As we dive into 2026, uncertainty AND opportunities abound.
AI acceleration. Skills shifting. Evolving workforce expectations. Continued economic and geopolitical volatility. None of these are new on their own, and together, they’re putting unprecedented pressure on how organizations operate day to day.
Strategy always matters. Technology always matters. Increasingly, the differentiator between organizations that adapt and those that stall isn’t what they plan. It’s how effectively their people execute in the face of change.
That’s where culture comes in.
Not culture as a set of aspirational values on a website. Culture as a performance system: the shared behaviors, norms, and expectations that determine how decisions get made, how work gets done, and how people respond under pressure.
From our vantage point at RW3 CultureWizard – working with global organizations across industries – this is what we’re seeing:
High-performing cultures aren’t just surviving the disruption. They’re using it to their advantage.
Culture Is Becoming a Competitive Advantage
In our recent 2026 Predictions work, one theme kept surfacing again and again: the pace of change is not only outstripping organizational systems, it’s also redefining work itself.
According to the World Economic Forum, nearly 40% of the skills required for today’s jobs are expected to change by 2030. That’s a level of change we have not seen since the internet went mainstream in the late 1990s.
“Nearly 40% of the skills required to perform today’s jobs are expected to change by 2030.”
Source: World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Report 2025
Yet many leadership teams are still relying on static role definitions and outdated learning models.
In stable environments, those gaps can hide. In volatile ones, they compound.
High-performing cultures are doing something different. They’re treating organizational culture as the stabilizing force that allows organizations to absorb change without losing coherence, trust, or momentum.
Why Culture Matters Even More in an AI-Accelerated World
AI is often framed as a technology challenge. As our CEO, Michael Schell, pointed out in a recent webinar, it’s also a human judgment challenge.
AI can surface insights, automate tasks, and recommend actions, but it can’t decide what matters most. That still requires analytical thinking, critical judgment, contextual understanding, and alignment around priorities.
Without those capabilities, AI doesn’t increase effectiveness. It increases noise.
“If you don’t manage AI, AI starts to manage you.”
Michael Schell, RW3 CultureWizard CEO
High-performing cultures give people frameworks and operational support not only to use AI well, but also to collaborate effectively, make consistent decisions, and retain human agency. In that sense, culture becomes the guardrail that enables innovation instead of chaos.
Skills Will Matter. Behavior Will Matter More.
There’s no shortage of conversation about future skills: AI literacy, adaptability, analytical thinking, and cross-cultural competence. All of these matter. But skills alone don’t drive performance.
Behavior does.
Organizations succeed when they:
- Clearly define what “good” looks like in practice
- Reinforce those behaviors through leadership modeling and peer norms
- Create space to practice new ways of working, not just learn about them
This becomes even more critical as organizations navigate generational differences, global collaboration, and hybrid work. Alignment doesn’t happen by accident. It has to be built deliberately.
What High-Performing Leaders Are Focusing on Now
The leaders best positioned for 2026 aren’t trying to predict every disruption ahead. They’re strengthening the foundations that allow their organizations to respond effectively:
- Clarity: Making expectations explicit, not assumed
- Consistency: Reinforcing values through behavior and accountability
- Capability: Investing in learning that translates into daily work
- Trust: Creating environments where people can think critically, speak up, and adapt together
To borrow a phrase from Brené Brown, this is about building from strong ground, and these foundations are what make that possible.
Download the 2026 Predictions Report
To explore these themes in more depth, check out our 2026 Predictions Report. It brings together global data, real-world examples, and practical insights on what leaders will need to win in the year ahead.
