Strategy skillset spotlight

Critical thinking and strategic planning have moved to the top of PCMA’s list of leadership skills business-event employers say they need now. (pcma.org) PCMA published that finding in its “PCMA 2026 Outlook” report, released in April 2026, after combining survey responses with one-on-one interviews and focus groups across associations, corporate event teams, and destination marketing organizations. (pcma.org) The report said “critical thinking and strategic planning” were at or near the top of the skills leaders most want to build in themselves and their teams, even as generative artificial intelligence remained the single most-cited skill need in some sectors. In corporate events, 63 percent of respondents said the ability to use generative artificial intelligence was the top skill to develop over the next 12 months. (pcma.org) PCMA tied that shift to a harder operating climate, not to a sudden change in job titles. Six out of 10 senior leaders in technology, pharmaceutical, professional services, or banking and finance said their budgets had been cut in 2026, and nearly 70 percent said budget reallocation was having a high impact on their roles. (pcma.org) The same report said geopolitics is reshaping planning decisions across the industry. Half of respondents said conflict, tariffs, and elections had changed how they plan events, while 45 percent said those pressures had not affected their planning. (pcma.org) That is why the skills emphasis is landing in senior leadership programs as well as in industry research. PCMA said in October 2025 that its Institute would launch an Executive Leadership Fellowship in early 2026 for professionals aiming for C-suite roles, with 25 participants selected, alongside a Business Events Strategist certification for workers with at least seven years of experience. (c-mw.net) PCMA is also building its 2026 events around the same idea: leaders need to interpret signals, sort noise, and make decisions under pressure. Its Convening APAC 2026 program in Singapore on April 12-14 said it would focus on artificial intelligence, human-centered leadership, workforce skills, sustainability, and “strategic clarity” for leaders facing uncertainty. (pcma.org) PCMA describes itself as a global association for business-events strategists with members in 59 countries, which gives its research weight inside the meetings and conventions industry even if it is not a cross-industry labor survey. The finding is best read as a snapshot of what one large professional group sees inside event leadership, not as a universal ranking for every executive job. (pcma.org; pcma.org) The through line in PCMA’s 2026 materials is consistent: leaders are being asked to pair artificial intelligence fluency with judgment, planning, and human decision-making. In PCMA’s framing, the premium is no longer just on using new tools, but on deciding what to do with them when budgets, politics, and expectations all shift at once. (pcma.org; pcma.org)