The October 2025 edition of the Pulse of the Workforce explores the state of leadership in America’s workplaces, revealing both the problem and the promise.

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Drawing on insights from over 50,000 workers across industries, the report unpacks how leadership is being experienced today by both those with formal authority and those leading without the title. 

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The report shows that 35% of workers manage others, and the majority of these managers feel confident and equipped to lead. Yet their teams tell a different story: only 63% of employees say their manager is effective, and one in three report that their manager doesn’t care about them as a person. This widening “leadership delta” - high self-belief but low followership - is quietly eroding performance, engagement, and culture.

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At the same time, the data reveals a powerful opportunity: 31% of workers identify as leaders, even without formal authority. These “untapped leaders” are confident, diverse, and eager to step up: 67% are excited to lead at greater scale and 80% believe they have the skills to do so. Yet only a quarter feel ready to take responsibility for others’ performance, signaling that belief and capability are out of sync.

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The October 2025 report highlights that leadership today is no longer defined by hierarchy but by credibility, empathy, and consistency. In a workplace marked by volatility and complexity, authority alone no longer carries teams. 

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“For decades, we’ve treated management and leadership as separate ideas, but in the real world, they blur together every day,” said Dr. Sumona De Graaf, Founder and CEO of idealis. “Our data shows that leadership isn’t failing; it’s under-activated. There’s a powerful group of people who already think and act like leaders. They just haven’t been given the platform. The opportunity now is to unlock that human edge across every level of the organization.”

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At idealis, we work with CEOs, boards, and executive teams to help organizations translate leadership data into action, building systems where performance and humanity reinforce each other.

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Access the full report, Everyday Leadership: The Problem and the Promise, to explore data and insights shaping the next era of leadership in the workplace.