By: Engy El Maghraby: VP of Marketing, Beyti

Defining Shift from 2025

One of the most defining leadership lessons for me in 2025 was learning how to consciously balance intervention with trust. Leadership is not about constant presence or control; it’s about judgment. Knowing when to step in to protect value, clarity, or strategic direction and when to deliberately step back and allow teams to operate independently.

In 2025, my teams gifted me precious leadership experiences driven by curiosity and courage. I was asked and I asked fundamental questions. We challenged each other to think deeper and sharper and to act 10x bolder.

Leadership is hugely situational. It requires reading the moment, the team’s maturity and then acting accordingly. Allowing teams to fly solo creates space for accountability, confidence, and innovation. Teams grow faster when they are trusted to make decisions, navigate ambiguity, and learn from success and failure. Stepping in, on the other hand, should be purposeful to recalibrate with intention and to protect long term value.

Grounded Prediction for 2026

In 2026, the pace of change will become extreme and unavoidable. AI is already transforming how ideas are created, narratives are shaped, and concepts are developed, producing work at unprecedented speed and quality. This shift will accelerate even further, fundamentally changing how marketers operate.

For marketers, AI will be a powerful weapon, but only for those who learn how to use it strategically. Speed alone will not be enough. As outputs become faster and more abundant, true advantage will come from thinking deeper. The risk with AI is that it exposes weak thinking, shallow insights, and disconnected strategies.

Success in 2026 will require an obsessive level of connectedness between consumer behavior, customer experience, and the business situation. Marketers who win will be those who deeply understand and appreciate the context: what problem truly needs solving, why it matters, and how it connects to growth.

Getting the basics right will become the ultimate differentiator. Understanding the consumer beyond data points, reading signals quickly, and cultivating sharp, meaningful insights will separate leaders from followers. AI will amplify capability, but insight, judgment, and clarity will continue to decide who wins.