What CEOs Should Know Now: 2026 Demands More than Resilience

Blog by Gary Lancina

The year is only days old, and already 2026 has made one thing clear: the ride will be bumpy. If you’re leading a business today, you don’t need another warning. Here’s some insightful perspective on how to move forward with confidence.

At CMG, we work with leaders who operate with intent. They appreciate how forward motion creates its own stability. What we’re hearing from them now isn’t panic, it’s urgency, clarity, and a reminder that how we lead now shapes what we become next.

Here are three priorities worth holding onto:

1. Volatility is the Landscape, So Find Paths Through

In 2025, many leaders learned that maintaining momentum through change is a stabilizer. This remains true in 2026.One executive reflected on the ten distinct changes in tariffs affecting his organization’s supply chain last year. His takeaway: be ready for more of the same.  Scenario planning helps.  Consider how things may shift, how your team might respond, and prepare for swift, strategic moves that keep things on track.

Readiness by design rallies teams, generates organizational motion, and can unsettle less-prepared competitors.

2. Agility Benefits from Insight

Agility isn’t speed; it’s precision. And it benefits from clarity.

Scenario planning is valuable, but confidently determining which scenario is emerging is the secret to timely, agile action.  Monitoring for early data or customer sentiment indicators can shorten the gap between realization and action. Upgraded insights and market foresights frequently make the difference between calibrated tactics and reactive or even panicky responses to changing conditions.

In 2026, more leadership teams will treat agility as a shared discipline. They’ll align on what information is crucial, how to get it, and what to do as insights roll in.  Their clarity will hone team focus and action.

3. Leadership Sets the Tone

With external noise rising, internal coherence matters more. The most effective leaders right now model steadiness, alignment, and deliberate direction. As one executive shared recently,“We don’t need to have all the answers, but our teams want us to show up with clarity of intention and focus on what matters most to our strategic success.”

Alignment across leadership teams shapes culture; visible, grounded leadership keeps teams centered. If leadership becomes fragmented or withdrawn, anxiety tends to fill the clarity gaps.  We counsel leaders to worry less about the perfect messaging but obsess about consistency in behavior and values.

So, What’s Useful Now?

As a leader, don’t expect to predict the next crisis but prepare to thrive through times of uncertainty. A few pragmatic tips for the new year.

• Acknowledge and appreciate the bumps and changes ahead

• Prioritize preparedness and clarity over control

• Build systems that connect insight to action

• Focus on keeping teams moving forward together

• Walk the talk of confidence and alignment

The leaders and teams that succeed this year will do so because they were ready for the bumpy ride and prepared to respond with intention.

Final Thought

Challenges don’t test capability, they reveal it. If you’re leading in this moment, stay true to the pursuit of growth. It’s the triumphs in the face of uncertainty which galvanize teams and build for future success.

And, should you need help along the way, the CMG team is here to help you engineer the breakthrough growth you’re seeking.