Three Mindset Shifts for Leaders Stepping Into 2026

Last weekend in Brooklyn, I watched a video exhibit called Doors. Someone opens a door, crosses a hall, opens another, exits. Over and over.

I laughed, and then something shifted. I went from autopilot to awareness. I saw the pattern we are all living through. New roles. New identities. New expectations. New technologies. A hallway full of doors.

Change is hard. And most of the time, we try to make sense of it alone.

Technology accelerates the cycle. It changes how we work faster than we change how we relate. So we adapt quickly, often without pausing to ask what we want on the other side.

Computers. Email. Social media. Shared docs. Now AI.

AI is the next door. We did not choose for it to appear. But we do get to choose how we step through it. That choice matters, because the other side can become colder and more solitary, or more intentionally human.

I want the second option. That is why I started InStride Leadership.

Together, we can achieve more, in stride with our team, technology, and our truest self.

Here are three mindset shifts for leaders stepping into 2026.

Mindset Shift 1: From Surface Communication to Deep Sense-Making

Leadership communication used to be about the surface: better messaging, cleaner slides, tighter narratives, stronger delivery.

That still matters, but AI has shifted the baseline.

Tools like Gamma can generate an entire presentation. Gemini 3 can now give feedback on content, delivery, and slide decks. If you upload meeting transcripts, AI can sift through the mess and produce clean summaries and sharper message options.

Surface-level clarity is no longer scarce.

What is scarce is deep processing and sense-making.

The real leadership skill now lives underneath:

naming assumptions, surfacing tradeoffs, connecting the dots, and helping people make meaning under pressure.

In 2026, leaders need two types of frameworks side by side:

• Deep frameworks to examine how you are thinking (example: AIM, Audience, Intention, Message)

• Surface frameworks to decide what to say (example: PREP, Point, Reason, Example, Point summarized)

AI can help you draft. Read my article Leading with Clarity in the Age of AI to learn how. But humans still have to decide what is true, what matters, and what we are willing to stand behind.

Mindset Shift #2: Humanity Amplified with AI

AI can inform, explain, and even persuade. But it cannot co-regulate. It cannot replace the trust signals that come from a real relationship.

Our nervous systems know the difference.

In 2025, many managers went from “I cannot get a clear status update” to “I’m getting a 10-page memo.”

We all know AI slop when we see it. Walls of text that feel persuasive to the writer and exhausting to the reader. Polished output with very little depth underneath.

So no, we are not banning AI. Yes, prompt engineering is a good skill.

But, in the meantime, we are going to have to own it.

The mindset shift is this: humans must own the meaning.

That means judgment, context, emotional attunement, and real dialogue, so the work stays truthful and relational.

Here is a simple practice: read it and ask, Does this sound like a human who understands the stakes? We need to train our nervous systems to do this more and more. Then do the second step, verify. Ask for a meeting and set clear expectations. If someone can’t explain it to you, then they didn’t really own the ideas.

Mindset Shift #3: From Performance to Learning Systems

It’s easy to perform at work. Most people equate professionalism with performance. Now AI makes it easier than ever to perform. And if organizations reward speed, polish, and certainty, AI will produce more of that. A dystopian workplace will emerge.

But if they reward curiosity, feedback, and iteration, AI becomes a learning accelerator. And we get to show up as humans to work. A recent HBR article, The 5 AI Tensions Leaders Need to Navigate, underscores this.

Systems decide what gets rewarded. And whatever we reward, AI will amplify.

The organizations people will stay in are the ones where human connection is real capital, where it is safe to say “I do not know,” share unfinished thinking, and learn out loud.

In 2026, top talent will have choices:

• cold, solitary workplaces that optimize performance.

• organizations that embrace AI while staying grounded in humanity, because they remember the obvious truth: the products we build are for humans.

That will take courage from leaders to choose this door to walk through.

Stepping Through the Door

As leaders, we are standing in the hallway between doors.

2026 does not require rushing forward.

It requires choosing the mindset you carry with you as you step through.

If you want support building this into your leadership, here’s how:

Follow InStride Leadership

I am launching a 10-Day InStride Bootcamp in early 2026 to help leaders practice these mindset shifts in real work. Subscribe to “The Next Steps” (this newsletter), and follow me on LinkedIn and Instagram to get updates.

Start your 1:1 Coaching Journey

Embark on a personalized coaching journey built around your leadership goals and the moments that test them. Whether you are preparing for a high-stakes presentation or interview, or building long-term C-suite presence, we will work on both strategy and showing up authentically. That means clarifying what you are trying to do, sharpening what you are trying to say, and strengthening how you show up while you say it.

Coaching focus areas: leadership and executive presence, presentation skills, emotional regulation, storytelling, difficult conversations, impromptu speaking and Q&A, interviewing, networking, and influence.

Invite Me to Lead a Workshop at Your Company

One-off or programmatic, let us build capability across your team. Here are possible workshop topics:

• Communicate like an AI-Native – Communication workflows for tomorrow

• Lead the Room – Presentation skills for the stage, All Hands, and team meetings

• Spotlight Storytelling – Turn data and insights into clear, compelling narratives

• Own Hard Conversations – Repair relationships with strategy and emotional intelligence

• Feedback Loops – Build cultures that uplevel performance through feedback

• Small Talk, Big Moves – Unlock conversations that open networks and opportunities

• Convince Without Control – Influence upwards and sideways to drive smart decisions

• Executive Presence Cues – Fine-tune the signals that build trust, without over-trying

• Slides That Speak – Design visuals that guide attention and sharpen your argument

• Lead Within Complexity – Communicate context and data without oversimplifying

If you are stepping through this door too, I would love to walk alongside you.