Reshaping for the Future, Embracing our Humanity
It felt appropriate that our festive issue of our LEADINGThought newsletter looks back on the premise we started from: that maximising human potential benefits business, the economy, and society.
But how do we do that amidst constant disruption? This has been the dominant theme of the last year. The exponential progress in AI technologies has sharpened the focus on what it means to be human, the role of humanity, and how the workplace and society will be changing as AI technologies evolve and become better than humans across several areas.
The models and ways of working that we have established for most of the 20th and 21st century are being challenged.
The words that keep coming up: trust, connection, innovation, but also uncertainty, disruption, resilience, adaptability. There’s a lot of optimism and opportunity coming through, alongside a recognition of the challenges that characterise significant societal and technological transitions.
In this festive roundup we are exploring both the opportunities and challenges and consider the ongoing paradoxes and dilemmas that leaders need to grapple with in the year ahead.
Continuous Adaptability
According to the Alix Partners 2025 Disruption Index [1], executives report an increase in disruption after falling for 2 years. Nevertheless, CEOs are reporting being less anxious, suggesting that we have normalised uncertainty.
Creating a culture of ‘perpetual adaptation’ starts with creating a culture of innovation that views adaptation as the natural state of business. Yet, according to Russell Reynolds’ Global Leadership Monitor, only 42% of leaders chose to reshape organizational culture as part of their transformation journey[7].
Boardroom dynamics also need to change to become adaptive to the uncertainty and macroeconomic conditions. The Alix Partners Disruption index highlights[1]:
Pressure on streamlining board processes, reducing cycle times for decision-making, and injecting dynamism through scenario-modelling to keep the Boards on the front foot.
Management should be open to showing the messy data, alongside traditional structured data, and Directors should be asking open-ended questions rather than trying to pin management down to specific forecasts.
More emphasis on the ecosystem of governance, and management, that is less hierarchical, with an all-star team as a model for success.
Boards and management teams that co-create a dynamic, constructive environment in the Boardroom are at an advantage.
New Leadership Models
Leadership is under pressure.
According to the Russell Reynolds H2 2025 Global Leadership Monitor, the leaders that are successful in this environment demonstrate a number of characteristics: systems thinking, resilience, adaptability, but also real self-knowledge about their values and aspirations, as well as how they think about legacy, and the ability to choreograph a highly effective environment to bring people together[7]. At the same time, Boards and companies are becoming less patient and willing to hang onto strategies that are not delivering results. This is impacting CEO turnover, with a year-on-year reduction in CEO turnover.
Not surprisingly, we are seeing a rising trend of co-CEOs, with the number of co-CEOs doubling since 2020. Organisations such as SAP, Salesforce, Netflix have job-shares in place for the top job, bringing different perspectives in responding to the increasing uncertainty and volatility they are facing.
In her book ‘Leading from Strong ground’, Brene Brown, highlights the importance of leading from strong foundations and the paradox of steadiness and calm in leadership, while trying to achieve explosive, productive change. As she put it, “the best leaders are those who can make time for humanity, when seemingly there is no time” [3].
AI Optimism vs Reality
80% of CEOs are reporting being optimistic about the impact of AI on their organisations, while at the same time a significant number of AI initiatives are underperforming. Only one in five leaders feel that their current organizational strengths actually enable tech change [7].
Boards are therefore asking for ‘practical AI’; dissatisfied with the returns generated to-date they want practical solutions. In a CEO panel at the 2025 FT Global Boardroom, it was highlighted that trust is at the centre of all relationships – rapid decisions should not be reckless decisions, and there should be a proper framework of governance in place given the reputational risk[9].
While Gallup’s research has recorded an increase among US employees on the use of AI tools from 40% to 45% between the third and fourth quarters in 2025, AI adoption among employees is strongly associated with having greater managerial support and strategic integration of AI into their role[4].
The tricky balance therefore between powering through with change versus ensuring that it is integrated across the organisation could be the difference between success and failure in AI adoption.
High Performance vs People Care
Is there a cost to building high performing teams while at the same time caring for people?
Gallup’s State of the World’s Emotional Health report shows that in 2024 more people worldwide were experiencing negative emotions than a decade ago [8]. 75% of employees have also stated that they are looking for greater stability in their future, while a significant predictor of employee wellbeing is a culture of continuous improvement which is amongst the lower rate items according to the Qualtrics 2025 employee experience trends [5].
According to Brene Brown, we can build new skills and mindsets, while at the same time repairing the pervasive ‘disconnection, distrust, and dysregulation’ that people are experiencing’ [3].
We have a choice to power through ignoring the reality of how people are feeling or recognise that what’s messy and vulnerable about our humanity, is a source of courage and achievement if led well.
Gender Parity vs. Growth Puzzle
In an environment of persistent low growth, unlocking potential is key.
There is an acknowledgement of the economic gains from closing the gender gap, in workforce participation, in health, in entrepreneurship:
$28 trillion in annual global GDP.
$1trillion added to the economy by closing the women’s health gap [6].
$2.5 trillion to $5trillion if women founded and scaled businesses at the same rate as men[15].
The list goes on.
Yet, progress has been slow. Instead, we are seeing increased levels of misogyny, women receiving less than 2% of VC funding[15], and spending 25% more of their life in poor health than men.
According to PwC’s Women in Work Index 2025, improvement in women’s workforce participation between 2011-2023 has been shown to increase productivity by 3.59% across the whole period, and result in GDP growth, of approximately $7.8 billion per annum in the UK, $4.5 billion average for the OECD and $15.2 billion for the average G7 country [10].
Further analysis found that closing the gap between male and female participation levels over the next 20 years could contribute to a productivity uplift of 0.22% per annum across all 33 OECD countries on average. This would lead to an increase in GDP of approximately £4.7 billion ($5.9 billion) per annum for the UK, $3.4 billion for the average OECD country, and $11.2 billion for the average G7 country.
The systemic change that needs to take place requires a consistent focus on what works, collecting the data, and measuring outcomes[2].
2026: Reshaping for the future
Whatever choices we make in 2026 will have profound effects on the shape of the workplace and workforce for years to come.
It is looking like a year of paradoxes, and trade-offs but also a year of building the needed pathways for tolerance and ambiguity.
We are challenged to build the future on strong foundations, building new skills and mindsets, while also repairing the singular things that make us human. Is this a challenge we are willing to accept?
Resources
Alix Partners Disruption Index: Get Ready for the Productivity Push. Alix Partners, 2025
Bohnet, Iris (2016). What Works: Gender Equality by Design. Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University Press.
Brown, Brene. Strong Ground: The Lessons of Daring Leadership, the Tenacity of Paradox, and the Wisdom of the Human Spirit. Random House, 2025.
Kemp, A. (14 Dec, 2025). AI Use at Work Rises. Gallup Workplace 2025. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/699689/ai-use-at-work-rises.aspx
Qualtrics. 2025 Employee Experience Trends. https://www.qualtrics.com/blog/employee-experience-trends/
Blueprint to close the women’s health gap: How to improve lives and economies for all. McKinsey Health Institute, 2025. https://www.mckinsey.com/mhi/our-insights/blueprint-to-close-the-womens-health-gap-how-to-improve-lives-and-economies-for-all
Russell Reynolds Global Leadership Monitor, H2 2025. https://www.russellreynolds.com/en/insights/reports-surveys/global-leadership-monitor
State of the World’s Emotional Health: Connecting Global Peace, Wellbeing, and Health. Gallup, 2025.
The CEO Challenges over the next 5 years. FT’s Global Boardroom, 2025. https://globalboardroom.ft.com/
Women in Work Index. PwC 2025.
World Economic Forum (2023). Empowering female founders: How we can narrow the gender gap in venture capital. weforum.org/stories/2023/12/how-we-can-close-the-venture-capital-gender-gap/.