As Nigerian businesses navigate the complexities of the modern economy, a fundamental shift in what drives success is emerging for the year 2026. For years, the corporate landscape has often celebrated sheer effort—long hours, packed schedules, and constant activity. Leadership frequently equated busyness with progress. However, according to leadership expert Dr. Abiola Salami, this assumption is now obsolete.
In a detailed analysis dated 6 January 2026, 4:21am WAT, Dr. Salami presents a compelling case: effort without clarity is no longer admirable; it is expensive. The organisations poised to outperform in the coming year will not necessarily be those working the hardest, but those operating with the clearest priorities, the strongest alignment, and the most disciplined execution. The era of 'busy' as a competitive advantage is definitively over.
The High Cost of Confusion in Nigerian Organisations
Dr. Salami observes that most teams are not underperforming due to laziness or a lack of commitment. The root cause is often being overloaded, misaligned, and unclear on direction. This manifests in teams sprinting in slightly different directions, leaders repeatedly revisiting settled decisions, and the familiar cycle where first-quarter optimism fades into second-quarter corrections and third-quarter fatigue.
This is not a capability gap but a clarity problem. In an environment characterised by volatility, tighter margins, and faster decision-making requirements, organisations can no longer afford to 'figure things out as they go.' By the time confusion becomes apparent, significant costs have already been incurred. 2026 will punish strategic drift and reward precision.
Three Converging Forces Demanding Clarity
Dr. Salami identifies three powerful forces converging in 2026 that make clarity non-negotiable:
- Speed of Change: Decisions that once had long lead times now demand rapid execution.
- Leadership Pressure: Leaders are expected to deliver results with fewer resources and less tolerance for error.
- Execution Visibility: Poor alignment now reveals itself more quickly and publicly, impacting performance, culture, and customer experience directly.
In this context, effort without clear direction doesn't just slow progress—it actively amplifies risk. Conversely, clarity acts as a powerful force multiplier. Clear priorities reduce wasted effort, a clear leadership stance improves decision quality, and clear expectations boost engagement and accountability across the board.
The Strategic Advantage of an Early-Year Reset
The critical question for Nigerian business leaders is not if they need clarity, but when and how they establish it. Dr. Salami emphasises that resetting early offers a decisive strategic advantage. Unfortunately, many organisations attempt alignment too late—waiting until performance gaps emerge, inter-team tensions rise, and leaders are already overstretched. At that point, alignment becomes a reactive, corrective measure.
High-performing organisations take a different approach. They treat the start of the year, particularly January, not as a mere formality but as a crucial strategic intervention point. It is a moment to recalibrate thinking, leadership behaviour, and execution discipline before old habits solidify. An early reset builds momentum, reduces the need for disruptive mid-year course corrections, and establishes a shared language and expectations from the top down.
However, many organisations struggle with this reset not from a lack of intent, but from a lack of structure. A meaningful reset requires more than goal-setting workshops and motivational speeches. It demands:
- True alignment between organisational strategy and daily leadership behaviour.
- Ruthless prioritisation amidst competing demands.
- A common execution framework that leaders and teams can practically use.
- Psychological readiness for maintaining clarity under pressure, not just initial optimism.
Without these elements, initial enthusiasm quickly fades, and organisations default to their old, inefficient patterns.
A Structured Solution: The 2026 New Year Kickoff Summit
To address this widespread gap, Dr. Abiola Salami designed The 2026 New Year Kickoff Summit. This initiative is not a motivational rally but a structured leadership and performance reset at the very start of the year. Its purpose is to align leaders, teams, and entire organisations around core priorities before confusion, strategic drift, and 'execution debt' can take hold.
The summit is engineered to deliver a layered impact:
For Organisations: It establishes strong alignment between strategy, leadership, and execution; enables faster traction on annual priorities by reducing early-year confusion; and creates a shared leadership language to improve decision-making.
For Leaders: Participants gain sharper strategic clarity, a stronger leadership posture for high-pressure situations, and practical tools to translate ambition into consistent execution.
For Teams: Teams achieve a clear understanding of direction, expectations, and their individual contributions, leading to increased engagement and ownership.
For Individuals: Participants experience renewed focus, immediately applicable insights, and a stronger sense of purpose for the year ahead.
This comprehensive approach is intentional because, as Dr. Salami notes, clarity must exist simultaneously at the organisational, leadership, team, and individual levels to sustain high performance. In 2026, clarity will function like essential infrastructure—invisible when working perfectly but cripplingly costly when absent.
Organisations that treat clarity as optional will continue to compensate with more effort, longer hours, and increased pressure. Those that invest in clarity early will reap the rewards of faster execution, stronger leadership confidence, better team energy, and fewer avoidable failures as the year progresses.
Dr. Salami concludes that every organisation entering 2026 will be busy, but not every one will be clear. The differentiating factor will not be talent, ambition, or intent. It will be the deliberate choice to reset early with purpose, rather than drifting forward hoping alignment will emerge on its own. The 2026 New Year Kickoff Summit is crafted for leaders and organisations ready to make that choice for clarity—deliberately, early, and together. Because in the defining year of 2026, effort alone will no longer be enough. But clarity, once firmly established, will compound its benefits throughout the entire year.
Dr. Abiola Salami is the Convener of The New Year Kickoff Summit, The Peak PerformerTM Festival, and other leadership initiatives. He serves as the Principal Performance Strategist at CHAMP, a professional services firm trusted by high-performing business leaders for executive coaching, workforce development, and advisory services. His team can be contacted at info@champ.com.ng, and he can be found on social media as @abiolachamp.
