← Field notes
Leadership· Jan 21, 2026· 5 min read
What boards are quietly asking for in 2026.
Beyond the obvious metrics, boards are screening for resilience, narrative, and the ability to lead through ambiguity.
The CV gets you to the room. What happens in the room is increasingly about three things: how a leader thinks about risk, how they communicate uncertainty, and how they have behaved in a downturn.
Boards are no longer impressed by linear careers. They are impressed by leaders who have made a hard call, taken the loss, and rebuilt.
Expect more reference-led processes, more psychometric depth, and more time spent on the second interview than the first.
