The latest official insolvency figures for registered companies across England and Wales are not making great news at the moment. In July 2024 there were 2,191 insolvencies – a 16% rise on the same month last year and higher than lockdown and pre-pandemic levels. The number of company insolvencies also remains much higher than between 2014 and 2019. 

Every business is different, but these figures in part reflect a number of pressures causing a perfect storm in the business world, including economic uncertainty, high interest rates, rising energy prices, the effects of the pandemic and Brexit and supply chain problems. 

Ensuring an organisation can both survive and thrive is one of the key topics covered in the Impellus Level 5 course Organisational Leadership Skills. 

Four-stage life cycle

Organisations evolve as they transition through a four-stage life cycle. Each stage requires a different approach to decision-making and has its own challenges and opportunities. 

Which stage of the life cycle is your organisation at? 

  1. Birth: typically, your organisation will be small and relatively flat in structure. Getting established and functioning is your main concern. Big decisions are carefully considered as they could have a major effect on your future success.
  2. Growth: your organisation is becoming more established and starting to grow. Challenges at this stage may include managing a growing client base, employing the best talent and putting in place effective processes and procedures.
  3. Maturity: efficiency and profitability are the main priorities at this stage and you may be involved in mergers and acquisitions. Your organisation could remain the mature phase for many years.
  4. Decline: this phase can lead to the death of your organisation or its rebirth. The outcome will depend on how you react and what decisions you make in the face of a number of potential challenges such as new competition, environmental and political influences, macro-economic events or technological advances. 

Rebirth requires adapting your business strategy to reach new and different sectors or bringing new products and services to market – a process that demands skilled decision-making, adaptation, re-invention and innovation. Is your organisation ready for rebirth? 

This four-stage life cycle is explored in our two-day Level 5 course, Organisational Leadership Skills, which focuses on the manager’s role as leader, facilitator and motivator, providing the opportunity for delegates to assess their natural leadership styles and discover how to adapt and change where necessary to get the best results. 

Find out more about the Impellus Organisational Leadership Skills course. 

*GOV.UK: monthly insolvency statisticsÂ