International researches
Harvard Business Publishing – 2025 Global Leadership Development Study (2025)
- Type: Research report based on ~1,100 L&D / leadership development professionals.
- Challenges highlighted:
- Building a change-seeking, change-ready culture as a top priority.
- Difficulty sustaining behaviour change after programs (transfer to workplace).
- Need for more personalized, experiential, and continuous learning, not one-off courses.
→https://www.harvardbusiness.org/insight/2025-global-leadership-development-study/
Deloitte – 2025 Global Human Capital Trends (2024–25 cycle)
- Type: Global human capital/leadership report.
- Key tensions leaders are struggling with:
- Control vs empowerment, stability vs agility, automation vs augmentation.
- Leaders are trapped in “either/or” thinking instead of “both/and” approaches.
→https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/topics/talent/human-capital-trends.html
https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/topics/talent/human-capital-trends.html#introduction
McKinsey
“What’s Missing in Leadership Development?” (McKinsey Report)
- Type: Research-based insight/report
Key Insight: McKinsey surveyed hundreds of global executives and found that only ~11% strongly agree their leadership programs achieve sustained results — highlighting a persistent leadership capability gap. The paper examines why many leadership development efforts fail to translate into tangible performance improvements and identifies actions that do matter at scale.
- Useful for Uplift Protocol: Yes — because it provides evidence on where common leadership development fails and what structural investments and designs actually close the gap.
“The State of Organizations 2023” (McKinsey Organizational Health Research)
- Type: Empirical research report
- Key Insight: While broader than just leadership, this report explores organizational constraints, including leadership capability shortfalls and how they reduce execution effectiveness. It’s data-rich and useful for grounding discussions about a leadership gap in systematic organizational research.
Useful for Uplift Protocol: Yes — helps connect leadership gaps to organizational performance outcomes.
Design targeted interventions — reports like Leadership at Scale and Scaling the 21st-Century Leadership Factory describe models and mechanisms that do work to build capability.
→ https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/scaling-the-21st-century-leadership-factory
Teneo: Transformation pressure and leadership readiness
Teneo’s “Transformation in Numbers” survey of 480 decision makers across all six GCC countries (55% private, 45% public) finds that leaders are optimistic about growth but see technology, talent, and ESG as their top concerns – and many struggle to keep up with the pace of transformation.
→https://www.teneo.com/insights/articles/transformation-in-numbers-unpacking-gcc-decision-makers-priorities-and-perspectives/
How Uplift Protocol responds
- Uplift Protocol equips leaders with mental and emotional tools to lead under continuous transformation – not just to manage projects, but to lead people through uncertainty.
- We focus on decision-making, resilience, and communication in high-stakes environments typical of GCC public and private organisations.
Frontiers in: Culture matters: imported models don’t stick
Navigating change: the role of change management strategies and cultural factors in Saudi Arabian organizations
→https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1551902/full
How Uplift Protocol responds
- Uplift Protocol is explicitly GCC-sensitive: our exercises, language, and case studies are tailored to the social, organisational, and cultural dynamics of the Gulf.
- Instead of fighting culture, we work with it: we use NGNLP-based methods to shift beliefs and behaviours inside existing cultural frames (e.g. high power-distance, collectivist norms) so change actually sticks.
- This makes Uplift a bridge between cutting-edge psychology and the reality of Gulf organisations.
Dovepress: Leadership capability gaps in key sectors
Studies across Gulf healthcare and public organisations identify leadership competency gaps, weak pipelines, and a historical focus on technical expertise rather than strategic and people leadership skills.
Research on organisational change and governance in Saudi Arabia shows that transformation is often driven by centralised national plans, while frontline leaders lack the mindset and tools to translate those visions into daily behaviour.
→https://sajhrm.co.za/index.php/sajhrm/article/view/3136/5090
How Uplift Protocol responds
- Uplift Protocol focuses on practical, visible behaviours: how leaders coach, give feedback, handle conflict, and create psychological safety in their teams.
- We build strategic leadership muscle on top of technical expertise, closing the gap that the research repeatedly highlights.
- The protocol is designed for sectors like healthcare, public service, industry, and education – where transformation is most intense and leadership capability is most critical.
Inclusion, gender, and psychological safety
What the research says
- Recent governance research in Saudi Arabia documents cultural and organisational barriers that still limit women’s access to leadership roles and calls for more inclusive leadership frameworks aligned with Vision 2030.
→https://virtusinterpress.org/IMG/pdf/cbv21i2art4.pdf
How Uplift Protocol responds
- Uplift Protocol works at the level of beliefs, biases, and identity, helping leaders recognise and shift the unconscious patterns that block inclusion and collaboration.
- Our methodology strengthens psychological safety and trust, which research shows are essential foundations for inclusive, high-performing teams.
- This positions Uplift as a practical tool for organisations that want to turn ESG and Vision 2030 commitments into everyday leadership behaviour.
DDI – Global Leadership Forecast 2025
→https://www.ddi.com/research/global-leadership-forecast-2025
DDI – 2025 HR Insights / Leadership-stress / Trust-gap summary
→https://www.ddi.com/about/media/global-leadership-forecast-2025
PwC Middle East – 28th Annual CEO Survey: Middle East findings (2025 edition)
→https://www.pwc.com/m1/en/ceo-survey/28th-ceo-survey-middle-east-findings-2025.html
PwC Middle East – PDF version of the 2025 regional CEO Survey report
→https://www.pwc.com/m1/en/ceosurvey/2025/docs/28-ceo-survey-regional-report.pdf
KPMG Middle East – Middle East CEO Outlook 2025 (Saudi / Gulf region)
→https://kpmg.com/sa/en/insights/sector-insights/middle-east-ceo-outlook-2025.html