2026 State of Leadership

In this episode, David Spickard and Rob Shields introduce the 2026 State of Leadership Report, built from insights gathered through the THRIVE Assessment™.

The data reveals an encouraging trend: leaders and teams are thriving more than in previous years, with noticeable gains in trust, relationships, and value. However, a major tension remains—leader health continues to decline, highlighting a growing gap between external success and internal sustainability.

00:00 – Welcome + intro to the State of Leadership report

02:00 – What the report is + how data was gathered

04:30 – Key insight: leaders are thriving more

06:00 – Why scores are improving (focus on people)

07:00 – Growth in trust, relationships, and value

12:30 – Tension: health scores are still low

14:00 – Why leader health is declining

18:00 – Rethinking success + whole leadership

21:00 – The importance of knowing your “why”

24:30 – Expanding impact to teams and communities