In a new analysis by job and recruiting platform Glassdoor, employees say career development and mentorship are among the most desired traits in their company’s leadership.
The analysis looks into Glassdoor reviews of senior leadership collected from May 2025 to May 2026 for the site’s Best CEOs 2026 award winners, which is based on employee ratings of CEO approval. The data comes from over 150,000 reviews from U.S.-based non-intern employees who mentioned management or senior leadership topics in their reviews of their CEOs.
The analysis compared the frequency of terms employees used when rating the best CEOs against reviews from companies of executives who didn’t win. It then measured the increase in the share of reviews that mention certain keywords.
Among the positive reviews of the best CEOs, employees mention keywords related to career development: Some of them include “mobility” (mentioned over 253% more than in the reviews of non-winning CEOs), “growth opportunities” (+159%), and “career growth” (+111%). Research from 2023 by Glassdoor already showed that access to career opportunities within an organization is one of the main factors for employee satisfaction in the U.S.
“Mentorship”, “culture”, and “work-life balance” are other key terms used in the reviews of the CEOs who were ranked at the top of the platform’s award. Other keywords include “coaching”, “training”, and “inclusive” as strengths setting apart the best corporate leaders.
What workers dislike
Employees under the leadership of CEOs who didn’t secure a spot on the Best CEOs 2026 award list report a range of themes they see as weaknesses, such as communication, culture, strategy, and job security.
Communication (76%) and transparency (109%) are mentioned more often as drawbacks among executives who didn’t win the award, when compared to those who did.
“Strategy,” “direction,” and “alignment” are listed as weaknesses among executives who weren’t recognized—pointing to the lack of confidence among employees that their leadership will be able to create and execute a strategy, the analysis says.
While culture-related words were among the most listed in the strengths of CEOs, they are also listed as weaknesses among CEOs who didn’t make the cut: Keywords like “respect” (+162%), “trust” (+151%), and “toxic” (+111%) are listed as issues where executives need to improve.
Keywords such as “layoffs” (+304%), “turnover” (+130%), and “fear” (+91%) hint that employees have concerns over their job stability and may be attributing their worries to the role CEOs and management play in their employment security.
The analysis of reviews also found that non-winner CEOs were called out more often by name in the reviews, whereas the best ones are not mentioned. One possible explanation, the analysis says, is that if the CEO is doing a good job, they’re not going to be at the top of their employees’ minds, whereas if employees are thinking about executives, it is probably because they did something wrong.
“Put another way, to be regarded as a top CEO, it’s as simple as ‘just don’t mess up’,” writes Daniel Zhao, chief economist at Glassdoor.
Employees want to be listened to. Reviews of non-winner leaders show that employees want their executives to work on their weaknesses, especially those affecting the culture of the company. Some of the most mentioned keywords in the feedback section were “respect” (+103%), “trust” (+88%) and “toxic” (+45%). Also, phrases widely used include “listen to employees” (+68%), “communication” (+39%) and “transparency” (+11%).
Who are some of the “best” CEOs?
At the top of the list is Jensen Huang, CEO of the tech company Nvidia, who has a 99% approval rating as CEO, according to Glassdoor ratings. He is followed by Jason Johnson, CEO of the express car wash company Quick Quack Car Wash, who has a 92% approval rating as a leader; and by Kevin A. Lobo, CEO of the medical technology company Stryker.
Also at the top of the list are Alan D. Schnitzer, CEO of the American insurance company Travelers; Chris Czarnecki, executive of the global real estate franchise Keller Williams; and Larry Culp, CEO of the aerospace and aviation company GE Aerospace.
Among the best female CEOs are Lynsi Snyder, CEO of In-N-Out; Tricia Griffith from Progressive Insurance; and Abby Johnson from Fidelity Investments.
Other highly ranked CEOs are in industries ranging from fast-food companies, medical devices, hotels and banking, proving that good leadership can be found in a wide spectrum of organizations.