This year's most unexpected thought leadership findings — revealed.

Thought Leadership in Practice: The 2026 Report

Thought Leadership in Practice 2026 reveals the strategies, structures, and investments helping leading brands outperform their peers.

A global survey of 1,000 professionals reveals who is pulling ahead—and what is making the difference.

A year ago, we mapped the thought leadership landscape. In structure and in practice, the story was one of fragmentation—unclear ownership, lean teams, inconsistent research, and hard-to-measure results.

In 2026, the picture has shifted. Research is near-universal. AI is embedded into day-to-day production. Organizations are reporting measurable business outcomes. By most measures, thought leadership is maturing.

But gains are not evenly distributed. A gap has opened between organizations that have built genuine infrastructure—clear governance, rigorous research, disciplined distribution—and those still running it as an ad hoc side project.

This report examines the deliberate choices that separates the leaders from the pack, and what it takes to execute them in practice.

Explore the executive summary for a concise look at how top organizations drive measurable impact with thought leadership.

Struggling to get your thought leadership to land? Our SVP of Global Marketing shares why most distribution strategies miss the mark and what a smarter approach looks like in our recent Q&A. Read the full conversation