Chief executives are increasingly carrying strategic pressure alone as leadership teams fail to align around the scale and pace of disruption facing organisations, raising concerns for HR leaders about decision-making, trust and risk at the top.
New global research points to a widening perception gap between chief executives and their senior teams, with many leaders saying the sense of urgency they feel is not shared by colleagues around the executive table. The findings suggest that while uncertainty is intensifying, responsibility for navigating it is becoming more concentrated.
The pattern presents a structural challenge for HR departments rather than a personality issue, experts say. Misalignment at the top can undermine execution, slow responses to change and leave organisations exposed at precisely the moment leadership cohesion matters most.
The findings come from a survey of 3,200 chief executives and senior executives across 11 countries conducted by consulting firm AlixPartners, which examined how business leaders are experiencing disruption, pressure and job security. The research found that seven in ten chief executives said they felt under pressure from high levels of disruption, compared with fewer than four in ten of their C-suite colleagues.
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That gap, the firm said, was the widest it had recorded in the seven years it has been running the study. It suggests that chief executives are far more likely than their senior teams to see fundamental threats to business models and to worry about whether their organisations are equipped to respond.
A widening gap at the top
The disconnect is particularly pronounced in the UK, the study found. More than 40 percent of British chief executives said their leadership teams lacked the agility to keep pace with competitors, the highest proportion reported in any country surveyed.
Chief executives were also more likely than senior colleagues to expect significant changes to how their businesses operate and to express concern about the capability of the executive team to deliver those changes. By contrast, they were less likely to cite trade protectionism as a major risk, pointing to a more immediate focus on internal readiness and execution.
The research also found that anxiety among chief executives remains high. Nearly half said they feared losing their jobs, while four in ten reported feeling more anxious in their roles than a year earlier. More than seven in ten said it was becoming harder to decide which disruptive forces to prioritise, an increase on the previous year.
Although overall pressure from disruption was reported as slightly lower than last year, the findings indicate that uncertainty, insecurity and role-related anxiety remain deeply embedded at the top of organisations.
The data raises questions for HR teams about how effectively leadership teams are sharing information, aligning on risk and supporting one another under pressure. A perception gap of this scale can translate into slower decision-making, inconsistent messaging and tension between strategic intent and operational follow-through.
What it means for leadership culture
Rob Hornby, co-chief executive of AlixPartners, said the findings pointed to a growing divide inside senior leadership teams. “Today’s CEOs are full-time stakeholder managers, grappling with a relentless and increasingly complex wave of disruptive forces that are difficult to prioritise. Their teams don’t share the same urgency. This perception gap is a major vulnerability,” he said.
From an HR perspective, that vulnerability sits squarely within leadership culture and governance rather than individual resilience. When urgency is unevenly distributed at the top, it can signal problems with psychological safety, challenge and accountability inside executive teams.
HR functions are often responsible for facilitating leadership development, succession planning and team effectiveness at senior levels. The findings suggest those efforts may need to focus less on capability in isolation and more on shared understanding of risk, pace and responsibility.
The research also highlights the potential consequences for organisational trust. If chief executives feel isolated or unsupported, it can reinforce top-down decision-making and reduce openness within leadership teams. Over time, that dynamic can weaken engagement below the executive level and create confusion about priorities.
