A recent global study by the Center for Creative Leadership drawing on data from over 48,000 leaders explored the most common leadership challenges across organisations worldwide.
One thing stood out: the hardest challenges aren’t technical. They’re human.
Three themes surfaced repeatedly and they will likely feel familiar.
- Knowing yourself — and being known.
Leaders across levels named self-knowledge as one of their biggest ongoing challenges: understanding how others experience them, navigating the gap between intention and impact, and staying grounded under pressure. - Influencing without authority.
Across boards, funders, government, partners and teams — social purpose leaders often lead from sources other than formal power. Building credibility, spanning boundaries, bringing people with you is often the whole game. - Leading through constant uncertainty.
Senior leaders globally ranked navigating a dynamic environment as their biggest challenge. For our sector that is amplified: funding shifts, policy changes, workforce pressures, and community need that outpaces capacity.
The research suggests the leaders who navigate this best invest heavily in developing the people around them — making adaptability a collective capability rather than a solo burden.
What the research affirms, and what we see in our work, is that these aren’t signs of inadequacy. They’re the terrain of leadership.
The leaders who grow through them most consistently are those who create the conditions to do so: reflection, challenge from trusted peers, and the capability to bring their teams with them.
Which of these feels most alive for you right now?
