The headlines are full: weaker growth, geopolitical uncertainty, volatile energy markets. No wonder managers often ask resignedly in meetings: “What else can we do?” The sober answer is: complaining doesn’t change anything. Action does – and where we really have influence.

The current framework: Between retreat and signal effect

Europe is currently experiencing cautiously positive growth: in the second quarter of 2025, seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 0.1% in the eurozone and by 0.2% in the EU compared to the previous quarter.(European Commission)

There are also signs of a tense business climate in Germany. According to the ifo Institute, the ifo Business Climate Index fell to 87.7 points in September 2025, down from 88.9 points in August.(ifo Institute)

Economic growth in Austria is expected to stagnate in 2025. Instead of a decline, GDP is expected to be close to 0%. Moderate growth of +1.2 % should not be possible until 2026. (WIFO Economic Outlook)(WIFO)

These indicators suggest that companies in many regions are acting cautiously – caution is particularly evident when it comes to investment and consumption. In many companies, HR and managers are feeling this uncertainty directly: Investment freezes, cost brakes, job considerations and
-reductions, restructuring everywhere. However, this external threat of shock must not be allowed to legitimize internal passivity. The framework conditions are challenging – volatile yes, but not without alternatives. Those who act strategically can turn current headwinds into long-term opportunities. How can you do this? In this blog article, I will show you four steps on how to move from passivity to action and provide you with a clear 90-day plan that you can implement on your own or together with us.

From reaction to strategic design: four core elements with a focus on the ability to act

1. shift from a focus on problems to a sense of responsibility
The first step is mental: companies that only ever list external reasons (“The market is bad”, “Politics…”) relinquish their power to act. The ability to act arises when teams and management ask themselves questions:

• What is within our sphere of influence?
• What decisions can we make now that will have a real impact?

In other words, a change of perspective from “What is happening to us?” to “What are we doing?” This sounds banal, but it carries weight: those who set the agenda instead of waiting for it react. This internal shift makes companies flexible and resilient, especially now. In workshops and management meetings, the question must be asked openly: “What levers do we have and how can we use them? Where are the opportunities that we have not yet considered?”

2. focus on the essentials
In turbulent times, it seems necessary to respond to everything at once – cost pressure, market changes, competitive shifts, staff turnover and a shortage of skilled workers. There seems to be an immediate solution to all challenges. Wait a minute, companies that want to remain capable of acting in the long term need to be sharp:

• clear priorities,
• Allocation of resources to a few key initiatives, and
• Courage to be disciplined, less, but to do it with punch.

If you manage 20 projects half-heartedly, you will get bogged down – so take a step back to consider whether you are driving the right projects forward. A guiding question could be: “What are we really good at, what are our strengths and how can we develop these potentials further?”

All the activities you put in place now need to pay into this objective so you keep heading into the storm.

3. look inside the organization: minimize frictional losses
You often need to tidy up internally first – within your own structure

• too many meetings,
• redundant reconciliations,
• hated reporting,
• lack of decision-making processes.

Companies that have been growing for years know this: A significant proportion of daily working time is lost to internal friction. If you recognize and reduce these “internal inefficiencies”, you will gain dramatically more power to act than through external subsidies. This also includes measures such as streamlining processes, access rules for decisions and targeted experimentation to change working methods. Look for internal “pain points”, where there are blockages in work processes, especially those that limit your strengths should be eliminated now.

You will also recognize that employees often prioritize visible work instead of impact-oriented tasks (performative work). The so-called “productivity theater”(https://www.visier.com/blog/productivity-survey-shows-performative-work/) is in full swing and ensures that you do not act in a strength-oriented manner and with a clear focus. This way of acting is exacerbated when personnel discussions are unavoidable.

Those who visibly show how much they have to do have a better chance of staying because they are irreplaceable. But now you need precisely those who act in an impact-oriented manner – and these are usually the very people who are the first to leave when uncertainty arises.

4. leadership as a cultural attitude – trust as a raw material
The basis for this, technology, structure, processes – these are all necessary building blocks, but without cultural anchoring they are often toothless. Trust is not a nice-to-have, but a central lever. Teams in which psychological security prevails make bolder decisions, learn more quickly and cope better in a crisis. Studies and reports on corporate sentiment show that Trust and leadership actions correlate strongly with economic recovery trends. https://economy-finance.ec.europa.eu/document/download/5ceece97-d15b-4994-9950-b61c5f36ef1a_en?filename=bcs_2025_09_en.pdf

Managers must be role models: the way they deal with uncertainty, communicate openly, encourage innovation or invite criticism strengthens a team and brings strength-oriented work to the fore. Pulse surveys on psychological safety, targeted reflection sessions and micro-measures in day-to-day management are not a luxury, but the core of resilience.

Outlook and practical implementation – achieving greater empowerment in 90 days

In this phase, technologies and AI tools provide valuable services – but they cannot replace culture. Their strength lies in automating routine activities (e.g. reporting, data aggregation), simulating scenarios and providing decision-making aids. This creates space – space for strategic focus work and humanity – if managers really use the potential. Incorrect use, on the other hand, can undermine trust (e.g. if AI is misused to justify staff cuts).

Better linked can help you stay on course in transformation processes and develop clear, jointly supported guidelines for a secure view of the future.

An exemplary implementation plan could look like this:
– Together we define your three priorities for the next quarter. They are clearly formulated with a focus on strengths.

– At the same time, we start an audit of internal friction together with your team and scrutinize meetings, reports and decision-making cascades. Everyone has “pain points” that are not actually needed.

– We then define initial experiments (e.g. halving meetings, delegating decisions autonomously) and thus create space for innovation. Perhaps strength-oriented knowledge has been buried by too much “action”.

– In the fourth week, we will launch a Pulse survey on safety & motivation, which will be followed by the first micro-measures.

– Weeks five and six are dedicated to reflection, adaptation and roll-out of these measures.

Important: In all these processes, you have clear leadership and we ask the right questions. You already have the knowledge and strength within the company to master even difficult phases.

If this process is successful, an organization will gradually emerge that does not constantly react, but rather shapes: with employees who understand in which direction they lead, why they work and how they make their contribution. This is the path from uncertainty to self-efficacy.

Conclusion: The inner compass is decisive in a crisis

Today’s data testifies to uncertainty: however, this range does not represent powerlessness – but an opportunity: companies that strengthen their internal architecture now will have an impact later.

The fundamental decision is: complain or create. Those who shape things draw energy from clear decisions, internal efficiency and a cultural foundation of trust. This is the power that not only carries companies through the crisis – but can also turn them into winners.