Clarity is the leadership advantage that will separate winners in 2026.

In 2026, leaders who create their own clarity and act decisively will gain ground. Those who wait for the clouds to part and for clarity to emerge won’t.

1. Noise is the problem.

For most people in leadership, 2026 is difficult to read. For that matter, every year since 2020 has been difficult to read.

As a result, most leaders hesitate to decide and act. This compounds the confusion and frustration for those who depend on their leadership.

But in 2026, a few effective leaders will create clarity. The best of those will actively distill it from their values and vision.

They will define it and illustrate it. They’ll communicate it until others see and pursue it.

These leaders realize that their teams, partners, vendors, and customers are likely to be struggling with the same ‘fog’ that many leaders wrestle with.

They know that leaders not only can’t add to this ambiguity or confusion but they must ‘part the clouds’ for those they lead.

That’s what good leaders do: Align their teams to build a future that doesn’t yet exist.

This takes courage. Which brings me to my next point.

2. Courage Is A Competitive Skill

Courage is not recklessness. Or the lack of uncertainty, doubt, or fear.

Courage, for leaders, is:

• Making the right moral choice when it is difficult.
• Choosing a direction without complete information.

In my book, Train to Lead, I talk about a hunting trip on a very remote Aleutian island. A winter storm overtook us, night fell, and we had no bearings. The terrain was incredibly rough, and even compass bearings were of minor support in navigating a path out.

We would have frozen to death if we stopped hiking. We needed to keep moving to stay warm. Hesitation and stopping to reevaluate was dangerous.

What was needed was the ability to set direction, project confidence, and then course-correct quickly as we gathered more information.

Exercise courage. Move and adjust toward your goal. This will be a better and safer strategy than holding still or waiting for something to react to.

3. Clarity Will Help You Attract and Hold Your Team

If you want to attract, build, and retain the best people—your primary differentiator is not offering perks. And, while compensation matters, it doesn’t matter as much as a:

• Strong, healthy culture
• Clear expectations
• Predictable systems

You can’t run a business without people. People stay where work is understandable, they feel aligned with their values, and confidence is high.

Despite the hype around AI, your people are your competitive advantage. Make your workplace a place where the world makes sense.

4. The Overcorrection Risk: Bureaucracy Masquerading as Stability

There is a difference between clarity and over-explaining and dictating minutae.

Structure, SOPs, processes, these are all important. In fact, growth and consistency aren’t possible without them.

But structure should serve your organization and team. It should help you express your values and accomplish your vision. They are means and only means.

Don’t allow the means to become the ends.

In response to uncertainty, some leaders will default to increased control. This will:

• Add rigidity
• Over-systematize
• Create friction in the name of control

This increases anxiety instead of reducing it. It reduces the nimbleness needed to move and adjust as I described earlier.

Don’t let the tail wag the dog.

5. The Most Misleading Signal in 2026 Will Be “Authoritative” Forecasts

Did you know that economists are accurate less than 25% of the time? Media experts and pundits are no more accurate than a coin toss.

Be careful of the voices you listen to. Most are wildly wrong, regardless of the alphabet soup after their name.

The news and social media incentivize alarmism and overgeneralization. Experts often operate in echo chambers and, if they even see contrary signals, are reluctant to say something the crowd isn’t already saying.

As a result, there is a lot of loud, frequent, and inaccurate information. Leaders need to recognize relevant information. They need to, as Nate Silver says, separate the “signal from the noise.”

Doing this is a skill on its own. But here’s a simple framework: “Big” narratives tend to distract from what is relevant for you, your team, and your customers to succeed.

Which brings me to my next point.

6. What Actually Deserves Attention: Delivering Value to Customers

Leaders create value when they deliver exceptional customer outcomes.

This is equally true for the store clerk who helps the tired mom find a shoe her child will actually wear… to the scientist working on a cure for a disease.

Within the context of your organizational values and vision, serving your customers well—in a way they appreciate—is your North Star.

The “big” stories in the news feel important. But those topics are largely uncontrollable and unpredictable.

Leaders who obsess over what they can’t control lose control of what they can.

Conclusion

The stories that dominate headlines in 2026 won’t predict your success.

Your clarity will. Your courage will. Your commitment to delivering value will.

Let others fixate on what they can’t control. You stay focused on what matters: leading your team, serving your customers, and moving forward, even when the path isn’t clear.

Because, as Abraham Lincoln is thought to have said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”

Take good care,

Christian