What do today's CEOs actually believe -- and does it shape how they lead?
This fall, Barna Group released a new study, Faith Forward CEOs: Research and Insights on Executives Who Lead Differently, which surveyed more than 350 diverse context CEOs to understand how they think, lead, and define success. While much of the data confirmed what we already suspected -- CEOs are generally purpose-driven and culture-focused -- it also exposed a growing tension in the moral and motivational core of business leadership.
The key fault line? Belief. Or rather, the wide and often contradictory ways belief, or the absence of it, shapes how leaders show up.
The study divided CEOs into three categories: Practicing Christians (those who attend church regularly and say their faith actively shapes their life), Non-Practicing Christians (those who identify as Christian but show little engagement), and Non-Christians.
While 75% of CEOs surveyed identified as Christian, fewer than half of those fell into the "practicing" category. This is where things got interesting.
Practicing Christians displayed markedly different patterns: they were more likely to sense a commitment to excellence, mentor others, pursue personal growth, and prioritize ethical decision-making. They invested more regularly in their emotional and spiritual well-being, prioritizing purpose and people over profit and prestige.
However, the largest and perhaps the most culturally significant gap was the rise of what Barna termed the "Non-Practicing Christian CEO." This group is highly visible and culturally comfortable with Christianity but functionally indistinct from non-religious peers. They reflect a version of leadership that borrows spiritual language but lacks spiritual grounding. They acknowledge their belief in God, but that belief rarely affects how they lead.
This dynamic creates strategic and cultural implications. In an era where businesses are being asked to shoulder more responsibility for social cohesion, workplace ethics, and employee well-being, the worldview of the leader matters. A lot.
Worldview shapes how leaders define right and wrong, what motivates them when profit and purpose conflict, whether people are treated as assets or image-bearers, how they manage burnout, criticism, and pressure, and what legacy they believe they're leaving behind.
The data from this study shows that CEOs, across the board, claim to be driven by positive goals: healthy culture, ethical standards, and impact on others. That's good news.
However, leaders who fail to integrate those goals into a thought-out worldview, whether spiritual, philosophical, or otherwise, often adopt values they admire without understanding how to sustain them. Aspirational virtues disconnected from an integrated life are a recipe for hypocrisy, frustration, fatigue, and even scandalous missteps.
The result? A strata of leaders who are purpose-aware but purpose-confused.
One of the study's most revealing takeaways is that even CEOs who claim no religious affiliation are more likely to prioritize daily emotional and spiritual wellness than self-identified Christians who don't actively practice their faith.
Let that sink in.
The data dismantles the myth that belief is a neutral component of leadership. Everyone leads from a worldview, whether consciously cultivated or passively inherited, and these worldviews are being put to the test in the face of today's cultural crises. CEOs who build strong, ethical, resilient organizations have internal foundations that can bear the external pressures of leadership. Whether you're a business owner, board member, investor, or team leader, the challenge is the same: Don't assume shared language means shared conviction and commitments.
As a Christian leader, how does your life and leadership embody the faith you uphold? Are your decisions, rhythms, mentoring, and ethical approach anchored in something deeper than performance metrics?
If you're leading without a defined belief system, ask yourself: What's guiding my definition of good leadership? Who decides what's right, fair, or worth sacrificing for?
Our world is navigating an identity crisis. The data is clear: we need leaders who are more than inspirational. We need leaders who are anchored. Anchored in conviction. Anchored in Truth. Anchored in something greater than quarterly returns or personal achievement.
This study invites every leader to consider what and why they're building. In today's complex world, the strongest and most effective leaders know what they believe, live it out, and lead from it.
Business excellence isn't merely a function of acumen or ambition. It's deeply tied to integrity, self-leadership, and, yes, spiritual formation. That's the kind of leadership the world needs.