When organisations talk about transitioning to Industry 5.0 (i5.0), they’re usually referring to moving beyond the automation and efficiency focus of Industry 4.0 toward a human-centric, sustainable, and resilient industrial paradigm. Change leaders in this context face a dual challenge: adopting advanced technologies and ensuring people, purpose, and sustainability remain at the core.
Here’s a practical Industry 5.0 Playbook for Leaders — structured as a step-by-step guide with clear actions, checkpoints, and leader behaviours:
🌐 i5.0 Leadership Playbook
Purpose: Help leaders guide their organisations through the transition to Industry 5.0 by focusing on human-centricity, sustainability, and resilience alongside technology adoption.
- Define & Align the Vision
Actions:
- Craft a clear narrative: “Why Industry 5.0? What value for people, planet, profit?”
- Translate this into 3–5 strategic priorities (e.g., employee empowerment, sustainable operations, customer personalisation).
- Align with corporate mission, ESG commitments, and innovation agenda.
Leader behaviours:
✔ Communicate vision in simple language
✔ Reiterate “people + technology together”
✔ Set measurable success indicators
- Put People at the Centre
Actions:
- Map current workforce skills vs. future needs.
- Launch reskilling/upskilling programs (AI literacy, creative problem-solving, cross-disciplinary collaboration).
- Introduce employee forums for shaping technology adoption.
Leader behaviours:
✔ Listen actively to workforce concerns
✔ Reward creativity, adaptability, and collaboration
✔ Champion lifelong learning
- Human–Machine Collaboration Design
Actions:
- Identify processes where Cobots/AI can augment human work.
- Redesign jobs to emphasise human strengths (creativity, empathy, judgment).
- Pilot collaborative technology projects with small teams before scaling.
Leader behaviours:
✔ Frame technology as a partner, not a replacement
✔ Share stories of successful human–machine collaboration
✔ Encourage experimentation
- Build Sustainability into Every Decision
Actions:
- Apply green design principles to new products and processes.
- Set measurable goals (e.g., carbon reduction, waste elimination, circular economy adoption).
- Require suppliers/partners to align with sustainability standards.
Leader behaviours:
✔ Lead conversations about ethics and responsibility
✔ Ask “What’s the environmental and social impact?” at every decision point
✔ Celebrate sustainability wins publicly
- Strengthen Resilience & Agility
Actions:
- Invest in digital twins, predictive analytics, scenario planning for supply chain resilience.
- Set up rapid-response governance teams for tech adoption and crises.
- Encourage modular, flexible processes that can pivot quickly.
Leader behaviours:
✔ Stay calm under uncertainty
✔ Model adaptability by shifting priorities when needed
✔ Encourage learning from failure
- Engage & Co-Create with Stakeholders
Actions:
- Launch open innovation platforms (involving employees, customers, communities).
- Build partnerships with startups, universities, and regulators.
- Run quarterly stakeholder engagement sessions.
Leader behaviours:
✔ Practice transparency in progress and challenges
✔ Share credit across teams and partners
✔ Use storytelling to bring people along
- Lead the Change Journey
Actions:
- Set up clear change roadmap (milestones, pilots, scale-up phases).
- Use change champions across business units.
- Track and communicate wins regularly to sustain momentum.
Leader behaviours:
✔ Be visible and hands-on in transformation projects
✔ Recognise and celebrate early adopters
✔ Role-model curiosity, digital fluency, and ethical leadership
🛠️ Leader’s Quick Checklist
✅ Have we defined and communicated our i5.0 vision?
✅ Are we upskilling people before rolling out new tech?
✅ Are we redesigning work for human strengths?
✅ Have we embedded sustainability metrics in decisions?
✅ Are we building resilience and agility into systems?
✅ Are stakeholders engaged and co-creating?
✅ Am I role-modelling the change I expect from others?
⚡ Bottom Line: In Industry 5.0, leaders succeed not just by adopting technology, but by orchestrating a people + tech + planet symphony.
