As organizations across Asia Pacific (APAC) navigate continued disruption, from technological change to the evolving talent landscape, leaders face mounting pressure to adapt. What external threats do they see as the greatest risks to organizational health? And crucially, how ready do they feel to respond?
Our bi-annual Global Leadership Monitor tracks how leaders across APAC perceive and prepare for key challenges impacting their businesses over the next 12 – 18 months.
When ranking their top five organizational threats from a list of 20, APAC leaders identified technological change (61%) and the availability of key talent and skills (59%) as the two greatest risks to organizational health, surpassing concerns about economic uncertainty (49%) and workforce transformation (41%).
Yet fewer than half of APAC leaders feel equipped to handle these challenges:
This preparedness gap highlights an urgent need for capability building, especially around leadership agility, digital fluency and workforce reskilling across the region. As leaders work to close these capability gaps, one issue rises above all others: the intensifying competition for leadership talent.
Looking ahead, competition for top talent (71%) emerges as the strongest factor shaping leadership availability in APAC, well above the global statistic of 56%. This surge highlights the growing challenge of securing skilled leaders capable of driving transformation agenda.
Leaders also cite technology-driven hiring (50%), powered by AI and automation, as a key trend transforming how organizations attract and develop talent. Meanwhile, reskilling (46%) and shifting workforce demographics (45%) continue to reshape leadership pipelines.
The takeaway is clear: APAC’s leadership challenge is no longer just about finding talent, it’s about outpacing the competition to build and sustain it.
Across the region, leaders are redefining what skills matter most for navigating disruption. The focus has shifted decisively toward soft skills that enable agility, creativity and collaboration.
Top-ranked skills include:
These findings underscore that the next era of leadership in APAC will be defined less by technical expertise and more by the ability to inspire teams, drive transformation and lead through uncertainty.
AI remains high on the regional leadership agenda. Nine in ten APAC leaders view GenAI as a critical skill for the future, yet readiness is uneven.
The capability gap points to a pressing need to build AI literacy and strategic experimentation into the leadership teams to bridge the gap between ambition and execution.
APAC stands at a leadership crossroads. The region’s leaders are acutely aware of the forces reshaping their organizations (technological disruption, talent scarcity, and evolving workforce expectations), but awareness alone is not enough. Closing the leadership skills gap will require investment in adaptability, foresight, and learning agility. The next generation of successful APAC leaders will need to anticipate change, shape it, and lead through it.
How our leadership advisors can helpOur leadership advisors are experts in building teams of transformational leaders who can help you look toward the future with confidence. We’re well-versed in guiding organizations through change. If your leaders are concerned about weathering economic uncertainty, navigating technological change, or looking for guidance on how to engage and retain your leadership team, our advisors are here to help. Connect with our experts today |
Find out what the top threats are for your region, country, industry, and role—and leaders' preparedness to face them.
Global Leadership Monitor H2 2025 - Key global findings
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