2026 Outlook: Culture, capability and new demands on leaders

What we’re seeing across global projects

As 2026 gets underway, we’re seeing a consistent set of signals across the global projects and organizations we support. Complexity is accelerating. Major capital projects are larger and more interconnected, data center development continues at pace, and leaders are under pressure to deliver results with tighter timelines and fewer resources. At the same time, AI is reshaping expectations about speed, insight, and decision-making.

What hasn’t changed is where progress actually comes from. Across high-profile organizations and some of the world’s most complex projects, we’re seeing strong results where leaders invest in people, build cultures that support learning, and create the conditions for teams to speak up, adapt, and perform under pressure.

Drawing on JMJ’s work with clients around the world, here’s what our experts are noticing as they look ahead to the year to come.

Major Capital Projects: As complexity rises, people make the difference

(Mike Goddu—Co-Founder & Managing Director)

Technology continues to reshape how capital projects are designed and delivered, but it’s still people, and the way they work together, that determine whether a project succeeds. As projects grow larger, more global, and more interdependent, leadership stability, clarity of purpose, and strong partnerships matter more than ever.

Long-duration projects such as pharma, energy, and advanced manufacturing benefit from low turnover and aligned contractor ecosystems. Yet the pressure to move fast, integrate new tools, and meet aggressive targets can work against creating the conditions teams need to perform well.

Opportunity for 2026

Match your investment in technology with long-term investment in people. Build leadership capability early, strengthen contractor partnerships, and pay attention to workforce wellbeing. Organizations that create continuity rather than constant churn will be better positioned as complexity increases.

Data center projects: Where acceleration meets scarcity

(Michael Levin—Executive Director, International Markets)

We’re seeing demand for AI and hyperscale computing push data center construction into record territory. Speed-to-market pressures will continue to intensify, but the sector faces two defining constraints: people and power.

The talent gap is already slowing delivery, with shortages across skilled trades, project leadership, and operations. At the same time, power availability in key regions is forcing companies to rethink siting decisions and schedules.

Opportunity for 2026

Create environments where teams can align fast, learn fast, and stay engaged throughout the build cycle. In our High-Performance Projects™ (HPP) work, early onboarding, shared ways of working, and clarity of roles consistently reduce friction and accelerate progress. Retention-focused cultures—where people feel heard, supported, and clear on expectations—will be essential in an overheated talent market.

Assessment and learning: Seeing reality clearly and improving continuously

(Anthony Shepherd—Principal Consultant)

Across complex organizations, leaders have more information than ever before, yet many still struggle to understand what’s truly happening in the work and how people experience it day-to-day. Traditional metrics, dashboards, and lagging indicators often fail to capture how leadership behaviors influence decisions, where trust is strained, or which cultural patterns quietly increase risk and limit performance.

At JMJ, we view assessments as more than a diagnostic exercise or periodic check-in. When used well, assessments establish a baseline for development, create meaningful opportunities for learning, and serve as a powerful enrollment mechanism, engaging people at all levels in seeing reality clearly and shaping what comes next.

Opportunity for 2026

Organizations that perform and adapt effectively will be those that treat assessments as an integral part of how they lead and learn, not as a one-off event. Assessments provide a shared reference point, surfacing patterns in mindset, behavior, leadership, and systems that are often invisible in traditional reporting. This clarity allows leaders to move beyond assumptions and focus development efforts where they’ll have the greatest impact.

Just as importantly, well-designed assessments invite participation. They create space for people’s voices to be heard, help teams make sense of their own experiences, and build ownership for improvement. When people see themselves reflected honestly in the results, assessment becomes an act of enrollment, shifting change from something done to the organization to something shaped with it.

AI and leadership: Speed and the limits of systems

Artificial intelligence holds significant potential to increase speed, enhance analysis, and reveal patterns that would otherwise be overlooked. Used thoughtfully, it can be a powerful complement to human judgment and experience. Like other tools and systems before it, AI carries cultural risks if it becomes a substitute for dialogue, relationships, or accountability.

We see organizations already grappling with familiar challenges, including declining trust in data, over-reliance on systems over frontline knowledge, and reduced connection as people turn to tools rather than each other to solve problems. These dynamics aren’t new, but AI can amplify them quickly if leaders aren’t attentive to how work is actually getting done.

Looking ahead

This year, the challenge for leaders isn’t simply keeping pace with change but staying grounded as it accelerates. Tools will evolve. Expectations will rise. Complexity will remain.

What continues to make the difference is how organizations make sense of reality together, how leaders create space for learning, and how people stay connected under pressure. Those fundamentals, more than any single system or solution, are what sustain performance, culture, and trust over time.

If you’re reflecting on how ready your organization is for what 2026 will demand, this is a good time to start the conversation. Get in touch.