By the time Kelly Merryman Hoogstraten took the stage as the fifth keynote speaker at the Global Leadership Summit 2026, the day had already challenged us in remarkable ways.

Craig Groeschel taught us to recognize the patterns that quietly shape our leadership and culture.

Vanessa Van Edwards reminded us that extraordinary leadership is built through small habits that help people feel seen, valued, and capable.

Julio García called us to lead not for power or position, but through sacrificial service.

Jim Collins encouraged us to navigate life's inevitable cliffs and fog by taking the next best step and discovering where we are uniquely "encoded" to contribute.

Then Kelly brought those lessons into one of leadership's most practical realities:

How do you make the right decision when you don't have all the answers?

Her message wasn't about eliminating uncertainty. It was about learning to lead in the middle of it. Because every leader eventually discovers that the biggest opportunities and the biggest responsibilities arrive long before certainty does.

Kelly Merryman Hoogstraten is the CEO of Wonder Project, an entertainment company producing premium films and television for audiences seeking stories rooted in faith, hope, and values.

Before leading the Wonder Project, Kelly spent more than two decades helping shape some of the world's largest media companies.

At Netflix, she helped lead the company's international expansion.

At YouTube, she served as Vice President of Content for the Americas, overseeing one of the platform's largest businesses while helping launch YouTube TV.

Today, she leads Wonder Project, where she has helped raise more than $100 million in investment while overseeing original productions such as House of David, It's Not Like That, and Sarah's Oil.

Her session, "Make the Call: When Risk Beats Certainty," wasn't simply about decision-making.

It was about courage.

Kelly opened with a statement that immediately resonated with the room.

"Most of your biggest decisions in life will be made before you feel ready."

Think about the biggest moments in your own life.

• Getting married

• Changing careers

• Starting a business

• Accepting a promotion

• Moving across the country

• Having children

Very few of those decisions arrive wrapped in certainty.

If we're waiting until every doubt disappears...

We'll be waiting forever.

One of the defining quotes of the session was this:

"Leadership isn't about becoming more certain. It's about learning how to make the call before certainty arrives."

That may be one of the simplest definitions of leadership I've ever heard. Many people assume great leaders possess unusual confidence. Kelly suggested something different.

Great leaders simply become comfortable making decisions without perfect information.

They don't ignore risk. They just refuse to let uncertainty become paralysis.

Kelly then challenged one of the assumptions many of us quietly carry.

"The goal isn't certainty. Trust is."

She expanded the idea with another memorable statement.

"We want certainty first. God asks for trust first."

That distinction changes everything.

Faith has never been about having all the answers.

It's about taking the next faithful step without having all the answers. As leaders, we often ask God to show us the entire path.

More often than not...

He simply reveals the next step.

That reminded me of something I wrote in my notebook during Jim Collins' keynote:

Movement creates clarity.

Kelly added another layer.

Trust creates movement.

One of my favorite insights from the afternoon was this:

"Fear is good at disguising itself. It almost never announces itself as fear. It sounds responsible. It sounds practical. It sounds patient."

Ouch.

How many times have we delayed:

• A difficult conversation...

• A strategic decision...

• A career move...

Because we told ourselves,

"I'm just being cautious."

Sometimes we are. Sometimes we're simply afraid.

Kelly challenged us to be honest.

"Be honest about why you're waiting. Are you waiting because wisdom tells you to? Or because fear is whispering that if you give it a little more time, certainty will arrive?"

That question is worth revisiting every time we're tempted to postpone an important decision.

Perhaps the most convicting line of the entire session came from a simple observation.

"Waiting isn't the absence of a decision. Waiting is a decision."

That thought stayed with me. In my notes, I scribbled one additional phrase beneath it:

"Fear decided for me."

How often does that happen?

We tell ourselves we're gathering more information. Waiting for the perfect time. Looking for greater certainty.

Meanwhile...

The decision has already been made. We're simply letting fear do it on our behalf.

One of the most refreshing parts of Kelly's message was her definition of courage.

She didn't describe courage as a personality trait.

She described it as something leaders create together.

In my notes, one sentence is written in bold:

"Courage is something we give each other."

What a powerful thought. The best leaders don't eliminate uncertainty for their teams. They walk into uncertainty with them.

They communicate,

"We've got this."

They help people borrow confidence until they discover their own.

Kelly summarized it beautifully.

"People don't become leaders because we protect them from uncertainty. They become leaders because someone believes in them before they believe in themselves."

That's exactly what great leaders do.

Kelly also issued an important warning to leaders who unintentionally become bottlenecks.

"If every important decision has to come through me, I'm not building leaders. I'm building dependence."

Leadership isn't measured by how many decisions you make. It's measured by how many capable decision-makers you're developing.

Organizations don't become healthier because one leader gets smarter. They become healthier because more people learn to exercise good judgment.

Kelly closed with one question every leader should answer.

"What decision have you been waiting to make when, deep down, you already know it's time to make the call?"

That's a question that lingers.

.

• Maybe it's a difficult conversation

• A new opportunity

• A courageous change

• A hard truth

• An act of forgiveness

• A step of faith

Whatever it is...

Waiting may feel safe. But waiting is still a choice.

And sometimes the greatest risk isn't making the wrong decision. It's refusing to make one at all.

If I had to summarize Kelly Merryman Hoogstraten's keynote in one sentence, it would be this:

Leadership isn't waiting until certainty arrives; it's trusting God, choosing courage, and making the next faithful call before the outcome is clear.

Her message beautifully complemented Jim Collins' keynote. Jim reminded us that when life gets foggy, we should take the next best step. Kelly reminded us not to wait until the fog disappears before taking it.

As I closed my notebook, one final question remained with me:

What decision have I been postponing, not because I lack wisdom, but because I'm still waiting for certainty?

Perhaps that's the invitation Kelly left with all of us.

Not to become fearless. Not to become reckless. But to become the kind of leaders who trust enough to make the call.

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