What Top Executives Expect—and How LeaderX Builds Future-Ready Leaders
The story of leadership is changing.
Teams are feeling more pressure. Expectations continue to grow. Technology is moving faster than most organizations can absorb. Many leaders are still relying on approaches that worked when problems were simpler, and work moved at a slower pace.
To understand what leaders truly need to thrive today, Waterstone surveyed over 140 executives, CEOs, and CPOs across various industries. Their message was unmistakable. Leadership development matters more than ever, yet most organizations are not doing enough to support it.
Below are the key insights from the 2025 Leadership Development Survey and how the Waterstone LeaderX program directly responds to what leaders and organizations say they need most.
What Leaders Need Most
The survey identified the capabilities that leaders believe will define success over the next three to five years.
- Strategic Thinking & Execution (69% rated “Extremely Valuable”)
- Emotional Intelligence & Communication (67%)
- Building High-Performance Teams (66%)
- Leading Through Change & Uncertainty (58%)
- Driving Growth & Innovation (55%)
These capabilities influence performance, culture, and organizational agility. They also reflect where many leaders feel stretched and underprepared.
What Is Getting in the Way
Organizations want to develop their leaders, yet they face real constraints.
- Competing priorities (69%)
- Time away from role (64%)
- Budget constraints (43%)
- Lack of alignment with organizational strategy (15%)
- Limited evidence of ROI (12%)
Most leaders can be away from their role for only two to six days each year. The majority of organizations prefer hybrid learning that blends structure with flexibility. Leadership development must fit inside the rhythm of the business and still be meaningful.
When Companies Decide to Invest
Organizations are more likely to invest in leadership development when programs offer the following:
- Tangible organizational impact measurement (73%)
- Leadership assessments and 360° feedback (60%)
- Succession readiness (65%)
- Coaching components (57%)
- Recognition by respected national programs (40%)
Companies want confidence that development will matter and that they will see measurable results.
The Biggest Gaps Leaders Are Struggling With
The survey revealed five consistent capability gaps.
- Strategic Leadership
- Succession & Talent Development
- Change & Transformation Leadership
- People & Culture Leadership
- Operational & Business Acumen
What This Means for Organizations
Organizations that want leaders who can move their teams and business forward need development that focuses on practical, repeatable behaviours. They also need a system that reinforces those behaviours consistently.
Effective development includes the following:
- Leading teams
- Leading self
- Leading organizations
- Applying real skills to real work
- Using assessments and feedback
- Learning with peers
- Coaching for behaviour change
- Measuring impact at every step
This is the shift required to build confident, capable, future-ready leaders.
Why LeaderX Stands Out as the Premier Leadership Program
Waterstone LeaderX is a program designed for leaders who want to achieve meaningful progress. It brings together the elements organizations value most: practical tools, measurable impact, expert coaching, and a hybrid model designed for the realities of modern leadership.
The program strengthens the capabilities leaders consistently identify as essential for the future. It addresses the biggest development gaps organizations see today – from strategic leadership and change readiness to people leadership, accountability, and business acumen.
LeaderX provides leaders with structure, support, and evidence-based insights through our track record in shaping strong cultures and high-performance organizations. Participants receive assessments that anchor their learning, coaching that accelerates behaviour change, and tools they can put into practice immediately.
The Bottom Line
The next generation of leaders will not emerge by chance. They will come from organizations that invest in targeted, research-informed development that strengthens capability, improves culture, and equips people to lead in complex and demanding environments.
Waterstone LeaderX turns insight into action. It gives leaders the tools, coaching, and confidence to navigate complexity. It gives organizations the clarity and measurement they need to move forward with confidence – delivering impact that they can count on.
