Research Paper Exclusive Content
2025 Leadership Insights Report
Leading in an “everything-everywhere-all-at-once” world.
Executive Summary
Context
Four Key Findings
Reimagine Leadership
Time To Act
Highlights
1. Executive Summary
2. A Bit of Context
3. Four Key Findings
4. It’s Time to Reimagine Leadership
5. It’s Time to Act
6. Survey Highlights
Executive Summary
The best senior leaders deliver results, create meaning for employees, and chart a successful future for their organizations. In a world charact-erized by relentless uncertainty and disruption, however, it’s no surprise that the very nature of leadership is changing.
Our results offer eye-opening insights for leaders looking to build their organization’s leadership capabilities in a workplace that continues to evolve, in what a former CEO and board member of a retail apparel company characterized as "an unprecedented number of unprecedented changes.”
We launched our Leadership Insights research to go beyond our client conversations about leadership dynamics and put a data-driven “ear to the ground” to explore today’s trends and the profound implications for tomorrow. We are proud to present the first release of this study. It combines a survey that reached a broad range of senior leaders, and conversations with leaders who are responsible for their organization’s overall people strategies and development of senior leaders.
Our report delves into the following key findings and their ramifications for senior leaders and the organizations they lead:
Use the insights we’ve gathered as you strate-gize the development, succession planning, and recruitment of leaders in your organization’s high-impact roles. Consider these findings as you revisit organizational culture, structure, and practices – and plot your organization’s trajectory to future success.
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A drive for results exists without the leadership to make them happen.
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Cross-functional collaboration is now an imperative, but it is hampered by leaders walking on organizational eggshells.
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Change has changed, requiring new ways of leading.
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The days of leaving senior leaders’ success to chance may be over.
A Bit of Context
Before exploring the key findings, let’s view a snapshot of the world that senior leaders are operating in. Our study’s respondents were quite descriptive in relating the complex driving forces for elevating leadership capabilities:
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Geopolitics (and expectations on how werespond as an organization)
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Economic uncertainty and global downturn
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AI and digital disruption
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A multi-generational workforce with differing and increasing expectations
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The immediate pivot to remote work – without being able to leverage the best of it and change the worst
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The deluge of information at our fingertips – relentless, magnifying everything, making changes feel overwhelming
Distractions, pressure, and constant flux. Regardless of how we sum up today’s business environment, our findings suggest that senior leaders need to step up their game to succeed.
"Yes, leadership does seem harder. It’s a six, seven day week. Available always. There’s much more data that fills your time as a leader, a larger span of control, more rapid speed of business, and no down time for response. Expectations are high."
CHRO, global manufacturer
Four Key Findings
Our four key findings:
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A drive for results exists without the leadership to make them happen
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Cross-functional collaboration is now an imperative, but it is hampered by leaders walking on organizational eggshells
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Change has changed, requiring new ways of leading
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The days of leaving senior leaders’ success to chance may be over.
Let's explore those key findings.
1. A drive for results exists without the leadership to make them happen
Results. It’s what leaders get paid to achieve. The majority of our survey respondents believe that senior leaders in their organizations demon-strate a focus on results. That’s the good news. Our survey responses and conversations suggest, however, that leaders may actually be over-indexing on results while not effectively leading people to deliver the outcomes they clearly expect.
They’re not necessarily guiding and inspiring others, nor are they successfully reinforcing accountability for accomplishing the organization’s priorities. “Driving” without leadership is a recipe for employee burnout, not just lackluster results.
Here’s what we found:
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Vision – Although communicating a clear vision was selected by survey respondents to be one of today’s most critical senior leadership skills, fewer than 20 percent of respondents indicate that senior leaders do this regularly. This finding suggests that leaders themselves may be clear on strategy, but they are missing opportunities to connect the workforce to a shared purpose and rally them in the direction they need to go.
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Connection skills – The global head of L&D at an agriculture firm described another challenge: “Most leaders have developed their capabilities of leading a team or a function in an environment that's very different from today. Abilities like being humble, showing empathy, and being curious are becoming increasingly important in leadership.” We agree. In previous reports, we’ve explored the need for senior eaders to fully engage and connect with colleagues to achieve results through and with others.
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Expectations and incentives – Survey comments and interviews suggest that this apparent gap in leadership isn’t always about senior leaders not knowing how to effectively inspire, coach, and support the people they lead. The senior director of talent management and strategy at a global consumer products company pointed out a more systemic factor: “We actually don't do a great job of rewarding eadership behaviors. Everyone is a hero for the results that they achieve, whether it's through others or of their own kind of herculean efforts. We need to move to a culture where we structure work and priorities in such a way that leaders of people are truly getting the work done through others, and they are being rewarded for that.”
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Candor and courage – Holding people account-able for results requires difficult conversations at times. Yet difficult conversations/conflict resolution emerged as one of the five biggest leadership capability gaps in our survey. The reluctance of leaders to step into conflict was cited in particular in situations where cross-functional collaboration is required to solve enterprise problems (more about that later).
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Focus – The talent management leader at a technology firm went so far as to suggest that “focus amid the noise is the new leadership superpower.” Unlike connection skills that mobilize others to action, focus is an internal capability that leaders need to cultivate. It underpins their effectiveness to lead others.
2. Cross-functional collaboration is now an imperative, but it is hampered by leaders walking on organizational eggshells
Our report, Leading Across: The Superpower that Differentiates Today’s Top Senior Leaders, emphasized the business imperative for leaders in high impact roles to lead across the organization, not just vertically. We reported that today’s more complex problems require a new level of enterprise collaboration and co-creation – and that many leaders struggle to function effectively in that space.
The leaders we interviewed believe that many senior leaders “walk on eggshells” as they figure out whether – and how – to collaborate. They shared that effective enterprise collaboration requires the proper mindset, skills, and supporting culture.
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Leaders need to better partner through ambiguity, differing priorities, and competing incentives. Similar to lack of ownership getting in the way of accountability, enterprise issues requiring collaboration may languish if leaders don’t define for themselves how to make decisions together. Cross-functional collaboration usually cuts across established roles and decision-making authority. It may also be outside a leader’s stated priorities and incentives. The CHRO of a global manufacturer explained, “Leaders think, ‘I’m not going to risk that my function won’t meet our goals to work across silos.’ It’s a gray area – without glory. Collaboration happens when functional leaders agree that it’s a pain point and that they’ll solve it together – to do the right thing, rather than pass it off as a hot potato.”
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Leaders need better relationship building and conflict management skills. Strong relationships were called out by our study’s participants as critical to cross-functional collaboration. A number of people, however, emphasized the need for leaders to be able to not just support one another but also to challenge one another. One leader described an organizational culture so focused on relationships (and being “nice”) that the constructive debate required for enterprise collaboration was stifled until the organization normalized productive discourse through training and regular discussion.
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A culture of shared values can help. A director of a retail apparel company explained: “Everyone is fine with cross-functional relationships when they agree. When conflict happens, relationships can fester. Without positional authority, leaders need a common purpose and shared values to serve as guideposts for negotiating priorities and making decisions.”
Without solid relationships, the willingness (and ability) to challenge, commitment to decision making despite ambiguous roles, and clear organizational guideposts for collaboration, senior leaders will continue to approach cross-functional collaboration as if they are gingerly walking on eggshells.
Here are a few of the themes that emerged:
3. Change has changed, requiring new ways of leading
When we asked survey respondents to pick the three leadership capabilities that are becoming even more critical for senior leaders, the top responses were adaptability/flexibility, leading through change/crisis, and creating and communicating a vision.
Lest you think “this is not new,” the leaders we spoke to emphasized that agility and intentional change leadership are new requirements. They are advanced maneuvers for many senior leaders who are familiar with “point A to point B transformation” rather than a more constant state of change. These leaders seem to opt for reaction mode, assuming that if they just resolve each of the changes thrown their way, they’ll somehow return to business as usual.
The director of talent management at a global technology company described the need for senior leaders to have an agile mindset in a business environment where change is “always on” and uncertainty is a constant: “It has felt, particularly with Gen AI, that we are ushering in a new era and a new pace of change that may be even more significant than past milestones. It feels like everything is shifting constantly in the recognition of what's possible. What might happen is always evolving.” He was also not the only leader we interviewed who called out the impact of 24/7 access to information: “The volume of information that's coming at us, and the consistency with which it's coming, makes it feel like things are moving faster. In the past, there was a lag time, which actually allowed us to focus. That’s gone.”
The CHRO of a global manufacturer provided a noteworthy example of senior leaders owning and leading changes required by their environment, building adaptation into running the business. She described a situation where leadership in a plant made major changes because they were having difficulties hiring workers to perform tough jobs. She related, “These leaders, who would normally grumble about organizational change, owned the transformation. They took the lead. When I commented on how significant the changes were, they said, ‘This is not change. This is running the business.'”
4. The days of leaving senior leaders’ success to chance may be over.
We’ve seen in past research and decades of client work that leaders above the middle manager level often are bypassed for formal development opportunities. In Rolling the Dice, we found that most companies invest less in development as leadership roles increase in importance. We also confirmed that higher level leadership roles are different and do require advanced leadership mindsets and skill sets. Yet common wisdom has remained, “they’ve been successful, they’re smart, and they can navigate their new roles without much hand holding.”
Our survey indicates that this myth is finally being busted: The organizations represented actually plan to focus slightly more on the development of vice presidents and senior vice presidents than on their other leadership populations.
The impact of the challenges already explored in this report may be one reason. The talent management vice president at a financial services firm put it this way: “Driving forces are surfacing leadership gaps faster than in the past. The need for ongoing targeted leadership development is paramount. We see gaps around change management, critical thinking, EQ, talent development, and prioritization.”
Another reason for prioritizing senior leader development according to survey comments: Senior leaders appear to be hungry for development, particularly through individualized coaching and in-person sessions where they can learn with and from their peers. They want to explore real-life challenges and practical leadership best practices not merely theory – a sound approach given the challenging environment in which they operate.
It’s promising to see that organizations and senior leaders themselves are committed to growth and development.
"I have found that many leaders are good at developing a vision and thinking strategically, but they often fail to provide the prioritization and commitment needed to bring that vision to life. They are often distracted by the broad range of challenges they are encountering and make efforts to do many things to a small degree, rather than focusing their resources in a few key areas."
Talent management director, consumer goods firm
A Deeper Dive into Accountability
The survey responses suggest that although some senior leaders appear to be driving accountability, many need to do a far better job of it. This leadership capability wasidentified as the biggest gap.
When we explored this in our interviews, the following organizational deficits emerged:
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Lack of alignment – When priorities aren’t clear, it’s impossible to hold people accountable for them. It’s a no-brainer, but as organizations constantly shift to address disruption and change, it’s easy for people to become misaligned.
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Lack of ownership – Who owns complex problems and solutions is not always clear, especially at the cross-silo, enterprise level. The senior director of talent management and strategy at a global consumer products company related: “I’ve seen lack of accountability in a function where something is on the edge – ‘not part of our metrics’.”
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Lack of prioritization – It’s usually impossible to success-fully deliver on a long list of priorities. A number of survey comments bemoaned that top leaders add strategic priorities without taking any away (“the hardest thing to do is say ‘no’”).
To drive accountability and the results that naturally follow, the senior vice president of a global technology firm explained: “We need better prioritization and alignment practices to make what really matters clear. Our leaders need to exercise the muscle of integrated ways of working across the organization. In general, we need to keep momentum around setting performance expectations and maintaining a high bar.” This requirement must, how-ever, be backed up by the vision and connection skills described on the previous page to win employee minds and hearts.
It’s Time to Reimagine Leadership
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Help leaders grow.
For the first time in our experience, a promising majority of organizations are prioritizing the development of their senior leaders. That’s great, given that senior leaders want it more than ever. Development is also a smart move that can help guarantee you have the role models, elevated expectations, and requirements described above.
It’s time to ensure the appropriate investment of time and resources so that good intentions don’t get sidelined. Identify which new mindsets and skills (which aren’t always easy to teach) leaders need to be able to inspire, develop, and equip their people and organizations to thrive. Make the adjustments required to provide the type of practical, business-relevant development experiences higher-level leaders crave.
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Our research suggests the need to do more than close gaps in traditional leadership capabilities. Senior leaders need to understand the new requirements for success and the behaviors that will propel your organization forward.
Redefine what it means to be a leader.
It’s time to establish or update your existing leadership framework, resetting expectations of what it takes to be a successful senior leader. Shift paradigms from leading vertically to leading vertically and across. From situational change management to continuous intentional progress. From results or people to results through people. From technology as something done to people to technology as a tool for people. From the leader as expert to leader as assembler of expertise.
Use this clarity to attract, select, develop, and measure the success and impact of your leaders in addition to their business results.
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Our study paints a challenging picture of what it means to be a senior leader today. The findings dovetail with sobering observations made by some of our clients doing this work every day: Either talented people are eschewing leadership roles because they appear to be overwhelming and difficult – or – too many individuals aspire to leadership for status and reward alone.
Elevate the role of leadership.
It’s time to fully support and recognize those people willing to take on the challenges of being a leader. Build a workplace that provides leaders with the flexibility needed to juggle increased demands on the job while living a full life. Craft a clear succession planning strategy, sponsorship, and development opportunities for more up-and-coming leaders.
In addition, promote the meaning and purpose of leadership, making the act of leadership itself something to strive for. Find inspiring role models who not only demonstrate humility, vulnerability, and transparency but also articulate what it means to make a positive impact as leaders, balancing out the perceived and real burdens.
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The impact of smart succession planning and strategic leadership development depends in part on cultural norms, incentives, and organizational structure. Our research suggests there are opportunities for organizations to remove obstacles to the type of leadership their continued success will depend on.
Remove organizational obstacles.
It’s time to look beyond mindsets and skill sets. Examine whether your business practices and talent management systems encourage senior leaders to actually lead, not just drive or expect results. Identify what stands in the way of cross-functional collaboration, ownership of enterprise solutions, and silo removal. Change incentives and goals to encourage senior leaders to invest time in their own development and the development of the people they lead.
It’s Time to Act
"Adapting to evolving market and industry demands necessitates profound self-reflection and humility from leadership to facilitate strategic pivots. This approach empowers leaders to transition towards a paradigm of 'co-creation' and lateral agility. In an era characterized by significant disruptions to traditional models, cultivating humility and fostering high emotional intelligence will distinguish successful leaders from their counterparts."
Senior vice president, product marketing, global media conglomerate
Leadership, more than ever, has enormous potential for transforming organizations and individuals. Our research suggests that a lot of senior leaders are powering through today’s challenging environment to achieve their goals. That’s encouraging, but powering through is rarely effective leadership. It’s certainly not a sustainable formula for senior leader engagement or for organizational longevity, especially since it’s unlikely that leadership is going to get easier.
We’ve shared what we’ve found at a macro level, but what matters most is what happens within your organization. Inaction is not an option. It’s time for you to choose where to start in strengthening the leadership capabilities in your organization. Use the insights in this report to help you gain traction and sustain momentum in your efforts to create senior leaders who not only deliver results but ensure that the organization, its workforce, and the leaders themselves thrive.
Relationship Challenges
When asked which relationships are most challenging for senior leaders in their organization to manage, 58% of survey respondents selected working with others cross functionally – three times the number who chose managing up.
Working with others cross-functionally
58%
Working with leaders more senior to them
17%
Working with their direct peers on their leadership team
14%
Working with their team/direct reports
11%
Survey Highlights
Leadership Capabilities that Matter Most
These were the top responses when we asked survey respondents to pick the three capabilities that are becoming even more critical for senior leaders.
Adaptability/Flexibility
41%
Leading through change/crisis
39%
Creating & communicating a vision
31%
Cross-functional collaboration
30%
Driving accountability
25%
Most Observed Behaviors and Biggest Gaps
Our survey explored the behaviors that senior leaders exhibit most as well as the biggest leadership capability gaps in today’s environment. The findings suggest that senior leaders are focusing in some of the critical areas listed above, but need to increase their effectiveness in others.
Capabilities senior leaders exhibit most
Results orientation
51%
Adaptability/Flexibility
26%
Driving accountability
23%
Innovation & Creativity
20%
Cross-functional collaboration
19%
Biggest leadership capability gaps
Driving accountability
34%
Leading through change/crisis
30%
Coaching & developing others
28%
Difficult conversations/conflict resolution
24%
Cross-functional collaboration
23%
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Building Leadership Bench Strength
Just over half the leaders surveyed identified leadership development as a top talent management priority, and nearly a third are focusing on succession planning. The population prioritized for development: vice presidents and senior vice presidents.
Top talent management priorities
Leadership development
54%
Succession planning
32%
Upskilling/reskilling talent
28%
Manager development
26%
Employee engagement/wellbeing
22%
Leadership prioritized for development
VP/SVP
49%
Directors/Sr. Directors
44%
Managers/Sr. Managers
41%
Executive Team
32%
Other
4%
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Authors
Molly Rosen
Co-CEO and Co-Founder, ProjectNext Leadership
Molly Rosen is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of ProjectNext Leadership, a global firm dedicated to developing exceptional executive leaders and high-performing teams. With over 20 years of experience coaching leaders across tech, entertainment, and biotech, Molly specializes in guiding executives through critical transitions and preparing them to lead transformational change. Her work with Fortune 500 companies focuses on building sustainable, diverse, and future-ready leadership pipelines. She shares her expertise on topics like leading across silos and navigating matrixed organizations in publications such as Harvard Business Review, The Globe & Mail, Authority Magazine, and others.
Jeff Rosenthal
Co-CEO and Co-Founder, ProjectNext Leadership
Jeff Rosenthal is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of ProjectNext Leadership, a global firm specializing in executive leadership and team development. With over 30 years of experience, Jeff partners with leading organizations to prepare senior executives and their teams for critical leadership transitions. A recognized thought leader, Jeff frequently speaks on executive development, leadership transformation, and future-focused succession strategies. He contributes his insights on topics like succession planning and building high-performing leadership teams to publications such as Harvard Business Review, Forbes, The Globe & Mail, and others.
Kate Casolaro
Director, ProjectNext Leadership
Kate Casolaro is a Director at ProjectNext Leadership. She is the lead designer behind many of our cohort development programs and senior team offsites, creating experiences that are both impactful and memorable. In addition to her client work, Kate leads many of ProjectNext Leadership’s research and product development efforts.
Meghan Doherty
Director, ProjectNext Leadership
Meghan Doherty is a Director at ProjectNext Leadership. She is the lead designer behind many of our cohort development programs and senior team offsites, creating experiences that are both impactful and memorable. In addition to her client work, Meghan leads many of ProjectNext Leadership’s research and product development efforts.
Kristen Chester
Director, ProjectNext Leadership
Kristen Chester is a Director at ProjectNext Leadership, where she designs, develops, and delivers impactful cohort development and coaching programs. Kristen excels at translating ProjectNext's research into executive experiences that yield tangible results for leaders. In addition to her client engagements, Kristen spearheads ProjectNext Leadership’s marketing efforts. Prior to joining ProjectNext, she was a Senior Manager in Deloitte’s Leadership Practice, advising clients from VP to C-Suite on leadership strategy, organizational culture, employee experience, and change management.