Between war, the food and the fuel crises, loadshedding and Elon Musk, 2022 proved to be much less of a blessed post-pandemic relief than many IT leaders were hoping for. This was reflected in the historically long decline of prices on the NASDAQ index, precipitating the layoff of thousands of workers at all of the big tech firms, just in time for the holiday season.

Only a fool would make predictions for what 2023 holds, and there are plenty of tech trend articles out there already. But there are unlikely to be many who are expecting a swift turnaround in fortunes as far as macroeconomic conditions go, meaning that the best advice for leaders is to follow the scouts motto and ‘be prepared’, still. Brace yourself for more volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity, the old-fashioned ‘VUCA’ conditions that challenge managers’ abilities to their core. But you should also heed the words of Maureen Metcalf, CEO of the Innovative Leadership Institute: be prepared to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves in chaotic times. Resilient organisations and teams, or ‘antifragile’ ones, as she puts it, can intentionally shift their outlook and chance of survival in tough times using a more positive take on VUCA: vision, understanding, clarity and agility.