Welcome to my first newsletter for 2026 – and what I’m calling the Year of Change.
What I’ve been noticing lately in boardrooms, around the water-coolers, and at offsites, is a quiet realisation taking hold… we’re not heading towards a more stable normal this year. The dust won’t be settling, and if anything, it’s going to be kicked up even faster.
Some are calling this the ‘decade of disorientation’ (University of Sydney Business School), a time shaped by too much change, too many tools, and far too much noise.
But disorientation doesn’t have to be the enemy. It might be a signal that our old maps no longer work, and maybe that’s exactly what we need.
2025 gave us the chance to lay new foundations. And some took that leap – investing in human-centered capability, reinventing tired processes, and choosing to redesign how they work. But many didn’t, and instead, they stood still… hoping things would settle.
In 2026, that gap will only widen.
And quite frankly, many of the systems and success models we’ve relied on no longer fit the world we’re operating in anymore (and maybe they never did).
For decades, we’ve built organisations on the comforting assumption that the future could be forecast, planned for, and optimised. But in 2026, that’s no longer true.
This year, there is no predicting, progress won’t be linear, and risk and opportunity will now sit side by side. How we respond to this reality will determine whether things get better… or worse. And we need to prepare for both.
Yes this level of change will probably feel disorienting. It will most likely shake your confidence, your career, or your identity. But know that this is the phase that often precedes growth. This has to be the year we stop trying to bounce back to something outdated, and start building what’s needed next and what many of us have been craving.
My hope is that in 2026 change becomes intentional, not just imposed. Because we’ve survived enough change, and now is the time we need to learn how to lead through it!
Why We Can’t Wait This Out
This isn’t just a rough patch to survive or a phase to push through. This is our new normal, and how we choose to grow through it will become our edge.
We’re being asked to show up, perform and lead not after the change but during it. The complexity we’re facing isn’t going away. If anything, it’s deepening. And waiting for things to unfold isn’t just unrealistic but also a missed opportunity. Because the risk isn’t the change itself but standing still while everything else evolves for the better.
Our ability to adapt, sustain momentum and perform in this reality is fast becoming the true competitive advantage. But let’s not pretend it’s easy.
Because it’s not just the pace of change that’s confronting, it’s the psychology of it. Humans crave certainty. And when we can’t find it, our natural reaction is to freeze, pull back and delay action until the fog clears.
But the fog isn’t clearing. So that’s the challenge. To take action even when things feel ambiguous. To make decisions without all the data. To move forward without a perfect map. That’s where the real growth begins even when it includes failure, friction, or setbacks. Because we don’t ‘bounce back’ to where we were before but we emerge stronger, wiser, and more capable than we were.
That’s the kind of resilience this moment demands – it’s not about recovery but reinvention.
The Real Shift is Human
Yes technology is transforming our systems, workflows, and industries. But it’s not tech that will define what comes next. It’s us. Because no matter how fast the world changes, human capability will always be the multiplier.
In 2026, those who navigate change most effectively won’t necessarily be the smartest, most experienced, or best resourced but those who can change themselves. Those who can evolve how they think, how they work, and how they lead especially when it’s uncomfortable.
We’re being called into a cycle of constant reinvention. Not just of our tools or systems but of our mindsets, our skills, and the way we show up.
That means building the capacity to:
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Learn and unlearn – fast
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Stay grounded when things wobble
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Make meaning in ambiguity
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Uplift others in ways that build energy and trust
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Shift not just what we do but how we think.
And this applies to all of us.
Whether you’re a leader guiding teams through uncertainty, a professional questioning your next step, or an organisation rewriting what success looks like, the real edge now lies in human capability.
Not just adapting to change but growing through it. Not returning to old baselines but defining new ones altogether.
2026 is offering us a rare opportunity – a chance to reinvent.
We’ve spent the past decade surviving change. Now, it’s time to get on the front foot (or get out of the way).
This year will ask us to be bold and brave. To stop treating change as something that happens to us, and start treating it as something we build capacity for.
So, in 2026, will you evolve or be left behind?
