Australia Experiences a Leadership Crisis as Leaders Leave Their People Behind, New Research Reveals

There is a rising disconnect in leadership priorities among Australian executives, with AI adoption at the top of the agenda while employees are left behind, warns new research report, Executive Priorities for the Next Digital Workplace Era 2026, released today by Staffbase. 

The report canvasses the views of more than 100 Australian business leaders and analyses the Executive Scorecards of the ASX 100. The findings reveal that digital transformation is the top priority for Australian executives over the next 12 to 18 months (18%), followed by revenue growth (14%), and innovation (11%). In contrast, people and culture rank towards the bottom, with just 6% of leaders viewing the human touch as key to getting ahead and only 2% are focused on change management, despite unprecedented disruption. 

The data tells a compelling story about the cost of this people and culture oversight in leadership. Analysis of the ASX 100 shows that the companies that exceeded their people and culture targets achieved an average annual revenue growth of 17.2% – nearly three times the index average of 5.7%. 

However, the report emphasises that many organisations are missing out on this timely opportunity to prioritise people and culture and innovate for the next era of work.

"Australian leaders are optimistic about AI and digital transformation and rightly so. But the data makes clear that the organisations who will win in the next era of work are those who bring their people along for the journey, leading with empathy and care,” says Ramak Salamat, Regional Vice President – JAPAC, Staffbase.

“Anxiety about AI is widespread, with our data showing that almost 1 in 3 of leaders cite job security as their employees’ top concern with AI and digital transformation. Clearly, we still have work to do to ensure people trust the leadership and change decisions being made,” she adds.

The report illustrates a clear mismatch in employee engagement priorities versus leadership priorities in the AI era. The findings show that 1 in 3 Australian executives (33%) lead primarily through data-driven decision making, while fewer than 1 in 4 (23%) identify as empathetic or people-centric leaders. 

In addition, 50% of leadership decisions are made with the assumption that messages have been communicated among teams, without adequate follow-up to reassure internal teams. 

“There is a gap in leadership strategies as organisations navigate change. AI and data accuracy are top of mind in transformation projects, while clear communication with staff is an afterthought. And yet, digital transformation is an area where employee engagement, trust, and culture are critical to success,” says Ms. Salamat.

“Going forward, Australian organisations need to prioritise people and culture above AI adoption, and reassure employees that AI is there to enable, not replace, their roles and skills,” she adds.~ END

About Staffbase. Staffbase was founded in 2014 with the goal of equipping companies to reach frontline employees with engaging experiences. More than 1,500 enterprises rely on Staffbase to close the gap between strategy and execution by delivering trusted information, proactive communication, and AI-powered support to their entire workforce. For more information, visit www.staffbase.com                                                                                    

For media enquires: Gemma Manning, Manning & Co at gemma@manningandcogroup.com