5 Leadership Trends That Could Shape 2026
Leaders are used to hearing that the world is changing fast. New ideas, technologies and ways of working are emerging all the time. What is standard practice today could be outmoded tomorrow. Often, it’s a challenge just to keep up.
So, given the rapid pace of change, how should leaders prepare for the year ahead? Here are five key trends they should be aware of – leadership trends that could shape 2026:
1. Strategy will be every leader’s business
“The world is shifting faster than most leaders can process,” says Charlie Curson, a strategic advisor, accredited leadership coach and author of Be More Strategic: 12 Essential Practices for the Life and Career You Want. “Artificial intelligence (AI) is redrawing the boundaries of work and decision-making. Geopolitical tensions are reshaping global trade, supply chains and access to critical resources. Climate volatility is accelerating a rethink of food, energy and manufacturing security. Amid such turbulence, the leaders who will thrive in 2026 are those who can pause, step back and think – and act – strategically.”
Such is the importance of strategic thinking to organizational life that Curson believes that strategy – and being strategic – is no longer the preserve of CEOs and the business school elite. “It is a capability every leader – emerging or existing – needs to continually improve and develop,” he says. “It means zooming out to see patterns others miss, making deliberate choices about where to focus energy, resources and attention and balancing short-term action with long-term positioning.”
Curson argues that in an age of uncertainty, the innate reflex to “do more, faster” must give way to the discipline of “think better, smarter.” Strategic thinking creates calm amid chaos, he suggests, because it connects intentions to outcomes and replaces reactivity with purposeful choice and action. “The next decade will reward those who can cultivate that mindset,” he says, “combining curiosity, critical thinking and courageous decision-making, to better navigate complexity and make confident choices in an unpredictable world.”
2. Rise of the CxO twin
Wouldn’t it be great to have one-to-one mentoring from someone who has first-hand experience of doing your job, right when you need it? That’s exactly what C-suite leaders get when they’re supported by a fractional twin.
“We are already seeing a strong shift toward hiring experienced former executives known as ‘fractional twins’ for C-suite support,” says Sara Daw, group CEO of The Liberti Group, a provider of part-time professionals, and author of Strategy and Leadership as Service – How the Access Economy Meets the C-Suite. “This trend is set to grow in 2026.”
Fractional twins are neither deputies nor temporary replacements. “They are experienced leaders who offer adaptable and strategic support to executive teams,” says Daw, “giving extra help quickly without the expense of hiring full-time staff.”
Daw points out that the demands on top executives continue to grow, covering digital transformation, strategy and leadership. As a result, dependence on already overstretched leaders also grows, increasing risk. “Fractional twins help address this challenge by offering targeted expertise on demand, filling skills gaps and reducing burnout,” she says.
Fractional experts enhance executives’ leadership capabilities, bringing important industry knowledge and help with digital innovation. “Their support can be scaled up or down to fit each organization’s specific goals,” she says. “They help companies become agile, avoid employee burnout and provide budget-friendly expert assistance.”
3. Human infrastructure will be recognized as the foundation of innovation
“In 2026, leaders will be squeezed by three very powerful forces: accelerating AI, rising sustainability imperatives and the constant drive for profitable growth in uncertainty,” says Barbara Salopek, author of Future-Fit Innovation, CEO of sustainable innovation hub Vinco Innovation AS and adjunct lecturer at BI Norwegian Business School.
“The true bridge across these divides is an organizational culture of innovation,” Salopek maintains. “It’s no coincidence that the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to researchers for their deep work on innovation-driven growth, making clear that innovation is at the very heart of long-term progress.”
Yet Salopek emphasizes that innovation never succeeds without the human infrastructure behind it: psychological safety, openness and trust. “I’ve seen too many initiatives flounder because leaders launched tools or mandates while neglecting the social fabric,” she says. “Without space to experiment, fail and iterate, even the boldest AI or sustainability goals wither.”
The strongest organizations treat innovation as continuous, according to Salopek, combining structure with adaptability and diversity with discipline. “In 2026, success won’t depend on adopting the newest tech,” she says. “It will depend on embedding a mindset of collective curiosity, courage and co-creation. And for that your organization needs stamina and resilience.”
4. Changing talent trends
Next year will bring further disruption to careers, creating a test for leaders. “The question is no longer what will happen to talent, but what will you do about it?” says Dr Helmut Schuster, a career expert and co-author of Artificial Death of a Career: How to stay relevant and thrive in the age of AI.
Schuster identifies four career trends that demand leadership action. The first is the shrinking pool of traditional, entry-level roles for graduates, which gives leaders an opportunity to rethink how they develop and grow junior talent. He recommends that leaders replace generic graduate schemes with roles designed around specific skills and outcomes and hire more for potential and learning agility than for perfect CVs or universities. He also suggests building “first three years” pathways with rotations, mentoring and visible progress.
The second significant trend is the scarcity of AI talent. “Everyone wants AI talent,” says Schuster. “Very few have enough.” He believes that trying to solve an AI skills shortage through recruitment alone is a mistake, however, and advises creating AI academies or learning paths that enable existing employees to upskill into AI roles.
As a result of flatter hierarchies within organizations, people have less opportunity to “climb the career ladder” than in the past. This is the third career trend. Schuster warns that unless leaders rewrite the deal, they could lose their best people. “Offer career moves that aren’t promotions,” he suggests. These include lateral shifts and project leadership. It’s also important to talk openly about reinvention and normalize mid-career reskilling rather than hide it behind restructuring.
The last career trend is the trend toward portfolio careers – for example, people are increasingly juggling full-time or part-time work with entrepreneurships. “Allow and manage side-projects instead of pretending they don’t exist,” advises Schuster. “Set clear boundaries, not blanket bans.”
5. Agentic workforce
Agentic AI is one of the hottest topics in business for good reason. According to consultancy McKinsey, “agents have the potential to automate complex business processes – combining autonomy, planning, memory and integration – to shift genAI from a reactive tool to a proactive, goal-driven virtual collaborator”.
Chetan Dube, founder of digital employee technology provider Quant, believes that agentic AI will transform workplaces in 2026. “In 2026 the key separator between you, your current state of business and your competition will be digital agentic employees,” he says. “As you look to grow, increase speed, accuracy and overall efficiency, digital agentic employees will be the tool that moves you and your business to the top of your industry.”
Dube says that leaders can assign agentic AI “the tasks of everything from answering all web chat and phone call inquiries, maximizing your use of the supply chain, handling all outbound payments, and all in-bound payments received, to ensuring your company is always compliant with all local, regional and national laws.”
Deployment of agentic AI needs a leader’s full attention, Dube says. “For you to best use the technology, clear your calendar to make sure you are in the meetings with coders and engineers. Learn the language, learn where the challenges are and know what you are really investing in and how it will move your business forward. This isn’t some new tech; it is the revolutionary innovation of our times. You have to approach it with everything you have.”
Leadership trends in 2026
As of today, 2026 is a story that is yet to be written. No leader knows exactly how it will pan out. But by heeding critical lessons from 2025 and developing future-proof skills, leaders will be able to help their organizations successfully navigate all the challenges that the next 12 months will bring.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2025/12/08/5-leadership-trends-that-could-shape-2026/
