Yesterday’s newsfeed was a torrent: Markets rattled by inflation worries, another cyberattack shutting down hospitals in the Midwest, political leaders trading barbs on global stages, political violence threatening to tear us apart, and a generative AI model making headlines for both promise and peril. Some days it feels like the world is spinning off its axis. And yet — amid the chaos — digital leaders must still show up, inspire their teams and transform their organizations.

In times like these, I find myself drawn back to Rudyard Kipling’s classic poem, If. Written more than a century ago, its wisdom echoes with uncanny resonance in today’s boardrooms and Zoom calls. Leading digital teams in 2025 demands precisely the virtues Kipling described: Balance, resilience, humility and vision.

Keeping Your Head When All About You Are Losing Theirs

Kipling begins: “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you…”

Every digital leader I know is living this line. The pressure is relentless: Supply chains disrupted, cybersecurity threats multiplying, AI’s role in the enterprise both tantalizing and terrifying. Teams look to their leaders not just for technical direction but for calm.

In practice, “keeping your head” means resisting the knee-jerk reaction. When a breach occurs, don’t point fingers — focus on containment and learning. When boards demand instant AI adoption, temper enthusiasm with governance. When markets swoon, keep sight of the long game of transformation. Leaders who stay composed under pressure give their teams permission to breathe and focus.

Trusting Yourself When All Men Doubt You

Kipling continues: “If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting too…”

Digital leadership is a lonely post. The CEO may be skeptical, the CFO impatient, the workforce wary. Yet conviction is vital. If you believe your organization’s future rests on moving workloads to the cloud, on embedding AI responsibly, on automating the software pipeline — trust that vision.

But “making allowance” matters too. Dissent isn’t betrayal; it’s data. Smart leaders listen, acknowledge concerns, and adjust course where necessary. Trust in yourself is not arrogance; it’s confidence tempered by empathy.

Meeting Triumph and Disaster — And Treating Those Impostors Just the Same

We’ve all seen initiatives swing from hype to disillusionment in record time. One quarter, your platform engineering strategy is hailed as visionary; the next, it’s questioned because outages spiked.

Kipling reminds us: “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same…”

That means leaders can’t live in LinkedIn applause or die by Twitter criticism. Stay even-keeled. Celebrate wins without complacency; confront setbacks without despair. Digital transformation is a marathon, not a sprint — and both glory and grief are fleeting mile markers along the route.

Challenges for Digital Leaders in Turbulent Times

So what are the dragons we face as we try to lead amidst today’s turmoil? A few stand tall:

• Disinformation and trust erosion: Employees are bombarded by conflicting narratives, making alignment harder than ever.
• The AI imperative: Boards demand rapid adoption, yet the ethical and operational risks loom large.
• Cybersecurity sprawl: Tool fatigue and talent shortages combine to leave gaps, even as threats escalate.
• Change fatigue: After years of nonstop transformation, teams are weary. Morale and retention are real concerns.
• Economic whiplash: Investment budgets expand and contract unpredictably, testing leaders’ adaptability.
  

These aren’t footnotes — they’re the operating environment.

Solid Suggestions: Thriving Amid the Storm

How, then, can digital leaders embody Kipling’s wisdom and succeed?

1. Anchor in purpose. Keep teams connected to the “why.” Transformation isn’t about tools, it’s about delivering value to customers and communities.
2. Invest in resilience. Build redundancy not just into systems, but into people — cross-train, mentor and empower.
3. Lead with radical transparency. Share the challenges, not just the victories. Authenticity builds trust.
4. Balance innovation with governance. Encourage experimentation with AI and automation, but set clear guardrails.
5. Protect your teams. Shield them from unnecessary noise — political, market, or otherwise — so they can focus on what they do best.
6. Model calm under fire. Your demeanor is contagious. The steadier you are, the steadier your teams will be.
   

The Shimmy Take

Kipling closes with perhaps his most famous lines:

“If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

And — which is more — you’ll be a Man, my son!”

For our purposes, swap “Man” with “Leader.” If you can keep pressing forward, every minute, every meeting, every release cycle—despite the storms—then yes, yours is the Earth, or at least your small corner of the digital enterprise.

The world will not get calmer anytime soon. Politics will remain fractious, economies volatile, technologies disruptive. But digital leaders don’t get to sit out the turmoil. We’re called to lead through it.

Kipling gave us a blueprint. The rest is up to us.

On Leadership

If—

by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;

If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!