By Adrian Gostick
Every January, a few leaders I coach express the hope that “This will be the year where things finally settle down.”
It’s a nice thought.
The problem is, right on schedule, somewhere in the first quarter or so, a new technology appears, expectations shift, or a fresh wave of uncertainty hits … forcing faster decisions with less clarity.
After working with executives across industries, one pattern has become clear: the most effective leaders aren’t waiting for calm to return. They’ve accepted that change is simply the condition they are working in now.
As 2026 approaches, the best leaders are getting smarter about what works and, just as important, what no longer does. They’re rethinking how they lead and show up for their people in an environment that refuses to slow down.
1. From AI Adoption to AI Discernment
In 2025, leaders hurried to get their teams up to speed on AI. In 2026, the smartest leaders will focus on when and how to use it.
The novelty has worn off. Now, it’s not about who has access to AI but who uses it wisely. The real difference will be knowing when AI helps, when it brings risk, and when human judgment is still most important.
The best leaders are not trying to replace people with technology. They’re using AI to:
- Reduce busywork and cognitive overload
- Surface better insights faster
- Free humans to do more creative, relational, and strategic work
In other words, AI is no longer the star of the show but more the stage crew. It does its job best when it stays out of the spotlight and lets people to do what only humans can do: think, connect, and make judgment decisions.
2. The Rise of Emotionally Intelligent Leadership (Finally, for Real)
People have talked about emotional intelligence for years. In 2026, it will not be a “nice to have” but a must-have for leaders.
Why? Because team members are tired. Dog tired. Not “I need a vacation” tired, but mentally overloaded. They’ve been asked to constantly adapt to change and do “more with less,” and many are close to burnout. That can show up as cynicism or disengagement. And for a growing number of younger employees, that exhaustion is showing up as detachment. They’re not lazy, they’re just unconvinced that work should come at the cost of well-being, and unconvinced that leaders truly understand the load they’re carrying.
All this is why emotional intelligence becomes essential as a leadership skill. It’s foundational to how people engage, commit, and perform.
The leaders who stand out now are the ones who can:
- Regulate themselves under pressure before trying to regulate others (after all, we can’t connect with others if we aren’t connected with our own emotions)
- Read the emotional temperature of a room
- Create psychological safety in a team without lowering standards
- Have real conversations, not just efficient ones
This trend in 2026 is not about going soft, but about being steady. The most effective leaders will balance clarity and compassion; they’ll push for results while also understanding the real limits of the humans on their teams.
3. Agile Leadership Beats Charismatic Leadership
Leadership culture still celebrates the bold visionary: the big personality with all the answers. In 2026, that approach will quietly fade. Instead, agile leadership will take its place.
Today’s best leaders don’t act like they have all the answers. They ask good questions and really listen. They create workplaces where people feel safe to speak up before small problems turn into big ones.
Agile leaders:
- Learn to make decisions with incomplete data
- Invite dissent without losing authority
- Course-correct quickly without ego
- Are willing to take risks (and allow others to do so as well) and admit when they make mistakes
- Build teams that can think, not just execute
Most importantly, agile leaders know the difference between confidence and certainty. They’re comfortable saying, “Here’s what we know, here’s what we don’t, and here’s how I think we can figure it out together.”
That way of thinking builds long-term trust, and trust will be the real currency of leadership in 2026.
This coming year in leadership won’t be about having all the answers. It will be about finding solutions together, as a team. It’ll be about moving forward with people who want to work with you, not for you.
The leaders who understand this won’t just survive the next wave of change, they’ll shape it.
Source: Forbes