Six Leadership Shifts Food Leaders Must Prepare for in 2026

A reflection from Tia Glave, Catalyst Co-Founder

The food industry is at a crossroads.

With shrinking labor pools, rising costs, and constant pressure to do more with less, 2026 isn’t going to reward survival-mode leadership.

It will demand something better.

Food leaders who create trust on purpose. Who think beyond their own to-do lists. Who build cultures where people and performance grow together.

That kind of leadership doesn’t just happen.  It happens through leadership systems that are built for growth.

Don’t know where to start?  Start here - Here are six shifts you need to prepare for as we enter 2026.

1. Belonging Becomes a Performance Metric

Diversity and inclusion aren’t going away. They’re evolving.
In 2026, belonging won’t be a feel-good initiative. It will be a measurable part of your leadership impact.

📊 High-belonging teams produce 56% better performance and 50% lower turnover.
(Harvard Business Review, 2022)

How to practice this shift:

👉🏾Audit your meetings and language. Does everyone contribute? Who gets cut off? Who gets deferred to? Patterns predict culture.

The brain reads belonging through small interpersonal cues, not big statements. When voices are consistently silenced or elevated, psychological safety erodes. Auditing these patterns helps you intentionally create a culture where people can contribute—and perform—at their best.

Belonging drives performance.
Full stop. Read that again if you need to.

2. Coaching Mindset Goes Mainstream

Coaching used to be a perk for executives.
Now? It’s a leadership necessity.

Leaders who know how to ask (not just tell), listen (not just direct), and guide (not just manage) will stand out.

📊 Teams with coaching-style managers are 40% more engaged and productive.
(International Coaching Federation, 2024)

How to practice this shift:

👉🏾Shift ownership back to the team. When someone brings a problem, ask: “What’s the next step you want to take?” 

Questions activate the part of the brain responsible for problem-solving, which strengthens confidence and capability. People commit more deeply to solutions they generate themselves. This simple shift builds a more accountable, empowered team.

Coaching isn’t soft.
It’s strategic.

3. Upskilling Is Culture, Not a Perk

In 2026, development won’t just be a bonus—it’ll be a culture signal.

Your best people won’t stay for a paycheck alone. They’ll stay for growth.

📊 Organizations that prioritize capability-building are 2x more likely to retain top talent.
(LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report, 2024)

How to practice this shift:

👉🏾Build learning pathways, not one-off trainings. Think quarterly rhythms, simple skill stacks, and visible progress markers.

Adults build lasting skills through spaced repetition, not one-time events. Pathways create momentum and make growth feel achievable. When people see visible progress, motivation and retention rise.

If you’re not developing leaders, you’re risking them.

4. Intentional Generalists Outpace Specialists

You still need deep expertise.
But the leaders who will shape the future are the ones who can zoom out, connect dots, and lead across boundaries.

How to practice this shift:

👉🏾Learn one step beyond your lane. If you lead ops, understand supply chain. If you lead HR, understand P&L basics.

Cross-functional knowledge builds cognitive flexibility, a key predictor of effective leadership. It helps you understand how decisions ripple across the system. Leaders who see the whole picture make better, faster decisions.

They are your strategic integrators—the ones who can see the system, not just their silo.

5. Metrics Move from Output to Outcome

You can hit all your numbers and still miss the point.

In 2026, the most impactful leaders will look beyond output and ask:
→ Are we aligned?
→ Are we engaged?
→ Are we building trust?

How to practice this shift:

👉🏾Translate numbers into behavior. When a metric drops, ask: “What behavior is this telling us to revisit?”

The trick to improving culture is understanding the behaviors behind your metrics.  Metrics tell you what happened—behaviors explain why it happened.  This shift helps leaders move from reacting to numbers to shaping the behaviors that drive them.

Culture will be on the dashboard—right next to safety and quality.

6. Systems > Heroics

The burnout hero era? Over.

The best teams in 2026 won’t be the ones who push harder.
They’ll be the ones who work smarter—inside systems that support them.

How to practice this shift:

👉🏾Reward team excellence, not individual exhaustion. Ask in reviews: “What system helped you succeed?” and “Where did the system fail you?”

Rewarding heroics creates burnout and hides system failures. Highlighting team and system effectiveness shifts attention to sustainable solutions. This builds a culture where performance is repeatable—not dependent on a few exhausted high achievers.

Rhythms. Tools. Feedback loops.
Not just individual hustle, but scalable support.

What’s the shift you most want to be ready for?

Leadership isn’t just personal. It’s systemic.
And 2026 will belong to the leaders who see both.

📘 Want support making the case for development?
Download our free advocacy tool → HERE

🎟 Ready to lead differently in 2026?
Register for our spring leadership cohorts HERE

Let’s not wait for change.
Let’s lead it.