in complex, multicultural markets in APAC.
To go further
Our transformation goes beyond leading-edge technology solutions.
Placing people at the epicenter of change is essential in a dynamic world driven by disruptive technologies - such as proactive skills management for anticipating customer needs, enhancing employee experiences, and facilitating new ways of working.
Empowering agility and innovation in an era of constant change
Disruptive ‘Black Swan’ events that used to occur once or twice a generation are now happening yearly, bringing new threats and opportunities. Leaders need and expect teams to pivot almost instantly to these changes - even those initiated internally.