Everyone agrees that artificial intelligence is changing the game for leadership. But what kind of leadership is actually needed in an AI-augmented world? And are most leaders ready?
To cut through the buzzwords and blindspots, I asked three experts who’ve been watching this space closely: Mark Bloomfield, a leading authority on artificial intelligence and a fellow at Cambridge University’s Judge Business School, Spencer Harrison, professor at INSEAD and researcher on creativity, work, and the future of leadership, and Liz Rider, a leadership strategist and executive coach with decades of experience inside global organizations.
Their responses didn’t point to a single silver bullet. But they did reveal a shift in mindset, skillset, and purpose that leaders will need to embrace. Here are three key insights:
1. Human-Centered Leadership Is No Longer Optional
In a world where machines can draft emails, generate presentations, and automate entire workflows, the uniquely human elements of leadership (emotional intelligence, purpose, and presence) become not just differentiators, but essentials.
“I believe this is our opportunity to be truly human. Too often, I come across leaders who operate like robots—displaying low emotional intelligence, focusing solely on tasks and results, and treating people in a transactional way,” Rider told me.
As more tasks become automatable, the leader’s role needs to shift from “directing traffic” to designing environments where people can thrive, collaborate meaningfully, and do their most creative work. This is an opportunity rather than a curse.
As Rider put it, “instead of spending your afternoon wrestling with another Excel sheet, try having a meaningful conversation with your team. Let AI handle the repetitive tasks while you focus on what only humans can deliver: purpose, support, and connection.”
2. Curiosity Is A Strategic Advantage
In an AI-augmented workplace, leaders don’t just need to execute—they need to explore. And that means treating curiosity not as a soft skill, but as a strategic one.
Harrison told me, “Leaders will need to continually adapt and learn. That means being able to turn confusion from a ‘reset’ (we have to learn something new) to an ‘asset’ (we get to learn something new).” In this framing, curiosity becomes the gateway to agility, innovation, and even empathy. It allows leaders to question AI output rather than accept it at face value, and to refine workflows that mix human and machine contributions.
But curiosity isn’t only about asking better questions—it’s also about staying with uncertainty long enough to find better answers. “No initial attempt at an AI-augmented workplace will work first go,” Harrison warns. “Curious leaders will keep looking for surprises, points of confusion, and anomalies, and find ways to get the balance right.”
Bloomfield agreed, emphasizing that leaders need to understand the problems before crafting AI solutions. “Leaders need to nurture and support the understanding and evolution of problems then see how this might be solved. When you have the AI hammer everything can look like a nail,” he told me.
In a world where many decisions are increasingly optimized by algorithms, the leaders who stay curious—about people, about systems, about what’s missing—will be the ones who keep their teams not only relevant, but human.
3. Use The Productivity Gains Wisely
One of the most compelling ideas Harrison raised was the moral opportunity of AI-driven productivity. If AI helps us get more done in less time, leaders have a choice: use that gain to squeeze out more work—or reinvest it in people.
“If AI can replace what workers do,” Harrison says, “what if leaders redistributed that time to help people live fuller lives?”
But there is a flip side to this. In redesigning organizations for increased productivity, Harrison warns, “leaders need to be thoughtful about accidentally cutting “useful waste” – the invisible work that actually makes some of the most important aspects of work–decision making, organizational change, and collaboration–possible.”
A New Playbook, Rooted in Old Truths
If there’s a single takeaway from these conversations, it’s this: AI doesn’t erase the need for leadership—it raises the bar. Leaders who succeed won’t be those with the most technical skills or slickest strategies. They’ll be the ones who know themselves, care about others, and stay curious enough to keep learning, even when the machines seem to know everything.
The tools may be new, but the calling is timeless: to help people do their best work, together. In the age of AI, that might be harder. But it also might be more important than ever.