Rethinking Leadership for 2026
Why trust matters more than ambition in turbulent times.
Good morning and welcome to the first newsletter of 2026.
We are only two weeks in, and it feels like the geopolitical events have been queuing up to ensure there won’t be a single peaceful moment. 2026 will be a long one, unfortunately.
In Sweden, we will add national elections in September to the global turmoil. (Yay.)
I realised long ago that fear is part of leadership. Acknowledging this is the first step toward not letting it hijack your nervous system and your decision-making.
It is very human to feel scared when everything that we’ve known about the world changes, and quickly. And humans want to be led by humans, not robots.
At the same time, the weirder things get, the easier it becomes to find clarity. I find that conversations get real, the challenges become more visible, and the desire to participate grows.
When I worked with challenging geopolitical issues before, a colleague of mine always said, “At least we're on the right side of history”.
I’m thinking about that a lot these days.
All the small things I do to make the world a better place: take the train, buy second-hand, eat locally produced food, etc. They might each be a drop in the ocean - but at least I can look myself straight in the eye.
I want to be someone who cares beyond my own self-interests, and I want to act in ways so you can tell.
A new year often comes with new goals. We’re encouraged to go after the big and ambitious: get promoted, lose weight, beat our budget. Visibility, progress, results.
But in times like these, I’m starting to think the more important work is quieter.
Being someone whose actions are internally consistent. Someone who can sit with fear without immediately reacting to it. Someone who chooses care over performance, and judgment over signalling.
Because when the world feels unstable, leadership isn’t about having the boldest plan. It’s about being trustworthy under pressure — to yourself first, and then to others.
And that doesn’t start with grand gestures.
It starts with small, deliberate choices that make it easier to look yourself in the eye when things get hard.
That, to me, is a good place to begin 2026.
Weekly Recommendations
2026 and EXPECTATIONS — The World Economic Forum just published its Global Risk Report. Interesting as always, but also a reminder that the items are ranked by asking executives what they expect from the year head, not predictions.
