Navigating volatility: Early findings from the HLB Survey of Business Leaders 2026

As we move into 2026, the world of business is once again seemingly at a critical inflection point. Each year, our HLB Survey of Business Leaders gives us an in-depth view into the mindset of global executives, how they perceive risks, where they see opportunities, and how they are preparing to lead their organisations through continued volatility. In Q4 of 2025, we surveyed over 1,100 senior leaders across more than 35 countries and a wide range of industries.

What we’re seeing in the early findings is a business landscape defined by heightened exposure to risk, yet also strengthening confidence and strategic resolve. Leaders are not shying away from volatility; they are learning to operate through it.

A world of rising risk and awareness

In this year’s dataset, one trend stands out above all: the intensity of perceived risk is escalating. Cybersecurity has now become the number-one concern, with 73% of leaders telling us they are concerned or very concerned about cyber attacks.

This is perhaps unsurprising given the sharp increase in sophisticated breaches, the interdependence of global supply chains, and the speed of digital transformation. Closely behind are economic uncertainty and ongoing inflationary pressures. Meanwhile, the two key factors that continue to shape strategic decisions are investment appetite and operational resilience.

But the broader shift is even more telling. Across all risk categories, we are seeing a marked rise in the overall level of baseline anxiety among leaders. Our average concern index has climbed to 61%.

This marks a significant jump from 46% when we first launched this survey in 2020. In a world as interconnected as ours, the reality is that threats ripple faster through the economy. Unpredictability is now a structural part of doing business.

CEO confidence remains strong

Despite this heightened risk landscape, leaders appear to feel more prepared to navigate turbulence than in previous years. More than half (53%) of respondents expect the rate of economic growth to increase in 2026, up from 46% last year. Confidence in their own organisational resilience is even stronger: only 12% feel not confident in their ability to grow their business in the next 12 months, while 42% report feeling very confident.

Crucially, this confidence is not misplaced optimism, it is reinforced by stronger profitability. The proportion of leaders reporting profit margin growth between 5–10% has increased from 15% to 20%. Those achieving over 10% profit growth also rose, from 10% to 12%. These numbers show that, even in challenging conditions, many businesses have found ways to strengthen operational efficiency, shift their commercial focus, and invest strategically.

This combination of rising risk and rising confidence tells us something important: leaders are adapting. They are becoming more disciplined, more agile, and more decisive.

Reinventing transformation in volatile times

So, what can you expect from our 2026 study? When we analyse the data more deeply, three major themes emerge:

1. Strategic planning cycles are accelerating.
   Businesses are moving away from traditional strategic planning and instead are adopting more dynamic, scenario-based approaches and planning at dual speeds. They are reassessing assumptions faster, reshaping investment priorities more frequently, and building more optionality into their decision-making.

2. Leaders are rethinking how they respond and adapt.
   We see a renewed focus on capability building and agility. Not surprisingly, AI is the big enabler. Leaders are focused on efficiency and new technology, and are rapidly building digital capabilities and resilience.

3. Customer relevance is becoming the ultimate differentiator.
   Across industries, leaders are sharpening their customer strategies with greater precision. They recognise that in a world of constant disruption, relevance can erode quickly. Staying close to customers, understanding their evolving risks, expectations, and behaviours is now considered a core strategic priority.

Join us for the global launch

On Thursday 22nd January 2026 at 17:30 (GMT), we will host a special LinkedIn Live event to unveil the full findings, joined by a panel of expert voices from across our global network. We will explore what these insights mean for organisations preparing for their next phase of growth, and how leaders can turn volatility into opportunity.