By Jean Brittain Leslie
Center for Creative Leadership
Summary
This exploratory study examines organizational performance during polycrisis conditions through systematic analysis of six companies across diverse sectors (utilities, aviation, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, food, electronics). The research addresses a critical gap in organizational literature by investigating how organizations navigate interconnected crises while simultaneously advancing business, environmental, and social objectives—a phenomenon the authors term “threading the needle.”
Using publicly available data from 2024-2025, the study employs a comprehensive assessment framework evaluating organizations across eight dimensions: sustainable practices and environmental responsibility, complex adaptive systems capabilities, systems thinking orientation, innovation in crisis management, cross-sectoral collaboration, ethical frameworks and transparency, responsive organizational culture, and welfare beyond human concerns. The methodology integrates established organizational performance literature with polycrisis theory to understand integrated approaches to multi-domain challenges.
The study’s primary contribution lies in challenging the conventional assumption that business success requires trade-offs between financial performance and socio-ecological objectives. Through rigorous case analysis, the research identifies ten evidence-based organizational practices that enable superior performance across multiple stakeholder domains simultaneously, even during major disruptions including pandemics, natural disasters, cyberattacks, and supply chain crises.
Findings reveal that organizations demonstrating strong “threading the needle” capabilities achieve compound benefits through strategic investments serving multiple objectives, systems thinking that eliminates false trade-offs, crisis conversion mechanisms that transform disruptions into competitive advantages, and stakeholder partnerships that expand organizational capacity. The research provides both theoretical advancement in understanding polycrisis organizational behavior and practical frameworks for leaders navigating complex, interconnected challenges.
The study acknowledges limitations including reliance on publicly available data, focus on large organizations, and exploratory methodology, while establishing foundations for future empirical research on organizational performance during systemic disruption.
Citation
Leslie, J. B. (2025). Threading the needle: Ten practices for navigating polycrisis while advancing socio-ecological wellbeing. Center for Creative Leadership. https://doi.org/10.35613/ccl.2025.2067
