Leadership in the 21st century

Professor Vicki Culpin

How has leadership changed?

The world of work has undoubtedly changed beyond recognition in the last few years, but have the leadership skills needed to navigate this new world changed too?

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What do you know now as a leader that you wish you had known just one year ago?

The world of work has undoubtedly changed beyond recognition in the last few years, but have the leadership skills needed to navigate this new world changed?

This report explores the lessons have leaders learned, and which leadership skills they feel are going to be needed most urgently for the future.

The research team, led by Vicki Culpin, Professor of Organizational Behaviour at Hult Ashridge, surveyed 192 leaders across different seniorities to find out:

  • The critical leadership lessons from their experiences of the past year

  • What advice they would give themselves

  • What they believe are the most important leadership skills for future success

Our 2025 research – The Better Leaders Paradox – cites findings from this earlier report.

What you'll discover in the report:

Hybrid working is here to stay, and leaders need to recognize its benefits and challenges.


The need to role model well-being is as important as ever for leadership success.


The leadership skills of the future should build on what was needed in the early days of the pandemic – the ‘human’ side of leadership.


The role of the leader in the future will be to communicate purpose and vision.


Leaders need to be comfortable working in and communicating amid uncertainty and volatility.

Read the full report to find out more

Meet the expert

Headshot of Vicki Culpin

Vicki Culpin

Professor of Organizational Behavior at Hult International Business School

Vicki specializes in how to master leadership and resilience in turbulent times and has spent over 20 years researching the impact of well-being and memory. 

Vicki also researches in the field of adult pedagogy, specifically in relation to learning transfer. Vicki works with a range of clients from across the world, advising on leadership development, along with sharing her research findings.

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We help leaders and organizations to change.