eBooks

Leadership Skills 2026 Report

Zenger Folkman's annual report including our most important research from the past year.

Published: March, 2026

What Will Separate Effective Leaders from the Rest in 2026?

AI can analyze data. It can’t build trust, inspire commitment, or make judgment calls when the path forward is unclear.

This eBook distills Zenger Folkman’s 2025 leadership research—drawn from hundreds of thousands of leaders and direct reports—into the four capabilities that will matter most in 2026. You’ll discover what actually drives decision quality, employee confidence, discretionary effort, and performance in an increasingly automated world.

Designed for busy leaders and HR teams, this report delivers practical insights you can apply immediately—without the fluff.

Inside this eBook:

• The leadership skills that matter most as AI adoption accelerates
• Why empathy alone isn’t enough—and what must accompany it
• How leaders create employee confidence and discretionary effort
• What decades of research say about control, influence, and psychological safety.

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