By Charlie Curson, Barbara Salopek, Dominic Colenso, Jenny Millar, Angela Cox, Mehdi Paryavi and Jean-Paul Fonteijn
This article explores the key leadership mindsets set to shape 2026, highlighting the importance of strategic clarity, economic awareness, curiosity, diverse collaboration and cultivating a healthier workplace culture. Drawing on insights from leading experts, leaders and authors, this article reveals how leaders can make 2026 your best year yet.
The New Year offers a rare opportunity to step back, refocus, and set intentions that will shape the coming months. Whether you’re leading a team, managing a department, running your own business, or contributing your skills as an employee, thoughtful resolutions can help you strengthen performance, enhance well-being, and position yourself for your strongest year yet in 2026.
With this in mind, we reached out to a diverse group of internationally-recognised authors, leadership specialists, and experienced business figures. Each has shared practical, forward-thinking New Year’s resolutions designed to spark genuine change, support professional growth, and begin your year with clarity, vision, and purpose.
Have a strategy – not a plan
Setting a powerful long-term vision starts with the ability to step back from the day-to-day noise and reconnect with what truly drives sustainable growth. To this end, Charlie Curson, author of Be More Strategic, suggests introducing a short daily reset to help maintain this wider lens: “For executives, strategic clarity is eroded by constant noise. A simple daily pause enhances emotional regulation, sharpens intent, and supports more deliberate choices. It protects leaders from reactive patterns that undermine long-term strategic execution.”
With that said, do not make the mistake of sacrificing agility. Speed and decisiveness are still critical – arguably more so than ever – for remaining ahead of the competition and leveraging emerging opportunities. As Mehdi Paryavi, CEO and founder of The International Data Center Authority (IDCA), puts it so well “We are living in a dynamic era where everything is a moving target. With that, the speed of your adoption to change is critical. Those with more resources have a wider spectrum of access and visibility. For you to manoeuvre the competitive landscape, you must lead with more agility.”
A strong grasp on economics is key
In an unpredictable economy, pricing is an integral facet of wider business and economic strategy. To this end, Jenny Millar, pricing expert, CEO of Untapped Pricing and co-author of The Pricing Sprint, advocates for a more proactive, rather than reactive, approach to pricing: “Many teams get stuck setting prices reactively, adjusting to competitors and market noise rather than steering their own strategy. Make 2026 the year you take back control. Start by understanding how customers actually make decisions. Get curious about what drives willingness to pay, test more of your assumptions, and design your prices as intentionally as you create your products. When pricing is designed with intent, it becomes the fastest lever to protect margin, shape customer behaviour, and create dependable, accelerated growth.”
Jean-Paul Fonteijn, author of Bring Down the Billionaires! has even more ambitious ideas for economic reform, highlighting the need to “commit to a new economic model this year – one that tackles extreme wealth so that businesses and governments can become healthy again by advocating for fairer financial rules. Our businesses and governments cannot thrive in a system that unfairly favours the super-rich.”
Fortune favours the curious
More than ever before, a spirit of curiosity, and willingness to explore new ventures, avenues and emerging technologies, is key to remaining abreast of the chasing pack. These thoughts are put succinctly by Mike Brent, Adjunct Professor at Hult Ashridge Executive Education, leadership expert and co-author of The Leader’s Guide to Collaboration, who says “the best tip I can give to leaders is to get into the habit of telling less and inquiring more – in other words being more curious. The key reason is that leaders are facing more so-called “wicked “problems – problems for which there are no fixed solutions, only options. So leaders need to tap into the collective intelligence of their team or organisation in order to come up with the best possible option. And that means being more curious.”
And, one of the richest sources of insight? Your colleagues. We spoke with Barbara Salopek, author of Future-Fit Innovation, who encourages us all to “ask three diverse colleagues for input before making decisions on new initiatives.” Salopek’s given reasoning for adopting this powerful habit is to “reduce group blind spots and strengthens idea quality. Diversity of thought helps leaders avoid functional fixedness, improves creativity, and leads to better innovation outcomes.”
Dominic Colenso, a specialist in leadership communication and the author of Cut-Through: The pitch and presentation playbook, also shares another invaluable tip for encouraging insights from your colleagues – speak less, listen more. He says “Most leaders talk to fill the silence. But silence is where the magic happens. A pause draws attention, gives the audience time to think, and makes you look confident and in control. The best communicators don’t just know what to say, they know when to stop.”
Drop the Win/Lose Mindset – It belongs to a different era
In today’s fast-paced workplaces, many leaders still fall into the trap of shouldering burdens alone, or feeling threatened by others’ success. This is a belief that often does more harm than good, crippling company cultures and can quickly lead to exhaustion, and even burnout, if left unchecked. Angela Cox, founder of the National Coaching Conference, discusses how to reverse this damaging trend:
“One of the most exhausting patterns I see in leaders is the quiet belief that success is a limited resource and that if someone else shines, they somehow dim. It’s an old survival strategy from school, early career conditioning, and perfectionist tendencies. But it’s completely misaligned with how modern teams actually thrive. Notice where you slip into scarcity: hesitating to praise, protecting your territory, or subtly comparing yourself. Then remind yourself: nobody wins alone. When you choose a “win together” approach, collaboration deepens, ego settles, and the whole team’s potential expands. That’s real leadership maturity.”
Ultimately, 2026 will favour professionals and organisations that remain open-minded, proactive, and willing to experiment with fresh approaches. Explore the ideas that resonate, put small but consistent actions into motion, and stay committed to continual improvement. Doing so will strengthen your workplace, elevate your personal impact and empower you to build a year defined by momentum – and the results to match.
About the Authors
Charlie Curson is a strategic advisor, accredited leadership coach and the author of Be More Strategic: 12 Essential Practices for the Life and Career You Want. He advises founders, leaders and teams on strategy, leadership and growth, and is an angel investor in early-stage businesses.
Barbara Salopek is the author of Future-Fit Innovation and Founder & CEO of Vinco Innovation, a consultancy helping companies build sustainable innovation cultures. She is also a lecturer at BI Norwegian Business School and an internationally recognised expert in innovation, leadership, and organisational transformation.
Dominic Colenso is an international speaker, communication coach and the author of Cut-Through: The pitch and presentation playbook (out 2nd December).
Jenny Millar is a pricing expert, CEO of Untapped Pricing, a consultancy specialising in behavioural pricing strategy, and is the co-author of The Pricing Sprint, to be published by Bloomsbury in May 2026.
Angela Cox is the founder of the National Coaching Conference, happening in February 2026.
Mike Brent is Adjunct Professor at Hult Ashridge Executive Education, leadership expert and co-author of The Leader’s Guide to Collaboration.
Mehdi Paryavi is the CEO and founder of The International Data Center Authority(IDCA).
