Essential business leadership advice for today’s CEOs

Craig Weber routinely speaks with groups of small- and midsize-business CEOs, and over the past 25+ years, he’s heard a range of answers to the question of their biggest challenge.

Finding talent. Building culture. Navigating technology.

In 2026, he sees all organisations confronting a common challenge: uncertainty.

“People just aren’t sure where the world is going,” says Weber, a Vistage US speaker for more than 26 years and author of “Conversational Capacity. The Secret to Building Successful Teams That Perform When the Pressure Is On.” “There’s political uncertainty, economic uncertainty, and technological uncertainty. As a CEO, you need to build a team that can thrive in uncertain circumstances.”

By focusing on 5 essential leadership priorities — clarity, culture, talent, decision-making, and change leadership. CEOs can grow as individuals and recalibrate how they lead their companies.

Among all CEO responsibilities, David Friedman says one stands above the rest: provide clarity, especially during uncertainty.

“The job of a leader is to define where we’re going and what matters most,” says Friedman, a former Vistage US Speaker of the Year. “Then make sure everyone understands it and aligns behind it.”

When clarity fades, conflict rises. Ambiguity spreads when CEOs get trapped in daily crises. They shift into firefighting mode and neglect long-term direction. Over time, strategy suffers.

Friedman recommends managers spend 80% of their time on daily operations and 20% developing their teams.

For CEOs, that ratio should flip.

They should spend about 20% on client and process issues. The remaining time belongs to strategy and future planning.

During his first CEO tenure, Friedman kept a reminder under his glass desk. It listed four roles: thinker, learner, teacher, leader. None involved putting out fires.

To focus on clarity, CEOs need empowered teams. Craig Weber calls this “high conversational capacity.” It means teams can engage in honest, learning-focused dialogue under pressure.

Weber believes many leaders overlook this.

Teams with strong conversational capacity handle messy situations well. Teams without it struggle with minor disagreements.

Imagine a marketing firm losing a major client. A strong team collaborates on solutions. A weak one argues about blame.

In high-capacity cultures, employees feel ownership. They don’t just comply with instructions.

After launching RSI, Friedman spent 27 years empowering employees to make decisions. He recalls a customer service manager who once informed him of a sudden resignation.

“She said she had a plan and it was handled,” Friedman recalls. She didn’t ask what to do. She took action.

Weber says this is the goal. Employees should feel like active contributors, not passive participants.

Clear strategy shapes smart hiring. CEOs should identify future roles and skills before urgency forces decisions.

“If we think strategically, we build capabilities over time,” Friedman says. “We don’t just react to immediate gaps.”

Strong leadership teams allow CEOs to focus on this work. Without that support, strategy gets sidelined.

Weber notes that many CEOs hire smart people but fail to tap their insight.

If leaders don’t create open dialogue, talent disengages. That wastes both money and potential.

Inclusion improves decisions. Not everyone makes the final call, but everyone can contribute.

Weber once worked with an engineering firm CEO who felt he wasn’t leveraging his team’s expertise.

At his next staff meeting, the CEO did 3 important things:

• He left the room.
• He admitted his previous mistakes.
• He asked for help.

He returned 30 minutes later to a list of concerns. The team discussed them together. Over time, trust grew. Eventually, he no longer needed to step out.

Authority changes how people behave. When the CEO enters, caution rises.

Weber says leaders must carry authority in a way that invites participation. The goal is to draw people in, not shut them down.

Change is inevitable. People leave. Markets shift. Mistakes happen.

Friedman advises modeling humility. Leaders should admit errors and learn openly.

He teaches “blameless problem-solving.” First, fix the issue. Next, identify the cause. Then improve the system to prevent recurrence.

The biggest barrier is ego. Some leaders resist admitting mistakes. They fear looking weak.

Friedman believes strong CEOs change their minds when needed. Protecting pride at the company’s expense is dangerous.

Admitting mistakes builds credibility. It signals growth, not weakness.

The CEO role can feel isolating. It’s hard to test ideas without honest feedback.

Vistage peer advisory groups provide CEOs with a confidential forum to stress-test strategies, understand their leadership style, and stay accountable for the changes they want to make.

“You’re going to be surrounded by people who are going to push you, challenge you, and really spark a lot of learning,” Weber says. “It’s a good way to check your ego, learn and develop new skills, and get exposed to new ideas.”

Coupled with executive coaching and other resources, Vistage can help CEOs stay ahead of emerging challenges rather than react to them.

This story was first published on the Vistage Research Centre.