On Culture: The Executive Maturity Threshold

Myste Wylde
9 minutes ago
5 min read

Dear Culturati Insider,

If there was ever a year when executive maturity mattered, it is 2026. AI is shifting from pilot projects to the operating system of work. Climate policy is becoming an economic lever, and political tension is continuing to influence how we interact. The close of 2025 shows that women’s advancement in the workplace has stalled, with only 29% of C-suite roles held by women and a widening gap in who gets sponsorship, stretch roles, and AI support (McKinsey). Burnout mentions are up 32% and 75% of employees say they are not thriving (Gallup). Culture carriers—the people others rely on for steadiness, judgment, and a sense of how the organization truly works—are absorbing far more emotional labor than their roles were designed to hold. More than half of employees say they cannot use their strengths in their day-to-day work (which is one of the strongest predictors of turnover). And the executive table remains one of the last places leaders are willing to surface real conflict. If there is a maturity test for execs today, it is whether we can confront the truth that every organization runs on an unpriced economy: emotional labor, cognitive load, and invisible expertise—and what we choose to do about it.

Yours,

Myste Wylde, COO

2026 Trends for Business

London Business School's Think

By Anja Lambrecht, Randall S Peterson, Andrew Likierman , Ioannis Ioannou, Helen Edwards, Nicos Savva and Sergei Guriev

Summary: 2026 will be defined by three pressures on leaders: AI moving from experimentation to embedded infrastructure, climate strategy shifting from aspiration to economic mandate, and political volatility reshaping how people work together. LLMs will change digital behavior as they become the default interface for search, learning, and productivity, making context quality and proprietary data the real competitive edge. Governments will tie growth to energy resilience and sector-level transition plans, forcing companies to navigate conflicting regional policies without losing strategic coherence. Rising polarization will intensify workplace conflict, putting a premium on leaders who can hold stability and alignment. At the same time, consumers will lean harder into self-directed health as systems strain and AI offers faster, cheaper alternatives.

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Women in the Workplace 2025 Report

McKinsey & Company

By Alexis Krivkovich, Drew Goldstein, and Megan McConnell

Summary: The 2025 report shows companies are losing momentum on women’s advancement, with only half prioritizing women’s career growth and a new ambition gap emerging for the first time. Women are as committed as men but receive less sponsorship, less manager advocacy, and fewer stretch opportunities, which directly suppresses their desire for promotion. Entry-level women are promoted at lower rates and receive far less support in using AI tools, while only 93 women are promoted to manager for every 100 men and just 74 women of color. Women hold 29% of C-suite roles, unchanged from last year, and fewer believe opportunities are fair or attainable. Companies scaling back remote work, sponsorship programs, or ERG focus risk deepening these gaps. 2026 is a pivotal year for leaders to recommit to fair advancement, real sponsorship, and inclusive systems or risk losing a generation of future women leaders.

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Adam Grant’s Warning to Leaders: Your Culture Carriers Are Running on Empty

Indeed

Summary: Burnout is climbing again, with Glassdoor reviews mentioning burnout up 32% year over year and 75% of employees reporting they are not thriving. Culture carriers, the employees who quietly hold teams together by modeling company values, mentoring colleagues, resolving tensions, and setting the tone for how people work, are feeling the brunt of it. They are effectively doing two jobs: their formal role and the emotional labor of keeping teams steady during economic uncertainty and AI-driven change. That load raises the risk that even top performers burn out or leave; among five-star reviewers, those who mention burnout are 58% more likely to be job hunting. Their departure is often the earliest signal of cultural decline. Leaders need to identify these people, create psychological safety, give them meaningful support and visibility, and recognize the invisible work they do.

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Why Do People Think About Quitting Their Jobs? It Boils Down to 1 Reason

Inc.

By Marcel Schwantes

Summary: Gallup’s long-running engagement data shows one dominant reason employees consider leaving: they are not able to do what they do best. More than half begin looking for new roles when their strengths are underused, even though alignment between talent, skills, and daily work is one of the strongest predictors of performance and engagement. The core issue is managerial awareness. Many managers rely on job descriptions or assumptions rather than understanding what each person excels at, leaving real performance gains untapped. When managers actively help employees develop and apply their strengths, they more than double the likelihood of engaging their teams. Retention improves when managers know their people well enough to match them with work that fits who they are and what they do well.

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Unlocking Productive Conflict on Your Executive Team

Harvard Business Review

By Amy Gallo

Summary: The absence of conflict on an executive team is not a sign of alignment but a signal that critical issues are being avoided. Artificial harmony slows strategy, weakens decisions, and pushes leaders into back-channeling instead of open debate. When teams avoid tension, they also avoid the trade-offs and competing priorities that sharpen execution. High-performing executive teams build norms that make hard conversations routine, shift their mindset about disagreement, and intervene only when conflict becomes unproductive. Leaders often default to likability, which makes open disagreement feel risky, but respect grows when teams engage honestly. Productive conflict depends on clear norms, modeling healthy tension, and rehearsing the conversations the team avoids but needs to have.

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