2026新领导力战略要务：颠覆时代下化工行业引领之道研究报告

Leading the chemicals industry Managementsummary Europe's chemical industry is entering a decade defined not by isolated disruptions,but by permanent pressure. It's an operating environment shaped by overlapping crises, regulatory intensity, accelerating digital change, and rising expectations fromemployees and customers alike. The traditional leadership playbook—stable plans,hierarchical control, and linear execution—no longer holds. In this context, leadership has emerged as a decisive differentiator. What distinguishesorganizations is no longer the clarity of strategy alone, but the ability of leaders to enable Based on structured interviews with senior leaders across the European chemicalindustry and an analysis of more than 22,000 leadership-related job postings globally, •Leading others•Leading myself•Business orientation Across all four dimensions, one pattern is consistent and unmistakable: leadershipexpectations are rising faster than organizational capabilities are being built. Twodynamics stand out. First, agility and resilience have become non-negotiable foundations The gap is not caused by lack of awareness. Leaders understand what is required.The challenge lies in embedding these capabilities systematically and at scale, rather Contents Leadership in an era of permanent pressure Before examining specific leadership capabilities, it is essential to understand the reality inwhich leaders are operating. The interviews reveal a shared experience across roles, There are five key dynamics impacting leaders' roles most: Leaders describe a shift from cycles of stability and disruption to continuous volatility. Energyprices, geopolitical risk, supply-chain fragility, sustainability requirements, and portfolio 2. Speed versus structure A recurring tension runs through the interviews: the need for speed colliding with deeplyembedded structures. Leaders point to complex governance models, heavy process layers, 3. Digital overwhelm, not digital resistance Leaders are not resistant to digitalization or new technologies, such as artificial intelligence(AI). Instead, many describe exposure and uncertainty: fear of doing the wrong thing, Execution will always matter inchemicals. What's changed now is theleadership requirement to createalignment early — especially when 4. The talent paradox While competition for talent remains intense, leaders simultaneously report an abundanceof applicants who do not meet evolving expectations. Technical expertise alone is no longer 5. Leadership fatigue Across interviews, leaders speak openly about sustained pressure and emotional load.Resilience is no longer a differentiator; it is a prerequisite. Leaders are expected to absorb This context forms the backdrop against which leadership expectations are shifting—and These shared pressures are not background noise. They are the reason leadershipexpectations are shifting so decisively.Under permanent uncertainty, traditional leadership Four dimensions that will shape the next decade To understand which leadership capabilities matter most today—and which will defineeffectiveness going forward—we conducted structured interviews with CEOs, HR leaders, •Current importance•Future importance A forced-ranking approach required explicit trade-offs and avoided generic outcomes inwhich all skills are deemed equally important. By combining importance rankings with 2.1/Leading others:Enabling action outweighs direction-setting WithinLeading others, leaders consistently prioritize Empowering employees andCommunicating with impact ahead of Leading with purpose. This does not signal a decline Interviewees describe organizations under sustained pressure from parallel transformationinitiatives, compressed timelines, and increasingly complex decision environments. In this appropriate level rather than escalated by default. Enabling action has become the defining One of the interviews, Xavier Cros, External Affairs & Catalyst Director, INEOS, said:"Our entrepreneurial compass asks leaders to empower people, trust their ideas, and make Capability assessments reinforce this shift. While Leading with purpose is generallyperceived as well established, organizations report materially larger gaps in Empowering The interviews add important nuance. Empowerment is not unconditional. Leaders Where these conditions are missing, empowermentrisks becoming rhetorical rather than operational.Middle management repeatedly emerges as apressure point—expected to translate strategy into We grow our company bygrowing our leaders. Their trainingmust focus on enabling people, 2.2/Leading myself: WithinLeading myself, Demonstrating agility and flexibility emerges as the single mostimportant leadership capability, closely followed by Showing resilience. Leaders do not Agility is associated with revising decisions as new information emerges, adjusting plansquickly, and remaining open to alternative paths without losing direction. Resi