2025 was a year of leadership exposé. A year of revelations. A testing year. A year of stress. A year of burnout.

An overwhelming year. It has been quite a year. In any testing time, as they say, the mettle of leadership is exposed.

Unfortunately, in many cases leaders all across the world were found wanting. Some glossy names were tarnished.

Some established names were toppled. Corporate corridors witnessed scams and stealth stories. Those who seemed steady were also struggling with the pressures of an economy far from vibrant and boardrooms that were relentless. This led to low morale, low productivity and results that were either made up or lackluster.

In my leadership coaching interactions many leaders complained about “unrealistic expectation”, “unconducive conditions” and “unending struggles” to motivate employees.

Numbers tell the story. The Leadership Development statistics published in Exec magazine on 18th December 2025 highlight the growing gap. 77 percent of organizations lack sufficient leadership dept. This leadership deficit is across all levels, ranging from frontline managers to executives. This deficit is influencing business agility and succession planning in various sectors.

Without capable senior leaders in place, organisations struggle to adapt and stay competitive. Trust in managers dropped from 46 percent to 29 percent in just two years (2022-2024). 71 percent of Millennials are warning that they will leave within 3 years if leadership development is lacking. 53 percent of Gen Z are unhappy with their leaders. These are staggering numbers. These are wakeup calls. These underline the leadership fault lines. These highlight the disconnect between what needs to be done and what was done in 2025. Those who are led are........

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