Organisations across the world are facing many challenges. As consultants we are privileged to work in different organisations in different sectors that bring different issues and perspectives. We have a collective wisdom and in this paper we present what we see organisations grappling with in the forthcoming years.

One of the key challenges for organisations is that we live in a world of complexity, where traditional boundaries are no longer in force. This raises issues as there is often no single source of funding and decision making. Dealing with multiple stakeholders in multiple locations and different cultures places increased pressure on organisations.

Alongside the lack of boundaries, the demographic of organisations is also changing. We are pressurised in finding the right talent, dealing with multi-generational workforces, meeting customers' demands and delivering in both a real and a virtual environment.

This multiple location, multi-stakeholder, multi-channel market comes at a time when organisations are also striving to find a compelling identity and authentic set of values that fit into a new moral landscape. Organisations must identify how they need to be to tackle these challenges and find out how they can live their values through strategy and leadership behaviours.

To assess these challenges we have used the PESTLE model to provide an overview of different aspects affecting the world, its citizens, organisations and employees.

POLITICAL

First trend is that governments are breaking down or have broken down. They are failing to deliver services to their citizens; in fact, they are often delivering fewer services at a greater cost. This is leading to dissatisfaction amongst the general population, something that they will not bear forever.

The public and those who govern are in conflict. Government has issues about identifying priorities and making political choice. Governments need to move from creating policy to delivery of services.

There is a breakdown in governments' capability to deliver through current political structures. Leaders need to skill up so that they can deliver more for less. They also need support to decide which operating models to use in the future for the delivery of services.

ECONOMIC

A key issue is the lack of belief in economics - both at a micro and macro level. For many, economics is no longer valid and traditional theories do not fit into the new world.

The three key issues we are facing are:

• The West and Non-West countries - we need to be more curious in the East and emerging markets.
• Dollar is a micro-issue, no longer relevant. Is money one of the biggest drivers in this new global focus?
• Organisations and leaders are ill equipped for new economic models and for the environment.

There is a sense that as different economies we are stuck and we need to work hard to make sense of what and where we are at the moment. There is a sense that the world is changing. To understand this we need to look to the future leadership. This will come from different economic perspectives. You only need to look at the top business schools where the majority of MBA students are not from Western countries. They will be able to bring new leadership and economic models to bear and enable development of our organisations.

SOCIAL

One of the key social shifts is that people are getting older. As the older generation leaves organisations we are in danger of losing their wisdom. A key challenge is how we can transfer this collective knowledge to other generations, who might have a different mindset.

Organisations must also tap the deep smarts in every generation while acknowledging that we don't own their talent. Organisations need to think of themselves as a magnet that attracts a transient workforce who look for opportunities on a global basis.

This transient and diverse workforce means that it's even more important to know the individuals that make up organisations. Each will bring his or her own set of values that contribute to the organisational culture. For an organisation to attract and retain its talent, it needs to co-develop and align its values with those of its employees, both present and future.

TECHNOLOGY

Technology is developing at speed. Organisations that have traditionally been slow or reticent to adopt new technology must now become quick and agile in implementing and maximising the benefits of technology. This includes using new technology to drive blended or enhanced learning and the use of social networks.

There is a split in terms of technology - those that get it and those that don't. This is exemplified by the polarity in terms of age. However, the virtual world is age blind. It's also blind to economics. There's a different way of connecting with knowledge, wisdom and the major learning possibilities presented by social networking.

LEGAL

Organisations are in trouble. Previously everything has revolved around jurisdiction with fixed borders and known subjects. Now we are in a global world and with the lack of defined boundaries, there is confusion about how and what legislation to enforce.

There is also more legislation being passed to try to protect people from harm and excess. But it is a myth that life can be harm free. Not understanding this generates further legislation that makes it harder for firms to be entrepreneurial.

It is tempting for organisations to simply move to another part of the world for a freer environment. However, this means that organisations fail to pay attention to the social conscious, often leading to conflict and malpractice. A cycle develops where people use legislative attack to remedy misjudgement and unfairness.

There is a counter movement that is about education not regulation. We need to reassert and develop the capacity for moral leadership rather than continuing to feed an unproductive cycle. We also need to help organisations provide emotional containment so they can better accommodate the swings of life without projecting this distress into the wider system.

ENVIRONMENT

There is a question about the future of human systems and human life on the plant. The trend is that if we don't stop the degrees of warming (beyond 2°) we are toast. There are a number of priorities including: 

• Cutting carbon emissions. This needs to be part of business and organisations are beginning to realise this.
• Peak oil. Organisations can cause cycles of price rises and depression that have enormous impact.

Organisations need to put good processes in place to bring people together in ways they haven't done before.

CONCLUSION

There is an opportunity for organisations to see beyond their current purpose, evolving a new consciousness where they assess their place as part of a global system.

Big problems need to be cracked and solutions applied and this can only happen by bringing together organisations, communities, governments and civil societies where we can learn to operate and connect differently together. It is not about one organisation and their specific challenges. In this global world, we need to think about our place in the wider system. To tackle these immense challenges and shifts in perception, existing and new knowledge will need to be synthesised, developed and shared for the benefit of human kind and not just for the balance sheet of organisations.