Across the Asia-Pacific, leaders are being asked to deliver results in talent markets that are tighter, more complex, and less predictable. As workforce expectations evolve and competition for critical skills intensifies, traditional models of leadership are no longer sufficient. Increasingly, success depends not just on what leaders know, but on how effectively they build capability around them.
Against this backdrop, three leadership shifts are reshaping what success will look like in 2026: rising expectations around talent development, the growing importance of leaders as talent multipliers, and the need for learning to become continuous and collective.
The talent dynamics driving higher expectations of leaders
Shifting workforce priorities and an increasingly competitive talent landscape are raising the bar for leaders across the region. Employees are looking beyond traditional career paths, placing greater emphasis on purpose, flexibility, development opportunities and inclusive leadership.
These pressures are particularly pronounced in specialised sectors such as agri-commodities, where entry-level talent with relevant skills – especially in areas such as commodity trading, commercial risk and global operations – remains limited, while the pool of internationally experienced professionals in the region is relatively small.
As a result, leadership effectiveness is no longer defined solely by operational delivery. Leaders are increasingly assessed on their ability to build resilient teams, sustain performance amid uncertainty, and secure the talent and capabilities their organisations will need for the long term.
At ADM, this is supported through structured early-career initiatives that build both technical expertise and leadership capability from the outset. Programmes such as the Global Trade APAC Commercial Trainee Programme are designed to develop talent aligned with regional growth priorities, combining technical foundations, commercial acumen and cultural awareness with structured learning, mentoring and real-world exposure.
Through rotations, coaching and global experience, participants build functional expertise alongside leadership behaviours needed to operate in complex environments. Designed to support progression within the organisation, these programmes enable leaders to form teams that can scale, sustain performance and deliver impact.
Taken together, this signals a broader shift in leadership expectations – from short-term execution to deliberate capability stewardship. As talent constraints persist, the ability to anticipate future needs and invest early in people development is emerging as a defining measure of leadership effectiveness.
From individual leaders to talent multipliers
Looking ahead, leadership impact will be defined less by individual expertise and more by a leader’s ability to grow capability beyond themselves. The organisations that perform best will be led by talent multipliers – leaders who create the conditions for others to learn, contribute and step into greater responsibility through coaching, mentoring and intentional development.
Enablement alone, however, is not enough. Future-ready leaders are also distinguished by ownership: the willingness to act on insights and deliberately use tools, guidance and support available to them. In practice, this means initiating meaningful development conversations, assigning stretch opportunities and following through on growth plans, rather than relying solely on HR-driven interventions.
Across industries, HR functions are investing in systems that bring together goals, development plans and people insights. By giving leaders clearer visibility into capability across their teams, these platforms shift the focus from individual performance to collective development.
At ADM, mandatory performance management tools are used to assist leaders in identifying development patterns within their teams and pinpoint where targeted support opportunities can accelerate growth. Backed by HR-led guidance and technical expertise, these insights help leaders move beyond managing tasks to actively coaching others as part of everyday leadership.
This is reinforced through a range of capability-building opportunities for leaders, including digital learning, mentoring and foundational leadership programmes. A 360-degree assessment further supports this approach by bringing together feedback from peers, direct reports and internal stakeholders, helping leaders understand how their behaviours shape team outcomes.
Ultimately, leaders who pair enablement with ownership move beyond simply managing performance to becoming true talent multipliers – scaling capability, strengthening teams and building resilience through the people they develop.
Why leadership development needs to be ongoing and collective
Leadership roles today are evolving faster than the traditional development models designed to support them, as responsibilities become more cross-functional and expectations more fluid.
Increasingly, leadership effectiveness is shaped by how leaders continue to learn over time, and how open they are to learning from others around them. Rather than relying solely on formal programmes, organisations are placing greater emphasis on learning that is ongoing, contextual and embedded into everyday work.
Peer-based learning plays a central role in this shift. Leader-to-leader exchange and shared problem-solving allow insight to move across functions and levels, exposing leaders to different perspectives, challenging assumptions and accelerating capability building in ways that static training cannot.
From an HR perspective, this requires creating environments where learning is sustained beyond scheduled sessions and applied in real work contexts. At ADM, this has led to a stronger focus on development approaches that combine structured learning with peer exchange, shared reflection and practical application. Initiatives such as A2L (Ability to Lead), one of ADM’s signature leadership development programmes, are designed to support leadership growth through coaching and collective learning, rather than isolated interventions.
Mentorship remains equally important as leadership challenges become more multi-dimensional. Alongside traditional mentoring, reverse mentoring – where more junior employees share perspectives with senior leaders – provides insight into emerging expectations, new ways of working and evolving cultural norms. These exchanges reinforce that learning does not flow in a single direction, and that leaders remain effective by listening as much as leading.
From HR-led programmes to shared ownership
As expectations of leaders continue to rise, the role of HR is changing alongside them. Impact comes not from centrally driven programmes alone, but from enabling leaders to take ownership of developing their people as part of everyday leadership.
From my experience working with leaders across the region, those who are most effective are not defined by what they know individually, but by their ability to build capability beyond themselves. They create environments where learning is continuous, responsibility is shared and teams are better equipped to adapt to change.
This shift is already underway in many organisations, including at ADM, where development is increasingly treated as a collective responsibility rather than a one-off intervention. Our recognition as a Top Employer 2026 in China, Singapore and the Philippines reflects progress in this area, but more importantly, it reinforces the value of leader-led development.
About the author
Somnuek Ngamtrakulchol is a seasoned human resources leader with over two decades of experience. He has held leadership positions across diverse industries, overseeing HR functions throughout the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. As the APAC HR leader at ADM, Somnuek drives strategies in employee engagement, performance management, workforce planning, and organisational development. Under his leadership, ADM has been recognised as a Top Employer in multiple APAC markets, reflecting the company’s commitment to fostering a supportive and high-performing workplace culture.
