After July’s modest boost in confidence, the WSJ/Vistage Small Business CEO Confidence Index dropped slightly in August to 85.0. Beneath this relative stability, however, lies a growing undercurrent of uncertainty, driven by shifting policy signals and unanswered questions about the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).
Nearly half of small business leaders report that their economic uncertainty has grown in the last few months. Simply scanning headlines of tariffs, trade, and other legislation reveals plenty of unknowns. Even the OBBBA, with its major tax provisions, has been slow to gain positive traction.
While confidence dipped only slightly in August, uncertainty remains high as businesses prepare for potential changes and the implementation of new tariff policies. Some leaders are absorbing higher costs, while others are passing them on to customers. “A few of our vendors have raised their prices on certain items due to tariffs. We have just passed along the cost to our customers,” says Guillermo Arrieta, President of GA Flooring in Highland Park, New Jersey.
Bob Pilon, CEO of Dynamic Tub, Inc. in Maquoketa, Iowa, notes that they have implemented a “120% pass-through of all international tariff charges,” a stark example of how quickly cost pressures can escalate.
Other small business leaders report that projects are stalling. Delayed capital investments and client hesitancy to move forward underscore the domino effect of policy uncertainty within specific industries.
Even for those not making immediate changes, the possibility of shifting tariff policy continues to shape decisions, prompting some leaders to proactively adjust pricing, delay spending, or prepare contingency plans for supply chain disruptions.
Despite business-friendly tax policies, the OBBBA has yet to spark widespread enthusiasm. Just over a third of small business leaders view the bill positively, while 28% remain neutral and nearly a quarter (24%) express a negative outlook.
While the legislation contains provisions that could benefit businesses, particularly around tax stability and incentives, more than half (53%) of small business leaders report they are not planning any changes in response at this time. Among those who are, the primary focus is on workforce investments:
Supporters of the legislation highlight its promise of stability and growth. Business-friendly policies will encourage investment in the business. Scott Erickson of Erickson Outdoor Lighting in Mound, Minnesota, says the bill will help “keep business taxes low so we have the confidence to hire and grow … businesses will thrive in the next few years.” Other leaders stressed that permanent tax rates create stability, and that reinstating accelerated cost recovery gives companies a stronger incentive to invest in capital.
Dale Lemmons, President and CEO of Interstate Wood Products in Kelso, Washington, underscored this point, calling out that a key advantage of the OBBBA is “tax certainty going forward and permanent tax relief.”
For many leaders, however, the risks outweigh the potential rewards. Their chief concern centers on deficit spending and its long-term economic impact. Tom Ratliff, President and CEO of Canopy Corporation in Birmingham, Alabama, cautions that “Continued deficit spending is pushing the country toward unsustainable debt levels. This trajectory risks weakening the economy, which could directly impact our business.”
Joe Beranek, President/Owner of Evergreen Tool, Inc. in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, echoed this sentiment, warning that “the greatest challenge is the increased deficit having a negative impact on the strength of the dollar.” John Kookootsedes, CEO of IAG Insurance Services in Ladera Ranch, California, pointed to broader social implications, saying, “making tax rates more permanent gives certainty, the restoration of accelerated cost recovery also helps with capital investments.”
While economic confidence remained somewhat stable in August, leaders continue to navigate an environment shaped by shifting policies, uneven demand, and funding changes. Uncertainty is more than just a buzzword or headline; it is a reality small businesses face. Nearly half of small business leaders (47%) report that their uncertainty has grown in recent months, a concern reflected in the 44% who say current economic conditions are worse than a year ago and the 35% who anticipate further decline the year ahead.
Some describe the current environment as a pause before potential disruption. “A few months ago, the business environment outlook was dire — tariffs and war. Now tariffs are real, Fed rates have remained unchanged, the job market looks horrible, war seems imminent, and yet several other indicators seem to look pretty good,” says Ryan Surber, CEO of Sector Technology Group, Urbandale, Iowa. All things considered, it just seems we are in the ‘calm’ before the storm.”
Others are already feeling the slowdown. Joe Sziabowski, President/CEO of Hardaway|Sziabowski Architects in Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts, notes, “Clients are holding back on project starts; projects are starting and stopping unexpectedly; there is a lack of continuity and delayed schedules.”
There are still pockets of optimism found in industries not impacted by tariffs. “Better bid opportunities, better employee morale concerning economy, and lower variable expenses & fuel costs,” says Brock Bruce, Founder, President and CEO of PROSHRED in Houston, Texas. This mix of perspectives reflects the reality for many small businesses; while some are capitalizing on improved conditions, others are bracing for the next wave of challenges.
While the Bureau of Labor Statistics was making headlines at the time of the survey, it’s important to note that there are many stories to be revealed from any dataset; Taylor St. Germain from ITR Economics reminds us that the labor trends reported in July are not as dire as headlines might indicate.
Since the start of 2025, 47% of small businesses have maintained headcount, 31% have expanded, and 22% have reduced staff. Looking ahead, 43% expect no change to their workforce during the next year, 44% anticipate adding workers, and 12% foresee workforce reductions, often by not replacing roles lost through attrition or retirement.
Some leaders are seeing enough demand to drive expansion. “Clients are more ready to hire than they were last year,” says Shannon Russo, CEO of Kinetix in Atlanta, Georgia.
Meanwhile, others are taking a more cautious approach. “Not replacing people who quit to be as conservative as possible during this time of uncertainty,” explains Jen Augustyn, CEO of The Dealey Group in Dallas, Texas.
The same goes for Kendra Prospero, CEO and Founder of Turning the Corner HR in Denver, Colorado. “Uncertainty has forced me to not back-fill roles.”
Policy shifts, ongoing uncertainty surrounding the OBBBA, and mixed workforce trends indicate that business leaders should adopt a proactive approach to planning. Key actions to consider:
The August WSJ/Vistage Small Business CEO Confidence Index was calculated from an online survey sent to CEOs and other key leaders who are active U.S. Vistage members. The survey, conducted between August 4 and 11, 2025, collected data from 450 respondents with annual revenues ranging from $1 million to $20 million.
To explore the full August 2025 WSJ/Vistage Small Business data set, visit our data center or download the infographic.
The September 2025 WSJ/Vistage Small Business CEO Confidence Index will be calculated from small business respondents to the quarterly Vistage CEO Confidence Index survey, which will take place September 2-16, 2025.
Bob Prosen likes to say he has a superpower. It may not be a sexy superhero trait like flying or x-ray vision, but it’s a skill any CEO or business leader should admire.
Prosen makes complex problems simple so companies can make faster, better decisions. That same approach is helpful when developing action plans to improve leadership skills.
“In business, when you try to implement something complicated, it’s very difficult, and every CEO would tell you that,” says Prosen, CEO of The Prosen Center for Business Advancement. “What we should do is break it down into some very basic things to get done.”
Prosen’s philosophy works not only for business growth, but for personal development as well. Leaders should have practical, structured action plans to improve leadership skills and grow personally and professionally. Whether you’re a first-time CEO or an experienced leader, having a well-defined plan can enhance your ability to navigate challenges, align leadership development with organizational goals, and drive meaningful change.
Developing that action plan may sound complex, but by taking Prosen’s philosophy to simplify the complex, leaders can quickly discover opportunities to learn and grow — all while pushing their company forward.
“One of the best ways to achieve goals is to actually set them,” says Barbara Trautlein, principal at Change Catalysts. “We all have very good intentions about what we’re going to accomplish, but so often the urgent takes precedence over the important, so if we have a structured action plan … (there’s) just a higher probability that it’s going to get accomplished.”
Before you can develop an action plan to improve leadership skills, you need to first understand who you are as a leader. To do that, you need to conduct comprehensive self-assessments.
There are several assessment tools available in the business space. Prosen offered his perspective on when each tool should be used, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each:
| Tool | Best For | Key Advantage | Key Disadvantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| CliftonStrengths | Employee development | Focuses on what people do best | Doesn’t address weakness or role fit |
| Culture Index | Sales or executive hiring | Sharp insights into autonomy and drive | Limited transparency into the scoring methodology |
| DiSC | Team alignment | Fast and easy to apply | Shallow for leadership and hiring decisions |
| Hogan Assessments | Leadership risk | Deep insight into derailers | Complex to interpret without training |
| Myers-Briggs Type Indicator | Communication | Common language for differences | Lacks scientific validity and depth |
| Predictive Index | Hiring and role fit | Strong predictive validity | Requires certification for full use |
Gathering 360-degree feedback from colleagues is another way to identify strengths and areas for improvement. While that type of feedback is helpful, Prosen prefers assessment tools because they can provide a more detailed glimpse at who a person is. He particularly likes tools that determine how someone fits within a larger company culture.
Trautlein spent two decades consulting with clients when she realized that while each of those assessment tools has value, none identified how people lead change.
“I realized that people who were highly successful in other aspects of their career struggle to lead change, and organizations often fail to realize the benefits from the change initiatives that they hope for,” she says. “I realized that people are highly experienced with change but not experienced with change done right.”
Trautlein identified the need for change intelligence® (CQ®) and created the CQ System for Developing Change Intelligence. She also authored “Change Intelligence: Use the Power of CQ to Lead Change that Sticks.”
The CQ System helps people identify their change leadership style and helps them develop the awareness needed to more effectively contribute to change initiatives.
“We all have a role in driving change,” Trautlein says. “The CQ System helps us understand our approach to doing that, in what areas we’re strong, and in what areas we might overdo our strengths or have gaps. When we’re aware of that, we can then adapt our approach so that we can be more effective.”
Whenever Prosen works with CEOs, he asks what their role is as a leader. The responses he gets routinely touch on the same topics: mentorship, strategy, or organizational direction.
Prosen listens carefully, then he tells them what he thinks a leader’s role should be.
“I believe the role of the leader is to ensure everyone who works directly for you wins,” he says. “When it comes down to people and your leadership skill set and your style, your job is to ensure they win. Because when they win, you win. And when everybody wins, the company makes more money.”
Making that winning possible is a key part of creating action plans to improve leadership skills. To do that, it is necessary to have alignment across the organization when it comes to individual goals and company objectives.
That alignment begins by recognizing the need for goals across three different categories, Prosen says: financial, customer, and employee.
“Very few businesses have specific customer goals for the year,” he says, “and very few have people goals either.”
Prosen suggests organizations have no more than 15 top goals — what he calls “the critical few” as opposed to “the important many.” Those goals should then cascade down throughout the organization. An employee who interacts directly with customers should have goals that align with those of the larger company while also supporting their direct supervisor.
Of the 15 goals, Prosen says companies should highlight three to five as their primary objectives for the year. Everyone who reports directly to the CEO should have goals that support those primary organizational initiatives.
“All of a sudden, you have alignment,” he says. “You have people working on the things that matter most.”
A key component of the process is to make sure goals are being measured.
“If they’re not measurable,” Prosen says, “they’re really not a goal.”
By measuring goals, it then becomes possible to determine if they are being met, and if not, what needs to be done to correct the situation.
“If we’re off course, how do we handle it? If we’re on course, will we stay that way?” he says. “That’s a whole operating system that I work with a lot of companies on, so they achieve extreme profitability.”
It is crucial to acknowledge that every leader is different and every journey they’ve faced — either personally or professionally — is unique. However, when it comes to leading organizations, there are common scenarios leaders face. By developing tailored action plans for these leadership scenarios, an individual will have a far greater chance not only to succeed in the situation but also to help themselves and their company move forward.
Trautlein’s entire company is built around leading organizational change. Change intelligence is all about confidently navigating change with minimal conflict and maximum collaboration.
“Often organizations have change management or project management or strategic planning methodologies, and they still struggle to lead change,” she says. “What I say is the gap is true change leadership. Building your change intelligence helps you build your ability to lead change, and that can complement all the change management tools they have in their toolboxes.”
To Prosen, the first step in developing an action plan to improve leadership skills while leading organizational change comes down to understanding context. It is up to the leader to communicate and explain the context of the change, specifically why it is being made.
Without that context, most people will resist the change, Prosen says, not because they’re against it, but because they don’t understand its necessity.
“Most people are resistant to change because it’s painful,” he says. “A great leader can demonstrate that the pain of change is less than the pain that they’re currently experiencing. If the pain of change is less, they’re more likely to change. You’ve got to be good at explaining how this makes everything better and what’s in it for them when we do it, as well as what’s in it for the business.”
Like Prosen’s view on the role of a leader, he believes the key to enhancing team performance is acknowledging the need for collaborative efforts within organizations.
“That’s why we have people,” he says, “or it would just be me. The team will not be successful if the team doesn’t win.”
Crucial to enhancing team performance is transparency. Prosen values open and direct communication, but when it comes to an action plan to improve leadership skills, that communication can never become personal.
“Be extremely hard on performance, but easy on people,” he says. “The minute your language changes where you’re attacking the person for poor performance, you lose the relationship. When you lose that respect, you’re in trouble.”
Prosen helps fellow business leaders build action plans to improve leadership skills by introducing a monthly operational review process for employees. The process is simple. Prosen recommends leaders implement a dashboard that features all measurable goals and objectives. If the results are better than expected, a green box appears. If the results are below expectations, the box is red.
Rather than asking why someone’s box is red, Prosen says the key to enhancing team performance is to ask when they will be green and what help they need from anyone else in the organization.
“We want them to be successful,” Prosen says, “because when they are successful and everybody else on the team is successful, we all win.”
Trautlein believes in the 70-20-10 framework that says 70% of executive development comes from on-the-job experiences. That is why, when leaders establish timelines and milestones for new projects or initiatives, she believes that additional time should be allocated to focus on how they are learning and growing with the project.
“If they’re intentionally baking into their agendas the opportunities to sit back and reflect on where there might be disconnects or problems in the organization,” she says, “(they can) see how they are doing leading in all those ways.”
Creating a roadmap with specific deadlines and checkpoints is critical for an action plan — as well as for any organizational initiative. Having that timeline is important, Prosen says, but being able to execute against the timeline is what helps businesses stand out and succeed.
“Why does a competitor among five companies always do better than the others?” he asks. “They out-execute. They deliver what they say they’re going to do consistently all the time.”
A key component in developing an action plan to improve leadership skills is balancing short-term tasks with long-term development. Trautlein thinks of it as dealing with “the urgent” versus “the important”.
While urgent issues come up, it is necessary to keep “the important” long-term development in mind.
“Any change opportunity, whether it’s a transformational initiative, an IT project, or a new product launch, is a pop-up learning lab to do two things: solve the problem and build capability for the future.”
Also critical to any action plan is understanding how to address resistance to change. It’s a topic Trautlein frequently addresses when talking about change intelligence, and one Prosen routinely hears about whenever interacting with CEOs.
The two agree that resistance often develops from a lack of understanding, so it’s important that leaders deliver the context for change Prosen previously mentioned.
“There are some fears or concerns or emotional reasons why people are resisting,” Trautlein says. “Leaders need to understand their role in sometimes unintentionally creating resistance in others and become more skilled and savvy to reframe what looks like resistance (and turn) their enemy into their ally.”
Once leaders understand why the resistance exists, they can build their skill set and adapt their behaviors so that the resister has what they need to effectively collaborate and drive change.
Customizing action plans to improve leadership skills is an essential piece of a leader’s personal and professional growth. From conducting self-assessments to setting goals and tailoring strategies for specific situations like managing change or improving team performance, an action plan is what helps differentiate a leader looking to grow from a leader content with who and where they are.
Vistage can help you further develop your strategic action plan. From teaching you how to create and execute a successful strategic plan to identifying gaps in your planning process, Vistage helps leaders make better decisions and secure better results.
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In a time of economic uncertainty and shifting policy landscapes, the 7th annual “Vistage on the Hill” event brought clarity, connection and conviction to Washington, D.C. This flagship gathering unites Vistage Member Excellence Award winners from across the country and industries with the policy experts at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the leading advocacy group for the nation’s businesses.
This event is more than policy briefings — it’s a two-way exchange.
Members bring real-world insights from the front lines, so Chamber policy experts can take those perspectives and push pro-business policy with lawmakers. Chamber experts, in turn, offer updates on legislation that directly impacts operations, investments and workforce decisions.
This year’s session was especially timely, unfolding amid heightened economic uncertainty and a growing demand for policy stability.
“The Chamber listens to all sorts of constituents,” says Sam Reese, CEO of Vistage Worldwide. “But what’s so important about listening to our members is that they are high-integrity leaders. They’re worried about taking care of their families, their communities, and their businesses — all at the same time. They are the people who are the backbone of our country and best situated to share the brutal facts.”
That sentiment echoed throughout Vistage on the Hill. CEOs spoke candidly about the challenges they face — from tariffs and tax policy to AI and small business policy — and how these issues affect hiring decisions, capital investments, and long-term growth strategies.
“It’s refreshing and incredible to be heard by people who influence policy,” says Tami Bohannon, CEO & President of AllThrive 365. “It gives me hope.”
For many attendees, tariffs were of top concern. “We’re an import business,” says Mark Shinbane, CEO of SK Food Brands. “Tariffs have a huge impact on the cost of our products.”
Others found unexpected value in the tax policy briefings, discovering new angles to support growth and reinvestment. “We need to review and make sure that we understand [the One Big Beautiful Bill Act] and can take that into our strategy going into this next year,” says Brooke Lee, CEO of Anchor Paper and new Chair of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce.
Several members left, determined to find new ways to integrate AI into operations, especially to automate and streamline processes.
“Vistage has the best of the best,” says Tom Sullivan, Senior Vice President of Small Business Policy at the Chamber. “Why not hear what they’re dealing with in their towns, their cities, and their businesses — and absorb that into what we’re advocating on Capitol Hill?”
Sullivan encouraged Vistage members to share their experiences with local lawmakers to help influence policy.
“I believe the government is in place to help and serve people,” says Andy Zucaro, Founder & President, AZCO Corporation. “For them to do their jobs and understand what people really need and want, you need to talk to them.”
Chair Roger Miller guides peer groups in New Jersey. He and fellow Chairs across the country plan to hold frank discussions with members, based on the insights from Vistage on the Hill, to “solve problems” and make “better decisions.”
Vistage will continue championing small and midsize businesses, amplifying their voices through a strong, long-standing partnership with the Chamber. By showing up year after year, we help influence pro-business policy and advocate for the job creators and problem-solvers who drive the U.S. economy,
says Reese.
“I was ecstatic to get the opportunity to come to Washington, D.C. with Vistage and to meet with the U.S. Chamber,” says Lee. “Those folks lobby for businesses like mine, and leaders like me, all day long.”
Legislative Outlook 2026: Policies, Priorities & Election Impacts for SMBs [Member Exclusive]
Entering 2026, small and midsize businesses are navigating a world of constant change, shaped by rapid advancements in AI, shifting workforce dynamics, global instability, and economic uncertainty.
To help you make informed decisions, Vistage speaker and strategy expert Marc Emmer will share his forecast for 2026, covering five key areas covered in his popular trends series:
Marc’s insights will reveal how you can turn trends in each of these areas into opportunities for growth and gain a lasting competitive edge for your business.
Date: November 7, 2025
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET/10:00 a.m. PT
*Please use the blue box on the right to register.
Marc Emmer is President of Optimize Inc., a management consulting firm based in Los Angeles. Marc is a 20-year Vistage member and is recognized throughout North America as an author, speaker and expert on strategy and strategic planning. The release of his second book, Momentum: How Companies Decide What to Do Next was covered online by Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, CBS and CNBC. Marc has crafted strategic plans for over 200 organizations, including more than 100 Vistage members. He is a frequent contributor to the Vistage Research Center, Forbes.com and Inc.com.
The world’s best CEOs don’t just lead — they train. They approach leadership the same way elite athletes approach competition: with discipline, focus and an unwavering commitment to continuous improvement. In fact, how CEOs train like elite athletes says a lot about their leadership success. These top-performing executives don’t wait for challenges to arise. They prepare for them — mentally, physically and strategically.
As a former All-American distance runner at the University of Colorado Boulder, I learned that mindset and preparation are the key to the difference between merely showing up and truly excelling. When an injury ended my athletic career, I had to rebuild — an experience many CEOs face when disruption strikes. What stuck with me from the track to the boardroom was this: peak performance doesn’t happen by chance. It’s built through daily, deliberate effort. That’s exactly how top CEOs lead — and why they perform like elite athletes.
Based on my experience as both a competitive athlete and a CEO working with high-performing leaders around the world, here are 5 ways CEOs can train like elite athletes to lead at their best.
Great CEOs don’t leave growth to chance. They treat each week like an athlete entering training camp — focused, intentional, and goal-driven. One of the most powerful pieces of advice I ever received came from my high school track coach, Bob Brown: “Pick a goal at the start of every season.” That lesson changed how I approached everything.
Today, I use what I call the 6 Fs — family, finances, function, faith, fitness, and future — to set goals that keep me grounded and improving. This ritual is common among elite leaders. It’s not just about goal setting—it’s about training your discipline muscle. How CEOs train like elite athletes often starts with setting targets that matter.
Whether on the track or in the boardroom, standards matter. Elite athletes create accountability by declaring their goals out loud. CEOs can do the same. When you share your expectations, you invite accountability from your team — and yourself.
But accountability doesn’t thrive in isolation. Even Olympians have coaches. The best CEOs build similar support networks — mentors, advisors and peers who challenge them to level up. It’s another powerful example of how CEOs train like elite athletes: by surrounding themselves with people who elevate their game.
It’s easy to perform when everything’s going your way. But true leadership shows up in the hard moments — when you’re tired, uncertain or stretched thin. Elite CEOs know that motivation is fleeting. Discipline is what gets results.
There’s a saying in sports: “You don’t know who your best players are until your team gets its butts kicked.” In business, adversity is the ultimate test. How CEOs train like elite athletes comes down to this principle: show up, no matter what. The best leaders push through discomfort because they’ve trained for it.
The strongest organizations operate as one team with a unified vision. That starts at the top. In companies, just like in sports, silos kill momentum. Great CEOs build teams that collaborate, support one another, and share ownership of outcomes.
This is another area where CEOs train like elite athletes — they foster a culture of shared goals and mutual respect. They know that unity isn’t just nice to have; it’s a competitive advantage.
Winning teams don’t all think the same. They bring together diverse perspectives, challenge assumptions, and rally around a shared purpose. The best CEOs encourage dissent, not discourage it. They create space for tough conversations and alternate viewpoints.
When you build a team that values different ways of thinking, you unlock better decisions and stronger results. It’s yet another way how CEOs train like elite athletes — by building dynamic, inclusive cultures where everyone gets better together.
The top CEOs in the world don’t rely on talent alone. They train. They build systems around goal setting, discipline, accountability and teamwork — just like elite athletes. They embrace discomfort, seek feedback, and surround themselves with people who challenge them to improve.
You don’t need to be an athlete to lead like one. However, if you want to win, you must train like one. That’s the key to staying competitive in today’s business environment.
So build your habits. Strengthen your mindset. And commit to consistent improvement. That’s how CEOs train like elite athletes — and why it works.
This story first appeared in Entrepreneur.
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When Craig Weber consults with a company trying to adopt agile talent management, he first works to understand the organization’s existing patterns of communication. Often, those patterns make it difficult for teams to work together at any pace, let alone with agility.
At a Silicon Valley company, Weber — a Vistage speaker for over 26 years, and author of Conversational Capacity — interviewed the team and was told that the company employed no “jerks.”
Everyone got along well, they told him, but there was a downside: no one was willing to raise challenging issues. Executives of the company, during a period of explosive growth and while preparing for an IPO, soon discovered that essential topics were not being addressed because no one wanted to become the team’s first “jerk.”
Another company Weber visited, a social work nonprofit in New York City, had the opposite problem. Everyone always brought up difficult topics, they told Weber, and every conversation became argumentative. When they received a new referral for business, the organization had to send it to another organization, sabotaging itself over its inability to communicate well and work with agility.
“In both of these circumstances, the way people engage with each other is working against why they’re working together,” Weber says. If conversational capacity is low, there is no way to implement an agile management strategy that works.
Agile talent management requires the ability to communicate well, trust employees to do their work well and pivot quickly when needed, according to Beth Trejo, a Vistage speaker and CEO and founder of social media agency Chatterkick in Sioux City, Iowa. When an organization has implemented agile talent management, it experiences more openness, learning and transparency across its ranks. It can also respond better to market changes and challenges.
“You have to have transparency and trust in employees,” Trejo says of agile talent management. “I hire adults and grown-ups and treat them like adults and grown-ups — I trust them. I get to know them on an individual level. That’s how we build trust. They need to trust me just as much as I need to trust them.”
Taking inspiration from agile software development, agile talent management allows teams to work collaboratively and quickly, often on cross-functional teams. Breaking down the silos between teams requires a high level of communication, which usually involves uncovering previously undiscussed or taboo topics across an organization.
With an ongoing talent shortage and a business world that’s always in flux, more organizations are looking to adopt an agile talent management strategy. After all, most employees want to work in a highly collaborative environment with good communication between employees and managers.
However, many organizations struggle to adopt agile talent management.
According to the Elusive Agile Enterprise report by Scrum Alliance and Forbes Insights, 83% said talent mix is essential for the organization’s agility, but 70% said that the lack of engagement of executives and employees keeps their organization from having transformational success.
In Weber’s work, successful teams that can perform when the pressure is high develop their ability to balance candor and curiosity when exploring important issues and making hard decisions.
A team with high conversational capacity, says Weber, “Can perform well, remaining on track even when dealing with their most troublesome issues. The performance of a team with low capacity, by contrast, can be derailed by a trivial disagreement. In this sense, conversational capacity isn’t just another aspect of effective teamwork — it defines it. A team that can’t communicate about its most pressing issues isn’t really a team at all. It’s just a group of people who can’t engage with each other effectively when it counts.”
There are many benefits of moving toward agile talent management, including breaking apart silos and working at a faster pace, Trejo says.
Employees feel more respected, adds Weber. He’s seen engagement scores and talent retention rise within companies he consults with on becoming more agile.
Some executives even report personal benefits to adopting the principles of agile talent management at work. Weber says that he recently spoke to an executive group and, three days later, received a call from one executive telling him that Weber’s advice saved his marriage. “The successes are great, not just organizationally, but personally,” Weber says.
The first step for executives in developing agile talent management is to assess the organization’s current level of agility.
When Weber first consults with a business, he asks several contextual questions. What’s the organization’s strategy? What are its main challenges in meeting its goals? He’ll observe how employees and managers communicate with one another. Often, he’ll see right away where a company is falling short.
Then, Weber teaches a workshop on building conversational capacity by improving curiosity and candor. Both individual employees and the organization must become familiar with the concepts and skills of conversational capacity, specifically identifying areas where they may lack candor or curiosity, and then working on these areas to improve.
When there’s low conversational capacity, Weber says that organizations either avoid talking about tough topics or bicker and argue endlessly.
Both problems make organizations far less agile, often slowing business and ending essential discussions.
“You might have an excellent strategy in place with good intentions, but if you don’t have the conversational capacity to back it up, it isn’t going to go very far,” Weber says. “When you work in a more balanced way, with high candor and high curiosity, suddenly the undiscussable issues become discussable, and the unproductively discussable issues become more productively discussable. You start seeing things change dramatically.”
To see this change, Weber says that everyone across the organization must work to build their conversational capacity, and he shows them how to use their daily work as the practice space.
During meetings, this might mean that people with high candor — the truth tellers, the hard-to-please, the opinionated — should slow down and ask more questions. Or it might mean that people who typically only ask questions — the shy ones, the people-pleasers, the nonconfrontational — should respond honestly with what they’re thinking, as uncomfortable as that may feel.
Weber says that the systematic framework for building this capacity within individuals focuses on awareness, mindset and skill set.
To build your conversational capacity, Weber says there are three domains of practice: awareness (the emotional domain), mindset (the cognitive domain) and skill set (the behavioral domain).
Cultivating self-awareness is the first step. Learning to maintain a candid and curious stance requires a clear understanding of how our emotional programming works against it.
We must also adopt a mindset that subordinates our primal emotional reactions to the goal of learning.
But a mindset is only as valuable as our ability to put it into action, so the discipline includes a skill set — specific, well-defined behaviors — for conversing in a balanced way, even when under pressure.
While becoming more agile, Trejo says that organizations should still measure objectives. This may involve maintaining meeting agendas, staying organized to avoid time waste, and setting small, achievable goals. Easy wins in the first days of agility are important, she says.
As the team becomes more open and transparent with one another, Trejo notes that both employees and the team develop trust and intuition.
Those in creative roles are more able to try new things, while those in roles where key performance indicators measure success can watch the trend, tweaking what may need to be tweaked. Everyone is working toward the organization’s larger goal, but they receive more trust in their roles.
Ultimately, becoming more agile is up to each employee, manager and executive. The executives can adopt the concept, a consultant can teach a workshop and the employees can learn the concepts. But each day, every individual within the company must know what they need to practice and bring it into work, Weber says. Practicing takes courage, as people will make mistakes. At an agile organization, mistakes must be welcomed.
“You’re going to trip up and not always be as effective as you like, but treat that as something to get curious about,” Weber says. “If I didn’t behave in a way consistent with what I was trying to do, I should ask: Why did that happen? What can I learn from it? How could I do a better job next time? Even when it doesn’t go how you expected and your behavior doesn’t conform to your expectations, that is a great opportunity to learn the practice.”
While many of the skills of agile talent management are built from within, both Trejo and Weber say that there are traits organizations can look for to find the best candidates.
Trejo says people who are curious and ask a lot of questions tend to fit nicely into an agile workplace. In the interviewing process, she looks for people who ask her most of the questions, as she believes that this is a sign that they’ll be able to work well on collaborative teams.
While Weber hasn’t found anyone naturally talented at finding the balance between curiosity and candor, he’s noticed that people who have demonstrated their ability to work in various team settings and circumstances tend to do well in agile environments.
“This person seems to be able to jump into Team A and work well with them, and then jump into Team B, which is a different team and a different project dealing with different issues and characters, and they’re able to adjust their behavior and get along there,” Weber says. “It’s that ability to flex your behavior I’d look for.”
Training remains essential for new hires, mainly because it helps them fit into cross-functional teams. Trejo says that the leadership team must ask what cross-functional teams look like and how they can help employees step into these roles without colliding with other roles within the company.
The focus must be on working together rather than working at odds.
“Those are the questions I know we have asked ourselves, as role definition is important,” Trejo says. “People want to have a focus in what they’re trying to do, but how do you help them still learn other parts of the business or learn other parts of the client journey? You have to train and educate employees in those cross-functional roles. I think that’s so critical for everyone these days, because whether it’s turnover or you just need to change skill sets, training on cross-functionality makes a big difference.”
It’s also essential for organizations interested in agile talent management to ensure their tech stacks serve the business, Trejo says. Often, companies use pieces of technology that clash with one another, hindering how quickly teams can collaborate. The company’s tech stack should be well-defined and well-controlled to have cross-functional teams that work well.
Weber loves speaking to Vistage groups about conversational capacity, as he’s speaking directly to the CEOs and top executives. Without buy-in from executives, agile talent management will flounder.
Trejo says once executives buy in, the change must be fully integrated, or else an organization risks running in two separate directions from within.
There will be challenges and stumbles along the way, but Trejo says that organizations adopting agile talent management should also adopt systems for feedback and recognition. Employees should be able to talk openly about what is and isn’t working for them, and leaders should be willing to commend employees on a job well done.
“Every single week, as a part of our weekly stand-up, we do team shout-outs,” Trejo says. “Those have been so positive because the team, not just management, recognizes each other. It’s super simple, but it makes a big difference.”
Getting teams to stay in the sweet spot, both candid and curious, is the hardest part, Weber says, as the practice is the heart of agile talent management. Beyond executives becoming excited at a Vistage meeting, they must ensure consistent effort across the company.
Ensuring consistent effort is not easy, he says, but the usefulness of the skills tends to keep people engaged. However, Weber also helps organizations create their own, unique conversational code of conduct.
“It’s an agreed-upon set of behavioral norms, which helps the team remember and is a great way to onboard new talent,” Weber says. “You can say, ‘When you join our company, we’ve got some behavioral norms you need to be aware of, because you’re going to be pulled right into conversation right out of the gate. I don’t want you to be surprised by that.’ It’s a great way to bake clear behavioral norms into the corporate culture.”
Trejo consulted with a CPA firm on adopting agile talent management, opening conversations, building cross-functional teams and testing new technology. This often isn’t seen in financial services, she says, but it’s worked for them: They’re attracting more talent, their retention rate seems to be higher, and their culture has improved.
“Everybody wants to be something bigger than themselves,” Trejo says.
Understanding Talent Management vs Talent Development: Strategies for Organizational Success
Uncovering Hidden Gems: Use Precision Interviewing to Select Top Talent [Sept. 19 Webinar]
AI adoption in business is no longer a distant prospect for the future. It is here, and leaders need to focus on leveraging its full potential to remain relevant. Just like knowledge workers, CEOs need to take the lead.
The noise of tariffs, economic uncertainty, and geopolitical issues has drowned out the steady rise of generative AI in the workplace. Since ChatGPT first became available to the public in 2022, working professionals and organizations have rapidly transitioned from being cautious to becoming full-on adopters, signaling the rise of AI adoption in business.
Indeed, Vistage’s Q1 2025 CEO Confidence Index survey revealed that 7 out of 10 CEOs are now actively using generative AI in their roles. Similarly, 2 in 5 (41%) of organizations have a generative AI license or subscription.
So while Generative AI is, first and foremost, a tool for fueling individual productivity, it’s also becoming an organizational resource and a core part of AI adoption in business.
Leaders are increasingly focused on educating their workforces on when and how to safely and responsibly use AI within company policy. As of March 2025, nearly half (47%) of CEOs reported they are training their workforce on AI, a sharp increase from 32% in Q2 of 2024.
But what about the other 53% of CEOs who are not actively training their workforce on AI? Perhaps they are experiencing AI fatigue, as the novelty of AI has worn off. Or perhaps they are distracted by the economic ups and downs that are affecting their business, or they feel that employees don’t have the time to step away from work to attend training.
Regardless of what’s holding them back, attention and time are two of the biggest inhibitors to AI adoption in business, preventing professionals from experimenting with tools and seeking ways to increase their organization’s overall efficiency and productivity. But it is well past the time to wait and see how it unfolds — it is time to act.
CEOs must immediately make AI a top priority, as the time invested in AI today is exponential to the time saved tomorrow. Gone are the days when Gen AI was a secret weapon; today, it is expected that all workers use AI to some extent. The leaders who implement intentional programs to take their workforce’s AI proficiency to the next level will start to pull ahead.
Instead of just a standard technology solution, CEOs must view AI as a total reimagination of how we work and operate. To maintain a competitive edge, modern leaders require the foresight to have their own AI vision and the ability to align their purpose with productivity.
Meanwhile, leaders who continue to leave their organization’s use of AI to chance risk falling behind in policy and losing the zero-sum game of productivity, efficiency and overhead costs.
The impacts of AI on the workforce have already begun to be felt, with employers planning to do more with less and investing in AI over entry-level hires due to its ability to handle administrative tasks instantly.
An unusually high 5.8% of recent graduates have been unable to find employment, as an increasing number of entry-level jobs are being automated. The U.S. job market has already started to show the effects of this shift on a larger scale.
As such, CEOs are tasked with rethinking how they engage with a future talent pipeline and help them acquire the human skills, such as strategy, reasoning, and creativity, that are increasingly necessary to thrive in our AI-driven world.
Business leaders also need to train employees of all generations to work alongside and manage AI agents by investing in learning and development offerings that both equip employees to navigate this mindset shift and provide the skills required to optimize AI.
Whether you like it or not, AI is here. It’s not just a new app or a fun chatbot — it’s the foundation of a new era of tech.
It’s time for the 53% of CEOs who aren’t currently investing in training for the workforce to jump on the train of AI adoption in business before they get left at the station.
This story first appeared in Inc.
The 4 Levels of Gen AI Proficiency [New report]
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Sarah Furness spent 21 years as a helicopter pilot and squadron leader in the Royal Air Force. “Leading operational combat tours of up to 120 people in places like Afghanistan and Iraq gave me a strong foundation in terms of performance, resilience and leadership”, she says. “It didn’t take me long to realise that those are things that a lot of people want to learn more about.”
After leaving, Sarah began to explore mindfulness as a way to handle the strong emotions and inner battles she faced. “Once you become aware of your own narrative, you start to become more aware of other people’s”, she continues. “You can see how everyone’s just sort of putting a brave face on for a lot of things.”
Sarah trained as a mindfulness coach and cognitive therapist, but she realised early on that people were more keen to hear about the military than mindfulness. “They wanted to know how my military career had helped me perform and lead under pressure and deal with stress”, she explains. “I began to pull out the mindfulness and mindset techniques that were embedded in our military training”.
However, Sarah is turning some of her military training on its head. “When I first applied to be an RAF pilot, I had to take a multitasking aptitude test”, she explains. “Multitasking is often seen as a badge of honour when it comes to productivity, but this shouldn’t be the case.”
Instead, Sarah favours a uni-tasking approach: the subject of her Vistage session on September 24th.
We are humans, not computers
Sarah came to the realisation that we, as humans, are not designed for multitasking. “Computers are able to switch very quickly between programs, and that’s essentially what multitasking is”, she explains. “We can do that to a degree, but we just don’t perform as well when we do.”
Mindfulness, says Sarah, is about focusing your attention where you want it to be. “Your attention can only be in one place at a time”, she continues. “With that in mind, we, as humans, can’t really multitask – we can only task-switch.”
Society has us believe that multitasking is the holy grail in the workplace. However, focusing on more than one task at once, says Sarah, is impossible – and attempting to do so can have a greater negative impact on your business than you may realise.
Could you be damaging your business?
Our natural response, when we’re busy, is to attempt to multitask. “It’s precisely this multitasking that leads us to be less productive, however”, Sarah highlights. “Not only are we doing less, we’re working harder to do less – which not only reduces our output, it also increases our stress.”
This vicious cycle results in employee burnout, reducing morale and increasing absenteeism. “You’ll find that people will end up working longer or harder to get the job done”, Sarah says. “They’ll open their laptop on holiday, and they’ll lose their work-life balance.”
Sarah’s proposed solution – and the topic of her Vistage session – is uni-tasking.
“This isn’t simply just doing one thing at a time for the rest of your life – that’s not realistic”, she explains. “It’s about realising you’ll perform better and feel better when you choose to focus on one thing at a time.”
Uni-tasking is the act of prioritising your high-value tasks each day, enabling you to perform those tasks better and more quickly.
“There may be other tasks that you can multitask as they’re easier and require less concentration”, continues Sarah. “However, by taking a step back and defining your most important task – the one that requires your full attention and needs your best results – you can make sure that task is done to the best of your ability.”
Why you should attend Sarah’s session
If you’re looking to become more efficient and less stressed, Sarah’s Vistage session is for you.
“We’re quite stuck in our ways, as humans”, says Sarah. “Switching from multitasking to uni-tasking can seem like too much work to put into practice. By releasing yourself from the myth that multitasking is the only way, though – by giving yourself permission to switch your focus – you’ll unlock a far more efficient and less stressful way of working, building a truly high-performance team.”
Learn more about Sarah’s session and sign up here.
In today’s fast-paced world, the pressure to succeed professionally and personally leaves many of us in a constant state of stress. For CEOs and other top executives, this burden is even heavier. Responsible not only for their own performance but also for that of their organization and employees, leaders are increasingly facing the toll of chronic stress.
The stress response is a natural evolutionary adaptation designed to help us respond to immediate threats. But when this response is activated continuously, as it is in modern life, we develop a condition known as stress sensitivity. This means we start overreacting to everyday situations that aren’t truly dangerous, often worrying about things that haven’t even happened.
Technology doesn’t help. With smartphones and the internet, we’re always plugged in — always “on.” In fact, a recent Vistage survey found that CEOs struggle to fully disconnect even when on vacation. Chronic stress impacts not only mental well-being but also physical health, increasing the risk of high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, sleep problems, and more.
Exercise is one of the most effective ways to combat the effects of stress, but not all exercise is created equal when it comes to calming the mind. While high-intensity workouts offer many benefits, stress-relief exercises for CEOs are most effective when they promote mindfulness and relaxation. Here are some of the best techniques to incorporate into your routine:
Repetitive, rhythmic movements such as walking, light jogging, cycling, or paddling can serve as a form of moving meditation. These low-intensity exercises help regulate your breathing, allowing your mind to settle into a meditative state. Leave the headphones at home and focus on your steps or breath to increase mindfulness and reduce stress.
Yoga is an ancient practice that integrates body movement with mindful breathing. From Vinyasa to Hatha, all forms of yoga help bring attention to the breath — a powerful way to calm the nervous system. Studies show that yoga reduces not just stress, but also anxiety, depression and sleep disturbances.
One study by Dr. Michael Goldstein found that students who completed a yogic breathing workshop reported significant improvements in perceived stress, sleep quality and self-esteem compared to those in a wellness education course. Importantly, they also had lower resting heart rates before stressful tasks, highlighting yoga’s impact on anticipatory stress.
Tai Chi is a gentle martial art that combines slow, intentional movements with deep breathing. For executives dealing with stress, it improves balance, cognitive function, and emotional well-being. Research supports Tai Chi’s role in reducing depressive symptoms and stress while also enhancing recovery from stroke, Parkinson’s and dementia.
Similar to Tai Chi, Qigong emphasizes deliberate, slow movements combined with mindful breathing. It has gained traction in the West as a stress-reduction tool, with studies showing benefits ranging from improved immune function to reduced anxiety and better sleep.
What unites these practices is their focus on the breath. Long exhalations, diaphragmatic breathing, and attention to natural breath all stimulate the vagus nerve, activating the parasympathetic nervous system—your body’s “rest and digest” mode. This shift counteracts the chronic fight-or-flight response CEOs experience daily.
Moreover, these practices offer something else executives desperately need: time away from screens. Just 30 minutes unplugged from emails, social media, and notifications allows your brain to reset and recharge.
By incorporating stress-relief exercises for CEOs into your weekly routine, you can build resilience, sharpen your focus and protect your long-term health. Whether it’s walking without distractions, joining a yoga class, or trying Tai Chi or Qigong, these practices can help you lead with clarity and calm.
This story first appeared on Dr. Wells’ blog.
The information and opinions presented are the author’s own and not those of Vistage Worldwide, Inc.
CEO Health and Wellness Resource Center
Why CEO Health and Wellness is Now a Business Imperative
Editor’s Note: This is part of an ongoing series examining generative AI and its continuing impact on the business world.
Generative AI (Gen AI) is fundamentally transforming industries, reshaping how AI is changing human work — from the way professionals innovate to how they create and solve problems. These systems — capable of generating text, images, music and complex solutions — are not just tools. They are catalysts for a paradigm shift in professional and creative landscapes.
For business leaders, this raises urgent questions: How is AI changing human work? And how do we define human value in a world increasingly driven by Gen AI? As automation anxiety spreads, professionals worry that their skills may become obsolete.
Gen AI is revolutionizing industries, redefining how professionals create, collaborate and lead. It can now generate text, images, music, and complex decisions. These capabilities aren’t just technological advances — they represent a fundamental shift in how value is created.
Professionals worry that their skills are becoming obsolete. But Gen AI isn’t eliminating all human contribution. It’s reshaping the roles we play and the strengths we need to succeed.
Historically, human value was tied to creativity, emotional intelligence, and problem-solving (Think craftsmen, analysts and writers). Gen AI challenges that by performing many of those tasks, sometimes faster and better.
So what remains uniquely human?
Rather than competing with AI, we must evolve and lean into these strengths.
With Gen AI’s ability to process and generate information at scale, some workplace skills are becoming less essential. Tasks that rely on repetitive or predictable cognitive functions, such as data entry, report summarization, and even basic coding, are now easily handled by AI.
Likewise, routine problem-solving and decision-making tasks, where inputs and outcomes are clearly defined, are areas where AI outperforms humans in both speed and accuracy. Content creation in isolation is also declining in value. Tools like ChatGPT and DALL·E can quickly produce high-quality drafts, designs and media, reducing the need for human intervention in the initial stages of creation.
This doesn’t mean human creativity is obsolete. It means it’s evolving — from generating content to curating and refining it. Leaders must recognize this shift and guide teams toward higher-order capabilities that complement AI’s strengths.
As AI automates technical and routine tasks, human qualities will become more critical than ever. Emotional and social intelligence are crucial in roles that require trust, empathy, and connection. Leadership, counseling, and caregiving still depend on understanding and building human relationships — something machines can’t truly replicate.
Strategic and integrative thinking will also grow in value. While AI processes vast amounts of data, it struggles to connect insights across different contexts. Professionals who can synthesize information across domains, anticipate long-term impact, and align actions with organizational goals will remain vital.
Creativity isn’t disappearing — it’s maturing. Humans will increasingly serve as curators of AI-generated content, shaping it to reflect cultural, ethical and organizational values. Ethical and moral judgment will become defining skills as professionals manage AI’s potential biases and ensure fairness in data-driven decisions.
Finally, adaptability and learning agility will define future success. As AI rapidly evolves, those who embrace lifelong learning will be best equipped to keep pace.
The future of work isn’t about competing with AI—it’s about collaborating with it. Successful professionals will integrate AI into their workflows, leveraging its capabilities while maintaining critical human oversight.
This human-AI synergy — where people provide vision, ethics and emotional intelligence — opens new paths for innovation. Despite AI’s growing influence, the “human touch” remains essential in fields like healthcare, education, and leadership. Trust, cultural understanding, and compassion are core to these domains and irreplaceable by machines.
Rather than replace us, AI can augment our work, freeing us to focus on higher-value activities. For example, marketers can use AI to analyze data while humans craft messaging and strategy. Leaders must build systems that enable this partnership.
Thriving in the age of generative AI requires intentional preparation. Lifelong learning should be a core professional value. Employees must learn how to use AI tools effectively while leveraging their uniquely human strengths, such as empathy, creativity, and ethical reasoning.
Organizations should foster adaptability by encouraging experimentation, supporting cross-functional learning, and creating environments that reward curiosity and innovation.
Technology literacy is essential. Teams need to understand not only how AI works, but also its limitations, especially as they adapt to how AI is changing human work and redefine their roles alongside intelligent systems. By aligning professional development with the opportunities AI creates, businesses can future-proof their workforce.
Generative AI, when used strategically, is not a threat; it’s an opportunity. It gives us the chance to redefine what it means to be human in the workplace.
As AI handles more routine tasks, humans can focus on what truly matters: connection, creativity, strategic vision, and ethical leadership.
To thrive, professionals must embrace AI as a partner, not a competitor. Those who cultivate adaptability, nurture human qualities, and commit to continuous learning will lead the way.
The rise of generative AI is not the end of human relevance. It’s the beginning of a new chapter, one where we become not just workers or creators, but curators, strategists and ethical stewards, guiding technology toward a better future.
The information and opinions presented are the author’s own and not those of Vistage Worldwide, Inc.
From frustration to flourishing: Mastering Gen AI Strategy [On-demand webinar]