Trend barometer

Executives are concerned with the topics of resilience, employee motivation, and innovation

The current situation in companies is very varied. While some are desperately searching for new employees, others are cutting staff. While some maintain a largely "business as usual" stance, others are undergoing a transformation process and exploring new business areas with the help of AI.

130 executives surveyed about their greatest challenges

Accordingly, the challenges faced by executives in companies currently differ greatly in their daily work. Therefore, the Institute for Leadership Culture in the Digital Age (IFIDZ), Wiesbaden, has titled its latest online survey of executives, which it conducts several times a year, "The Greatest Challenges Faced by Executives in 2025." Specifically, this means that the institute wanted to determine in the survey, called the Leadership Trend Barometer,

• which issues are currently weighing most heavily on executives' minds and

• which topics are causing them the most headaches.

Executives sometimes reach their limits of endurance

The survey, which involved 130 executives, revealed: The most pressing question for executives at present is, "How do I remain resilient and capable as a leader in a constantly changing environment?" This statement was agreed upon by 49 percent, almost half of the participants. In 2nd and 3rd place, with 41 percent agreement each, are the more operational questions arising from digital change:

"How do I promote my team's digital competence and support them in adapting to new technologies and AI?" and

"How do I meaningfully integrate AI and digital technologies into our work processes?

Employee motivation is becoming increasingly difficult for executives

Another topic that evidently holds high importance for many executives is employee motivation and integration. This is indicated by the fact that in the survey, significantly more than a third of the participants stated that they are currently strongly concerned with the following questions:

• "How can I motivate my team and build a sense of unity despite physical distance?" (39 percent)

• "How can I foster a culture of continuous adjustment and learning within my team?" (38 percent) and

• "How can I effectively lead in an increasingly uncertain and complex environment?" (37 percent).

Executives have little fear regarding their own position

However, the fear that executives have concerning the targets set by corporate management not being achievable with their team seems notably low. Only 20 percent of participants agreed with this particular question. Notably, in light of the staff reductions announced by many companies, which are certainly accompanied by reductions in leadership positions, that relatively few executives feel existentially threatened by this. Only 8 percent of respondents stated that they are currently strongly concerned with the question, "How (crisis) secure is my own position as a leader?" It should be noted, according to statements from IFIDZ director Barbara Liebermeister, that the survey did not differentiate between "rather healthy companies" and those "where staff reductions are on the agenda."