Leadership Survey

Introduction

From Cyclical Disruption to Compounded Pressure

In the not-so-distant past, disruption in business was treated as a rare event—an external shock that would emerge, peak, and eventually pass. Today, it’s clear we’ve crossed a threshold. Disruption has not only become the norm; it has become cumulative. Each wave of instability doesn’t replace the last—it layers on top of it. 

In just the last few years, executive teams have had to contend with: 

• A global pandemic that shattered supply chains and reset customer behavior 

• Inflationary shocks from fiscal stimulus and logistical disarray 

• A prolonged era of high interest rates reshaping investment decisions 

• And now, the return of geopolitical and trade volatility—most recently through tariff escalation 

Atop all of this sits the transformative (and often disruptive) arrival of artificial intelligence. While AI promises to solve some of the most persistent business challenges, it also adds new layers of complexity—technical, organizational, and financial—to already overloaded decision-making structures. Indeed, as BCG found in a recent study, executives report that their attempts to address complexity have often times actually created more complexity in their organizations. 

To better understand how executive leaders are responding, we surveyed 1,000 C-suite executives at companies with 5,000 or more employees across the United States, United Kingdom, and India. Their responses reveal a candid and at times sobering picture: a C-suite under siege, seeking relief through technology, but cautious about its costs—and signaling in some cases that the cumulative pressure is pushing them toward the exits.

Finding #1

A C-Suite Under Siege 

Executives aren’t simply dealing with “more work” or “new challenges.” They’re navigating a fundamental transformation of the decision-making environment—faster cycles, higher stakes, and less certainty. According to our survey: 

• 90% say pressure to deliver business results has increased over the past year 

• 91% report it is harder to make the right business decisions today than it was one year ago 

• And strikingly, more than one-third are considering earliery retirement due to these compounding pressures 

These are not just the complaints of an overstretched executive suite. They are a collective signal that something foundational is shifting. Leaders are no longer navigating disruptions in isolation—they’re managing disruption within disruption, making high-stakes choices amid fast-changing inputs, unclear outcomes, and operational fatigue. 

Finding #2

Tariffs Trigger Strategic Overhaul  

Of all the emerging stressors, tariff volatility stands out for its direct and immediate impact on business performance. While many global firms have long treated tariffs as a policy risk to be monitored, 2025 has shattered the status quo and required a complete rethinking of how goods are sourced in every industry.  

Survey respondents were stark in their assessment on the impact tariffs would have on their performance, with nearly 90% saying that tariffs will impact their company’s bottom line. 

Our survey found that the top strategy for responding to tariffs is to review contracts for savings and recourse via negotiating better terms, identifying passthrough clauses, or surfacing volume-based rebates, with 55% of respondents saying they are taking these steps. Other strategies include:

• 48% are rethinking long-term sourcing strategies, reevaluating which suppliers make sense in a more protectionist landscape 

• 47% are restructuring supply chains to reduce cross-border exposure or diversify manufacturing footprints 

• 46% are reconsidering strategic partnerships—renegotiating or sunsetting relationships that no longer serve under new cost and compliance pressures 

• 45% are working to close deals faster—accelerating contract velocity to bring liquidity and flexibility into the business 

Taken together, these responses illuminate a critical yet often overlooked truth in business: contracts are not simply outputs of procurement and sales—they are active tools in crisis response. For many companies, the path to surviving tariff disruption starts not with policy lobbying, but with a forensic look at what’s already been committed to on paper. 

Finding #3

Pressure from Past Disruptions Still Lingers 

While tariffs dominate current headlines, they are far from the only source of stress. What in the press may be considered “yesterday’s problems” continue to create headaches for the C-suite, our survey found.  

Indeed, for UK and US respondents, inflation and interest rates notched the top spot in stress factors for their business, with 54% of executives saying they continue to contribute to executive stress. Meanwhile, 44% point to ongoing supply chain complexity and disruption. 

While the later data point is undoubtedly partly tied to tariffs, it’s also a fact that global supply chains have never fully recovered from the shocks of 2020/2021, even before higher import duties entered the mix.  

In sum, the past few years have put executives in a position where they have very little margin for error: With cash expensive, every dollar counts. With supply chains stressed, proper forecasting and sourcing strategies is of utmost importance. 

Here again, the criticality of well-managed business relationships emerges as a theme. Customer and supplier contracts codify the dollars in and out of the business and must be closely tracked to avoid overpayment or underbilling. In supply chains, supplier contracts must be built with agility and flexibility in mind so that when conditions change, you can react. 

For executives, the game has changed: there is no “wait until the dust settles.” Today’s strategy must work in the dust—layered, adaptive, and always incomplete. 

Finding #4

AI—Relief or More Pressure? 

With so many challenges converging, AI might seem like a panacea—a way to automate the routine, optimize the complex, and unearth insight amid noise. And indeed, many executives are betting on it. But our survey suggests that AI is not yet an unambiguous source of relief. Instead, it is one more force leaders must actively manage. 

Two statistics stand out: 

• 46% cite pressure to show ROI on AI investments as a top concern 

• Another 46% say they feel pressure to keep pace with the speed of AI innovation 

These numbers reveal a subtle but critical dynamic: AI is not just a solution—it’s also a source of new tension. 

A major factor here is the complexity and noise surrounding AI. 80% say they feel pressure to understand complex AI concepts that historically would not have impacted their role. The same percentage find it difficult to determine which AI investments will have the biggest impact on their business. This is due to factors like AI washing (51%), speed of change (45%), and ambiguity around the best uses for AI (44%). 

In this context, AI becomes a strategic wildcard. It offers undeniable upside, but in an environment where executives already feel overwhelmed, its successful adoption depends on careful prioritization, strong business cases, and robust governance. 

Considering the above discussions of optimizing business relationships to address challenges, deploying AI in ways that optimizes the performance of these relationships emerges as a top candidate for effective AI deployment – a topic we’ll explore in more depth in a future paper.

Conclusion

A New Kind of Leadership Challenge

The story emerging from this data is not one of defeat—it is one of immense challenge, measured response, and urgent recalibration. Today’s C-suite is navigating what may be the most complex, interwoven set of disruptions in modern business history. And while technologies like AI and automation are rightly seen as part of the answer, they are not silver bullets. They must be deployed strategically, governed rigorously, and justified clearly. 

Central to these trends are the supplier and customer relationships organizations rely on to succeed. Executives are already turning to their contracts to address tariffs, and forward- looking ones are expanding this scope to address broader challenges around profitability and agility so they can address whatever crisis inevitably comes next. 

For executives feeling the pressure—and even contemplating early exits—the way forward is not to escape complexity, but to reshape how decisions are made, how risk is surfaced, and how opportunities are captured. Those who succeed will be the ones who build organizations capable of acting decisively without certainty, leveraging contracts, data, and AI to navigate what is no longer a storm—but the climate itself.