This Insight has been shaped by what has emerged at Davos 2026, where global leaders gathered amid geopolitical uncertainty, economic fragmentation, rapid technological change and growing societal pressure. What stood out was not new leadership theory, but leadership behaviour in action. The most effective leaders did not default to authority or certainty. They led through judgment, dialogue and connection.
It is worth acknowledging that many powerful institutions still default to command-and-control leadership models. Hierarchy, authority and control remain deeply embedded in how influence is exercised across large systems. By contrast, Davos revealed that this approach is increasingly misaligned with the complexity, pace, and interconnectedness that leaders now face.
Leadership in a permanently contested environment
Today’s leadership environment is not temporarily volatile. Fragmentation, geopolitical tensions, regulatory complexity, cultural transformation and accelerating technological change now define the operating context.
At Davos, leaders spoke openly about the end of predictable conditions. Stability is no longer assumed. Leaders now operate amid constant noise: competing priorities, urgent decisions, emerging risks and intense scrutiny.
In this environment, command-and-control often becomes a default stress response. Leaders step in, tighten oversight and attempt to reduce ambiguity through direction. While understandable, this response usually backfires.
Over-control narrows thinking, creates fear and avoidance, and drives reactive behaviour. Dialogue shrinks. Accountability moves upward. Decision-making slows, even as activity increases.
What stood out was a different leadership discipline. Leaders lifted their perspective, focused on long-term outcomes and deliberately chose what not to respond to. This is not disengagement. It is strategic judgment.
The leaders who stood out remained alert without becoming reactive. They held the horizon while managing immediate demands.
The leadership capabilities Davos put on show
What we observed at and read from Davos was not a new leadership theory. It was a consistent set of leadership capabilities demonstrated in practice.
The stand-out leaders thought strategically in context. They did not chase the issue of the day. Instead, they framed conversations around long-term consequences and future opportunities.
They demonstrated clarity of thought and executive presence. They acknowledged uncertainty without rushing to false certainty. They communicated with confidence, realism and direction.
Collaboration featured prominently. Leaders spoke about working with allies, building coalitions and engaging across boundaries. Diversity of thinking was treated as essential to good judgment, not as a social add-on.
Listening also stood out. Leaders invited challenge and sought to understand perspectives different from their own. As Larry Fink, Chair and CEO of BlackRock and Interim Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026, observed during Davos, progress depends on leaders who listen, disagree openly and deepen understanding rather than force agreement.
These leaders also demonstrated confidence in navigating complexity. They did not avoid experimentation or learning. They reframed disruption as an opportunity to adapt and evolve.
Clarity, strategy and trust under pressure
Mark Carney, the Prime Minister of Canada, addressed Davos, clearly demonstrating this leadership posture. Rather than offering reassurance that the old order would return, he acknowledged reality, addressed the end game, and called for adaptation in a changing global system.
What resonated was not only his message, but how he led. He demonstrated clarity of thought, strategic focus and executive presence. He emphasised collaboration, coalition-building and trust. He framed obstacles as opportunities to act, rather than reasons to retreat.
This reflects what SMG coaches increasingly observe in effective leaders. Those who lift their gaze, stay anchored to purpose and resist constant firefighting build greater trust and momentum over time.
Technology and AI raise the bar for leadership judgment
Rapid advances in technology, particularly AI, further expose the limits of command-and-control leadership. Technology increases pace and complexity. It does not reduce the need for leadership judgment.
At Davos, leaders consistently made this point. AI is not the transformation. The transformation lies in how leaders help people learn, adapt and evolve.
Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, spoke about AI’s potential to lift and empower people. Ravi Kumar S., CEO of Cognizant, emphasised the need to reinvent processes and amplify human potential rather than eliminate work. Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, emphasised the importance of using AI to do something useful that changes outcomes for people, communities, countries and industries.
Technology is now the environment leaders operate in, not the function they delegate. Effective leaders act as digital catalysts by building confidence, encouraging experimentation and fostering adaptability across the organisation.
What stood out was leaders’ willingness to remain curious, keep learning and lead confidently without having all the answers.
Leadership agility, adaptability and resilience are now core
The recent PwC survey of CEOs reinforces this shift. The findings indicate that navigating such a complex environment requires leadership agility, including the ability to move quickly across issues, opportunities and time horizons.
Leadership agility is not busyness. It is the ability to prioritise, adapt and stay oriented amid ongoing change. Resilience is no longer about endurance alone. It is about maintaining perspective and enabling others to perform under pressure.
These are capabilities SMG has been coaching more intensively over the past 12 months, as leaders face sustained uncertainty rather than short-term disruption.
Moving from control to coaching leadership
Davos put on show leadership behaviours that are consistent with what SMG is seeing in practice. The essential leadership capabilities required in today’s uncertain, fragmented environment are not innate traits. They are coachable.
Moving away from a command-and-control style is not about personality. It involves developing self-awareness, strengthening judgment and learning how to lead through dialogue rather than direction.
Coaching leaders supports this shift. It helps them recognise default responses under pressure, understand their impact and practise different behaviours in real situations. In a psychologically safe environment, coaching helps leaders challenge ideas, surface risks early and learn quickly.
These capabilities can be developed through individual coaching and mentoring, and reinforced at scale through leadership programs, team coaching and organisational systems.
The shift is subtle but powerful. Coaching moves leaders:
- from telling to listening, seeking to understand and asking better questions
- from certainty to sound judgment in a changing context
- from control to accountability, enabling teams to align around values and purpose
Coaching does not weaken authority. It strengthens authority by building trust, capability, connection and ownership across the organisation.
What does this signal for leaders now?
Command-and-control leadership is not failing because leaders lack intent or effort. It is failing because the environment for which it was designed no longer exists.
The signals are clear, from the global stage at Davos to SMG’s work with CEOs and leadership teams. The leaders who stand out are those who integrate strategic thinking, clarity, empathy, collaboration, adaptability, digital confidence and calm judgment under pressure.
These capabilities do not emerge by chance. They develop over time through experience, reflection and support.
If leaders take one lesson from Davos, it is this: effective leadership now requires a different set of capabilities, and all of them can be developed.
In the forthcoming Perspectives: Leadership Capabilities in 2026 paper, we will explore how organisations can intentionally build and embed these capabilities at scale.
Frequently asked questions
What is command-and-control leadership?
Command-and-control leadership is a top-down style where authority, hierarchy and close oversight are used to direct work and reduce uncertainty. It relies on control rather than judgment, dialogue or shared accountability.
Why is command-and-control leadership less effective?
Command-and-control leadership struggles in complex, fast-moving environments because it narrows thinking, slows decisions and reduces accountability. Today’s challenges require leaders to work with uncertainty rather than attempt to control it.
What leadership capabilities are required instead?
Effective leadership today requires strategic thinking, clarity of judgment, empathy, collaboration, connection, adaptability, leadership agility and confidence navigating technology. These capabilities enable leaders to perform under pressure without reverting to control.
Can these leadership capabilities be developed?
Yes. These leadership capabilities are coachable and can be developed over time through coaching, mentoring, leadership programs and real-world practice.
How does coaching help leaders move away from command-and-control?
Coaching helps leaders recognise default control-based responses and practise new behaviours such as listening, asking better questions and strengthening judgment. It supports leaders to lead through influence rather than authority.
Does moving away from command-and-control mean being less decisive?
No. Leaders remain accountable for decisions, but they make better decisions by integrating context, diverse perspectives and long-term consequences rather than relying on authority alone.
How does AI change leadership expectations?
AI increases pace and complexity, raising the need for strong leadership judgment rather than reducing it. Leaders must act as digital catalysts by enabling learning, adaptability and confidence across their organisations.
Are these leadership capabilities relevant across sectors?
Yes. These capabilities apply across corporate, government and not-for-profit environments because complexity, regulation and uncertainty affect all sectors.
What is the key leadership lesson from Davos 2026?
From our reading of the discussions and leadership behaviours emerging at Davos 2026, a clear signal is that command-and-control leadership appears increasingly misaligned with today’s environment. The leaders who stood out led through clarity, dialogue, collaboration and judgement rather than authority alone.
Why is this relevant for leaders now?
Because the conditions leaders face are no longer temporary or cyclical. Leadership effectiveness now depends on capabilities that help leaders navigate uncertainty rather than control it.
