Let’s take a look at some leadership strategies from the top CEOs, and how they can be applied to improve leadership practices.

Melanie Perkins: Driving global expansion

Melanie Perkins, CEO and co-founder of Canva, has transformed the startup into a global design platform valued at over $40 billion. Her vision of making design accessible to everyone has driven the company’s success, even during uncertainty. By expanding Canva’s features, such as video editing, and fostering a culture of empowerment and inclusion, Perkins ensured Canva’s growth to over 75 million users globally.

Key Takeaway for Leaders: Have a clear and bold vision that aligns with your company’s core mission. Even during turbulent times, staying focused on long-term goals and innovation helps keep the company resilient and on a growth trajectory. By prioritizing inclusion and creating products that serve the needs of a wide audience, leaders can ensure their company remains relevant and competitive.

Satya Nadella: Empowering Teams for Decentralized Decision-Making

At Microsoft, CEO Satya Nadella has long championed the concept of empowering employees to make decisions autonomously. During uncertain times, this decentraliszed approach has proven critical. By distributing authority across teams, Microsoft was able to remain agile and quickly adapt to shifting market demands, particularly in cloud services.

Key Takeaway for Leaders: Leaders should trust their teams and delegate decision-making authority, which fosters a culture of ownership and accountability. When crisis strikes, teams can act swiftly without waiting for top-down instructions.

Whitney Wolfe Herd: Redefining Social Platforms with Purpose

Whitney Wolfe Herd, founder and CEO of Bumble, has revolutionised the social networking space by creating a platform where women make the first move. Under her leadership, Bumble became one of the most popular dating apps, valued at over $8 billion. During periods of uncertainty, such as the pandemic. She focused on maintaining a strong sense of community and purpose, expanding Bumble’s services into areas like friendship and professional networking.

Key Takeaway for Leaders: Prioritise a mission-driven strategy that empowers your audience and diversify offerings to build resilience. Leading with purpose and community focus can strengthen an organisation, even in uncertain times.

Indra Nooyi: Leading with Purpose

During her time as CEO of PepsiCo, Indra Nooyi led the company through the 2008 financial crisis with a strategy called “performance with purpose.” She focused on the core business while investing in healthier product lines, ensuring that PepsiCo not only survived the crisis but also emerged with a stronger, more diversified portfolio.

Key Takeaway for Leaders: Leading with purpose helps organisations stay true to their core values while adapting to change. Purpose-driven strategies can guide decision-making and keep teams motivated, even in challenging times.

Applying These Lessons

In times of uncertainty, the most successful leaders balance short-term crisis management with long-term strategic vision. Whether it’s empowering teams, emphasizing agility, or leading with purpose, these leaders offer practical lessons that can be applied across industries. For current and aspiring leaders, the ability to remain adaptable, communicate effectively, and foster resilience within teams is key to navigating through any crisis.

By learning from the biggest, leaders can better prepare their organisations to not only withstand uncertainty but emerge stronger and more innovative.