2.5 Adapting capabilities at all levels Building resilience capabilities across all levels of an organization is crucial for managing risks and adapting to disruptions in today’s fast- changing environment. By equipping boards, organizations, teams and individuals with the right capabilities, companies can respond more effectively to challenges. Below is a summary of the key resilience capabilities required at each level, including selected insights from the survey: Board resilience Resilient boards are essential to organizational success. To build resilience and respond more quickly to crises and opportunities, boards must develop agility by reducing bureaucracy and streamlining decision-making processes. Effective scenario planning and stress-testing also help boards anticipate disruptions, enhancing their capacity to navigate uncertainty with confidence. Another pillar of board resilience is strong talent and succession planning. Resilient boards actively develop leadership pipelines, ensuring continuity when key leaders transition. This approach strengthens the organization’s long-term stability. Meanwhile, ensuring diversity in the board facilitates a more varied and innovative exchange of perspectives and ideas, which is critical for balanced decision-making in times of volatility. Trust between board members and management further fortifies resilience. Boards should demonstrate reliability by consistently delivering clear, actionable guidance. Credibility comes from deep knowledge of the business and emerging risks, while vulnerability – showing openness to learning and admitting gaps – enables honest, productive dialogue with management. By minimizing self-interest and focusing on the collective good, boards can create an environment of trust that enhances organizational adaptability and long-term growth. These capabilities ensure boards are not only reactive in times of crisis but proactive in guiding their organizations towards sustained resilience and success. Company resilience Agile organizations prioritize fast, data-driven decisions and flexible outcomes, identifying uncertainties and preparing for disruptions through forward-thinking scenario planning. Traditional forecasts are insufficient, and companies must adopt new methods to stay competitive. Real-time decision-making through a nerve centre of leaders, alongside effective meetings and time management, ensures swift adaptation to challenges. Survey results, however, reveal many organizations remain reactive, relying on past lessons rather than proactive strategies like coaching, mentorship and adaptability training (with fewer than 40% implementing these critical methods). To cultivate resilience, organizations must shift focus to leadership development to ensure leaders are prepared for future uncertainties. Talent management is another key element of resilience. Organizations bridge skill gaps by recruiting diverse talent, emphasizing internal mobility and creating flexible work arrangements. A thriving culture that supports adaptability, resilience and psychological safety is essential for long-term performance. Over 40% of companies, however, communicate their vision and values inconsistently during uncertain times, thereby forgoing opportunities for alignment. For true resilience, companies must integrate proactive leadership, transparent communication and a flexible, outcome-driven culture. Team resilience Self-sufficient, accountable teams are vital for resilience. To build resilient teams, leaders should reduce bureaucracy and cultivate an entrepreneurial spirit within cross-functional teams. Resilient organizations promote integration, deploy “tiger teams” to tackle specific challenges and create support systems centred on psychological safety and continuous learning. Recognizing innovation, conducting postmortems and facilitating open feedback further enhance team resilience. Trust is equally crucial, built through reliability, credibility, vulnerability and minimized self-interest, ensuring actions serve the collective good. This trust promotes collaboration and problem-solving, which are essential for overall resilience. Survey results highlight key gaps, however. For example, less than half of respondents believe their leaders are open to diverse perspectives, limiting inclusive decision-making and stifling innovation. Similarly, only 42% feel empowered to make decisions without micromanagement, reflecting a lack of trust and team autonomy. Meanwhile, just 27% report that decisions are escalated only when necessary, pointing to excessive control and reluctance to delegate authority – both critical barriers to agile, resilient team structures. Resilience Pulse Check: Harnessing Collaboration to Navigate a Volatile World 15

Resilience Pulse Check 2025