South African businesses are no longer dealing with isolated shocks. They are operating in a permanent risk environment, and leadership models need to catch up.
By Izabela Stofberg, chief underwriting officer at Santam Re.
BDO’s 2026 Global Risk Landscape report reveals that 80% of business leaders see the environment as more crisis-driven than ever before, with the global risk landscape increasingly defined by fast-moving, interconnected crises.
My early career in reinsurance was framed by viewing risk largely through a technical lens. Over time, I have come to appreciate that it is also closely linked to opportunity. In a world shaped by increasing interconnected challenges such as climate change, geopolitical instability, technological disruption and evolving regulatory environments, this shift in framing is critical for all current and emerging business leaders – across all sectors, not just reinsurance.
A new world of risk for business
Embedded in the risk and reinsurance sector, I have seen first-hand how the interconnected nature of geopolitical instability, climate change and technological acceleration has created a shift where uncertainty is now structural.
In South Africa, Santam’s latest Insurance Barometer Report revealed that eight in ten businesses said they had been negatively affected by emerging risks over the past two years, with 53% indicating economic change as a primary concern, followed by infrastructure risks and political unrest, climate change and cybercrime.
In this context, traditional leadership approaches based on predictability are becoming more challenging. Businesses would benefit from more adaptive models that prioritise agility, scenario planning and informed decision-making amid uncertainty, rather than waiting for disruption to expose gaps in their preparedness.
Within these new leadership frameworks, resilience is emerging as a defining capability, enabling leaders to navigate disruption while maintaining strategic focus and organisational stability.
Resilience as a defining leadership trait
Building resilience is not only about recovering from disruption, but also about strengthening an organisation’s ability to anticipate, absorb and adapt to future shocks. Resilient leaders foster organisational cultures that encourage learning, adaptability and proactive risk management, helping businesses respond more effectively to unexpected challenges.
But resilience can often be mistaken for perseverance. Within a landscape of interconnected risks, resilient leadership requires more. Leaders must be able to recognise emerging risks, understand how these risks affect their people and organisations, adapt when required, and continue leading with purpose even when the path ahead is unclear.
Preparing leaders for this needs to be part of intentional leadership development, not only a reactive step after a disruption has happened.
Building a talent pipeline of resilient leaders
Instead of focusing primarily on recruitment, organisations should create structured development pathways that combine technical training with a leadership development framework that prioritises resilience.
Alongside rotational opportunities, international exposure, mentoring programmes and stretch assignments that allow employees to build experience outside their immediate responsibilities, embedding resilience checkpoints into leadership development planning can be useful.
Criteria to consider are whether someone can make thoughtful decisions when the facts are unclear, translate feedback into growth, communicate with clarity when they don’t know the outcome or have the answers, stay curious and flexible when circumstances change, and demonstrate empathy and confidence when things are uncertain.
What resilience looks like in practice
In practice, resilient leadership is tested in moments where there is no clear playbook. It is the ability to make thoughtful decisions with incomplete information, stress-test plans against multiple scenarios, communicate clearly when outcomes are uncertain, and mobilise teams quickly when conditions shift.
Without this capability, organisations risk becoming trapped in reactive crisis management, where decision-making slows, teams become fatigued, and opportunities are missed. In this sense, resilience is not a soft leadership trait, but a practical business capability that directly affects continuity, reputation and growth.
As the risk landscape becomes more complex, resilience can no longer sit at the margins of leadership development. It must become one of the core measures of whether current and future leaders are equipped to guide organisations through uncertainty. The businesses that invest in this capability now will be better placed not only to withstand disruption, but to make stronger decisions, protect their people and identify opportunity in the midst of change.