Executive leadership teams are under increasing pressure to skilfully lead their businesses through constant change. Geopolitical tensions, rapid advances in technology and economic uncertainty are among the biggest contributors, and they require business leaders to sharpen their capabilities across resilience and adaptability.
Drawing on our recent webinars and events, Moir Group explores the forces shaping the Australian economy and five skills CFOs and executive leadership teams need to navigate them.
Market challenges, economic uncertainty and AI
At a recent Moir Group webinar, Stephen Walters, Principal and Chief Economist at Optimal Economics, identified the most significant forces contributing to Australia’s economic uncertainty. These ranged from geopolitical risks like trade disputes and global conflicts to Australia’s weak productivity growth.
Productivity growth averaged just 0.3% over the past decade, its weakest performance in more than 60 years. Walters said this has contributed to weaker living standards and made inflation more difficult to manage.
AI has been another significant disruptor that has presented both opportunities and challenges for business leaders. The Federal Government’s 2026 Intergenerational Report described how AI will be one of the defining influences on the economy. The message is not simply that AI will replace jobs. It will automate certain tasks, change existing roles and create demand in other areas.
Executive leaders will need to ensure they are upskilling in AI, business planning and decision-making to withstand these constant challenges.
Australia’s economy and workforce over the next 40 years
The report also explores how Australia’s economy and workforce are expected to change over the next 40 years. Two findings stand out for executive leadership teams:
- Our workforce is ageing. Labour-force participation is projected to peak at around 67.7% in 2039-40 before declining to 64.7% by 2065-66. More women and older Australians remaining in the workforce are expected to help offset some of this decline. For leaders, this points to a tighter market for experienced talent and a stronger case for retaining and developing the people they have.
- Productivity is going to matter enormously. With economic and population growth slowing, businesses will need to find ways to do more with the people and resources they have. AI and technology are expected to play an important role in this.
The importance of great leadership during uncertainty
As uncertainty and complexity increase, the quality of leadership judgement becomes increasingly important, according to Julie Birtles, Founder of Beyond Excellence. In a Moir Group webinar, Julie said the challenge is not simply about managing change but making high-consequence decisions while market conditions, technology and workforce expectations shift. She described a widening “Sophistication Gap”: the growing gap between the complexity leaders face and the capability required to navigate it successfully.
Harvard Business Impact’s 2026 Global Leadership Study emphasised the need for strong leadership during times of change. In it, 80% of respondents said the “ability to function effectively in an environment of ongoing change, uncertainty, and stress” is a crucial skill for business leaders.
Five skills executive leadership teams need to successfully navigate uncertainty
Moir Group has identified five skills executive leadership teams will need to lead their businesses through this period.
- Adaptive leadership: Being adaptable is a critical skill that requires leaders to respond decisively when unexpected situations arise. According to the World of Business Ideas (WOBI), it means simultaneously focusing on fundamentals like your core values, priorities and standards, while being able to pivot. This ensures your business is both anchored and agile. Values were also a theme at our final CFO Women Connect breakfast of 2026, led by Executive Coach Sue Rosen, FCA, PCC. Rather than searching for the perfect answer, leaders can ask which decision best aligns with the values they want to lead by.
- Sound judgement and decision-making: As complexity grows, the quality of leadership judgement matters more. Julie’s point was that when leadership capability lags behind the challenges a business faces, decision-making slows, friction builds and momentum is lost. Leaders who build this capability deliberately can decide faster and keep their teams aligned.
- Upskilling in AI: AI can lift productivity and efficiency, and leaders need to understand it well enough to judge where it adds value. As Julie’s webinar highlighted, the strongest-performing organisations combine technology with sound leadership judgement. For practical steps, read our guide on how to upskill financial professionals in AI.
- Creating flexible and cross-functional teams: Having a team with cross-functional skills helps organisations become more agile and better prepared for unexpected situations. Forbes describes cross-functional collaboration as an art that requires leaders to identify key business outcomes, determine the skills and talent needed to achieve them, and develop a strategy to align the team’s efforts.
- Resilience in leadership: Resilience remains an important skill executive leaders need to handle uncertainty. In a recent podcast, Moir Group Executive Chair Stephen Moir observed that uncertainty is now constant rather than episodic. “Nowadays, you’re just going from one challenge to the next,” he said. “It is constant, and I think people going forward should expect that is the way it is going to be.”
As a result, resilient leaders depend on a strong support network. “You cannot carry it all yourself,” Stephen added. “So it is very important to be able to share and talk about things with others and get their advice.” The same theme came up at CFO Women Connect, where the group discussed how professional friendships offer perspective from people who understand the pressures of senior roles.
What this means for business leaders
Uncertainty is now the context executive leadership teams operate in. Teams that stay anchored to their values, keep building their judgement and AI capability, and support each other will be better placed to lead through it.
Moir Group is a specialist finance, accounting and ESG recruitment company. We cover temporary and permanent roles from Financial Accountant to CFO level. We also recruit Sustainability and ESG positions across all industry sectors.
If you’re building the finance team your business needs for the next phase, we would welcome a conversation.
