Do you feel that leadership stays static? Like, nothing has changed (e.g., human-human physical interactions) apart from new software updates and AI integration notifications on your electronic devices. Perhaps you can train your brain to become a mindful consumer, but you cannot shun the default (you are a contestant in the never-ending rat race). To put it another way, have you wondered why many believe that there is “a secret formula for success“? Barry’s Economics shared that, “a real diary of a CEO would interview them, referring to people who failed, based on a Bureau of Labor Statistics report indicating that approximately 50% of businesses that started in 2018 failed after 5 years, in particular because that’s statistically a real diary of a CEO”. Namely, expert advice on leadership or steps to success, in their opinion, cannot always represent reality.

*This article is in relation to Daily writing prompt-2799.

Leadership styles Evolve, but leadership stays static

In general, leadership styles aren’t static, but leadership is. How did that happen?

One of the drivers of human evolution is active learning, especially through social interaction. That is, there would be limited social progress if humans didn’t learn to work in close collaboration with one another despite communal differences. While tribalism provides stability, it promotes a shared identity within a group that may not align with the modern-day living. As a result, leaders or board members of influential organizations technically speaking are adaptable in a way. The leadership style does change over time. Nonetheless, if you view the entire ecosystem from a macro-level perspective, nothing has changed other than another software update on your electronic devices that most are required to own for the last few decades.

The reason is that when a leader only changes their leadership style or temporarily supports a specific measure because it is convenient for them, it doesn’t translate to real changes, but rather band-aid solutions. For example, to address Canada’s affordable housing crisis, many jurisdictions, such as B.C. and Toronto, Ontario, choose to enforce strict short-term rental policies, primarily counting on the middle-class multi-housing homeowners, not developers or corporations, to deliver more affordable homes for people. Interestingly, in 2018, reported by BC Business, the hotel industry raised questions about home-based short-term rentals that weren’t held to the same standards. So, was the new short-term rental policy in place to truly resolve the affordable housing crisis, or does it serve as a solution for large corporations and hoteliers to eliminate healthy local competition?

who benefits from static leadership?

Professor Galloway’s opening question, “Do we love our children?”, is a universal question for all. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) reported in 2026 that a standard single-family home in Canada cost less than three years of income for a two-income household in 1976; however, that number had increased to nearly seven years by 2023. Furthermore, Global News (2026) reported that the Immigration minister, the Finance minister, and the Secretary of State of International Development have 14, a couple of foreign properties, and 6 rental units, respectively, across Canada. Evidently, static leadership can be reinforced by policymakers (who should act as public servants via election or through appointment) who do not always prioritize public interest.

Consequently, who actually benefits from static leadership?

an heir or beneficiary to generational wealth

Investopedia (2026) indicated that multigenerational leadership remains common among wealthy family businesses, and the wealthiest is the Walton Family, who owns Walmart (celebrated for its low-cost products and criticized for its labor practices). Besides, Yahoo Finance reported that the young middle-class, observed by Kevin Marshall, certified public accountant (CPA), are quietly rethinking what it means to build wealth, from investing in multi-family properties to utilizing credits and deductions.

anyone who fits well in the system

Here’s a non-exhaustive list of individuals who directly or indirectly benefit from the status quo:

• The pop stars who made it to the top
• High-profile celebrities or politicians who found their way up
• Those who have worked in highly regarded occupations, which often happen to be high-paying jobs, play “the (survival) game” as expected

why static Leadership Fails from time to time

Static leadership fails from time to time, irrespective of its popularity. The 3 underrated reasons that are responsible for static leadership failure are listed as follows:

unconscious bias in recruiting

Jean-François Roberge, the minister responsible for the French Language, “The next CEO must be able to express himself in French from the moment of his appointment” (CTV News, 2026). That is, Roberge assumed and proposed that the next CEO of a national airline would (or should) be a male. During the selection of leadership, overlooking competencies often leads to leadership failure at some point.

overqualification and underemployment

Did you know people with PhD degrees can end up working at Walmart Canada, one of the most sought-after dream destinations worldwide? Conversely, the Bank of Canada (2024) pointed out that the country has seen no productivity growth in recent years and emphasized three elements that contribute to stronger productivity. TD, a Canadian Big 5 bank, reported that weaker income growth were seen over the years, particularly among immigrants with graduate degrees, resulting in students from top institutions and advanced programs (what the country needs) leaving the country at high rates.

In addition, Toronto Metropolitan University highlighted Canadian immigrants are overqualified and underemployed. A 2024 University of Alberta qualitative study also corroborated that out of the 42 recent immigrants with Permanent Resident (PR) status who were precariously employed, 81% of them were overqualified for their jobs. From this perspective, if low productivity growth comes from an internal labyrinthine tax system, long wait time for basic healthcare, and structural issues (e.g., systemic inequities) of a country, low productivity growth is likely to persist, especially when changes are only band-aid solutions, and overall leadership stays static.

would AI be the solution?

Wired reported that the Federations of International Football Associations (FIFA) would track around 150 million data points per World Cup match with the use of an AI agent, which is unprecedented. Moreover, Frida Polli, chief data scientist, shared that if AI shows bias, it can be addressed and corrected, and Jo-Ann Feely, global managing director of innovation at a talent solutions company, believed, too, that AI can help unlock equity in the job market (Abbot & Hilgers, 2023). With this in mind, would AI be the solution to “structural challenges” for understanding “unstructured data”, like “words, texts and images”?

who codes AI?

Believing that humans must retain control of AI and autonomous systems is one thing, yet creating algorithms that can represent human understanding of the world or reason about complex tasks, and designing versatile machines that can adapt to diverse environments, is another (Christen, et al., 2023). In other words, AI is a basic set of codes created by software engineers and scientists in the relevant industry, as of 2026. If a mindset (that the powerful should remain in power, whereas the little people should be kept in their place) hasn’t changed, which it hasn’t, why would it make any difference?

Dynamic Leadership is the real solution, not aI

Anyone who fits well in the system can always choose to do something with the influence and wealth they have gained. Besides setting up a charity, foundation, or non-profit organization, which not only can cost an arm and a leg but also may heavily rely on “grants” and “donations” (may ultimately defeat the purpose of “raising dissenting voices or sharing unconventional beliefs”), to manifest publicly kindness, advocating for systemic changes, participating in relevant social movements, and/or simply being reasonable landowners helps.

Leadership only stays static because there is an information gap resulting from poor media and financial literacy. Unfortunately, when not enough people believe that their actions matter, the root cause of the structural issue will continue to be overlooked. Dynamic leadership, after all, is supported by the 90% of the global population, not the top 10% who, collectively, own three-quarters of global wealth (The World Inequality Lab, 2026).

All in all, which side are you on?

references

Barry’s Economics. (2026, March 22). Diary Of A CEO Is Making You Less Successful – Barry’s Economics [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbDQs_TcyN4

BC Gov News. (2024, April 18). New rules take effect to rein in short-term rentals, deliver more homes. https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2024HOUS0020-000590

City of Toronto. (2026). Short-Term Rental Operators/Hosts. https://www.toronto.ca/community-people/housing-shelter/rental-housing-rights-information/short-term-rentals/short-term-rental-operators-hosts/

Stone, F. (2018, August 1). B.C. hotel industry’s biggest beef is short-term rental operations. BC Business. https://bcbusiness.ca/business/hospitality/the-bcbusiness-2018-tourism-status-report-accommodation/

Block, N. (2026, February 3). The numbers don’t lie: The housing crisis is not caused by a supply shortage. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. https://www.policyalternatives.ca/news-research/the-numbers-dont-lie-the-housing-crisis-is-not-caused-by-a-supply-shortage/

Global News. (2026, June 27). Canadian government accused of bias against renters in signature housing legislation [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhCPofM70pA

Ross, S. (2026, May 26). Top 10 Wealthiest Families in the World. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/insights/052416/top-10-wealthiest-families-world.asp

Lamothe, C. (2025, November 8). How the Young Middle-Class Are Quietly Building Generational Wealth. Yahoo Finance. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/young-middle-class-quietly-building-215509368.html

The Canadian Press. (2026, March 30). Relief in Quebec after announcement of Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau’s departure. CTVnews. https://www.ctvnews.ca/montreal/article/relief-in-quebec-after-announcement-of-air-canada-ceo-michael-rousseaus-departure/

Bank of Canada. (2024, March 26). The productivity problem. https://www.bankofcanada.ca/2024/03/productivity-problem/

Caranci, B. & Fong, F. (2026, May 21). Canada’s Silent Brain Drain. TD. https://economics.td.com/ca-silent-brain-drain

Akbar, M. & Triandafyllidou, A. (2025, February 17). Canadian immigrants are overqualified and underemployed — reforms must address this. Toronto Metropolitan University. https://www.torontomu.ca/cerc-migration/news/2025/02/conversation-canadian-overqualified/

MacPherson, A. (2025, January 30). Study reveals mental health toll of underemployment among skilled immigrants. University of Alberta. https://www.ualberta.ca/en/folio/2025/01/study-reveals-mental-health-toll-of-underemployment-among-skilled-immigrants.html

World cup teams are in a race for AI dominance. (2026, June 25). Wired. https://www.wired.com/story/fifa-world-cup-2026-artificial-intelligence-tools/

Christen, M., Burri, T., Kandul, S., & Vörös, P. (2023). Who is controlling whom? Reframing “meaningful human control” of AI systems in security. Ethics and information technology, 25(1), 10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-023-09686-x

Abbot, L. & Hilgers, L. (2023, July 19). How AI Will Change Hiring. Linkedin. https://www.linkedin.com/business/talent/blog/talent-acquisition/how-ai-will-change-hiring

The World Inequality Lab. (2026). Highlights from the World Inequality Report 2026. https://wir2026.wid.world/insight/executive-summary/