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Executives are moving faster, embracing flexibility and making decisions with urgency even in the face of uncertainty, a new study from Padilla finds. But to make employees a key part of that “new normal,” gaps between leadership and employee perceptions on such issues as change readiness, well-being, hybrid work and artificial intelligence need to be addressed.
Padilla’s 2026 C-suite Perspectives Study asked 100 C-suite executives and company owners, as well as 1,000 employed adults, for their opinions on these issues.
Two-thirds of the execs (67 percent) said they think that employees are “fully” or “very” well-equipped to play a major role in their company’s change initiatives. However, fewer than half (43 percent) of the employees surveyed in the study agreed.
Bridging that gap, the study authors say, will require change communications that emphasize employee engagement and work to build “change-resilient” cultures.
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Leaders were also ambivalent about a big employee favorite: the hybrid work environment. Almost a quarter (21 percent) of them plan to tighten expectations around the time spent in office, and they are increasingly unwilling to offer fully remote models. A hurdle that leaders face, however, is the difficulty in articulating the tangible value of in-person interactions to employees.
As regards quality of life issues, almost half (48 percent) of the leaders surveyed said the well-being of their employees improved over the past year, more than the 42 percent who reported a higher level of well-being for themselves. Employees were significantly less positive, with just 25 percent saying their well-being was up over the past year.
Another big difference was in attitudes toward AI. While almost nine in 10 execs (88 percent) said they are adopting AI, only 43 percent of employees thought of AI as a “net benefit” for their job.
Closing the AI gap, the report says, will require that companies provide “clear narratives” illustrating “how and why their organization can and should use AI (e.g., for innovation, productivity or improving the quality of products and services).”
Even though the C-suite Perspectives study places its focus on how leadership is changing, it also notes that what it calls the “classic” leadership qualities of credibility, vision and authenticity are not about to leave any time soon. Those qualities were ranked as the three most important by survey respondents.
“The constantly shifting landscape in U.S. policies (tariffs, regulatory changes and immigration) makes it difficult for leaders to set strategy and execute plans,” said Padilla president Matt Kucharski. “Bringing employees along, managing their expectations, and helping them embrace change is more critical than ever.”
To hear the full results of the C-suite Perspectives study, join Padilla for a free webinar on Tuesday, February 24, 2026 at 2pm ET / 1 pm CT.
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