Leadership Confidence Index

01

Amid uncertainty, leadership teams are pulling together

Leaders’ confidence in the capability, behavior, and issue management of their executive team has risen in H1 2025 after a period of continual decline. This suggests that leadership teams are adapting to the complex business environment characterized by economic and geopolitical uncertainties, talent shortages, and tech changes.

When we began measuring leadership confidence in 2021, leadership teams were riding high, having pulled together to battle through the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then, leaders’ confidence in the capability, behavior, and issue management of their executive team has largely trended downwards, falling to its lowest point in H2 2024 (at 61.2, down from a high of 67.9 in H1 2021).

While we recorded one small uptick in H2 2023, we have now seen the single largest rise in leadership confidence to 62.6 (up 1.4 points on a 100-point scale from H2 2024). This renewed confidence is further echoed in findings from RRA’s Global Leadership Monitor Pulse Survey (conducted 29 April-6 May), which showed that 39% of leaders feel their team is more unified as a result of the pressures from the current environment. Furthermore, 83% of leaders say their view of the near-term economic outlook has become more negative since the start of the year. We believe that the jump upwards in our Leadership Confidence Index is a clear sign that amid the uncertainty created by new (and quickly changing) tariffs, leadership teams are pulling together.

02

Positivity around leadership team behavior is driving the confidence rebound

While our three measures of leadership confidence (capabilities, behaviors, and issue management) are all up, the behavior index increased by 2.7 points—the single largest rise we have recorded across any of the sub-indices since we began collecting data. From this sub-index, 59% of leaders stated their ELT effectively works together as a team, 60% that the ELT effectively embraces change, and 56% that the ELT role model the right culture and behaviors.

This moment creates a good opportunity to practice and reinforce the right kinds of leadership behaviors. Anchoring on values and purpose as guiding principles is critical; not only does this help create leadership team cohesion, it also combats the natural tendency that many leaders will have to focus on the urgent over the important.

Many leadership teams work next to each other, not with each other. Leadership team meetings are often characterized by status updates and reporting, not collective problem solving. The current situation creates a valuable opportunity for the leadership team to work together on scenario planning; and while identifying defensive measures is important, the best leadership teams will look to find opportunity within the uncertainty. Productive tension, healthy and vibrant debate, followed by commitment to the decisions made and consistent communication to the organization are good litmus tests of the health of your top team’s culture. 

Leaders should be aware that the dust will settle and old-habits die hard. Figure out what has and has not worked over this period, and work to encode the new principles, practices, and behaviors you want to continue such that the old ones do not rebloom. 

03

Confidence in leaders’ capability is highest, but skepticism around board contribution remains

Across the three measures, leaders remain most confident in their executive leadership team’s capabilities. The capability sub-index sits at 65.5, well ahead of that for behavior (62.8) and issue management (58.8).

From this sub-index, 58% believe their leadership team has the right capabilities to lead the organization successfully, 73% believe they have a strong grasp of the competitive dynamics in their industry, and 63% agree that they have access to good information to support decision making. However, only 55% of CEOs, and even fewer C-suite leaders (49%) believe that the executive team gets good input and advice from the supervisory board. 

Periods of uncertainty test board and leadership effectiveness. The most effective boards will be brought in early to engage thoroughly with critical issues, supporting management without distracting them. Ultimately, boards must balance maintaining stability with positioning their organizations for long-term success. 

04

Crisis management capability may hide ability to understand and respond to more systemic changes

Our Index found that 65% of leaders agree that their executive team has effectively responded to emerging crises, and 56% agree they are embracing the opportunities of digital transformation. But, only 34% agree that they have a successful strategy for leadership succession at the C-level, and only 40% agree that they are effectively working to reskill the workforce for the future. This gap implies that leaders are struggling to engage with the long-term systemic implications that the current climate creates for their human capital, both within the workforce more generally and at the leadership level.

An organization’s ability to set and deliver on its strategy is a function of its leadership. And even if you have the right leadership in place today, it’s unlikely that the strategy execution and achievement of the organization’s long term goals will not require some form of leadership renewal. Despite this, succession is still too often treated as an episodic process or topic for discussion, rather than an ongoing organizational capability that is critical to long-term success.  

Likewise, the workforce needs to evolve in line with an organization’s strategy and the external forces shaping it—most notably AI—yet only 4% of leaders believe their workforce is very well adapted to the future. Those leaders on the front-foot understand that they must blend technology–tools for employees and automation of tasks–with thoughtful initiatives that upskill or reskill employees and drive the cross-team collaboration that is so often key to tapping into new technology opportunities.