Article · 5-minute read
By Amber Williams – 26th March 2025
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the business landscape, compelling leaders to adapt to an AI-driven world. This article examines the widespread adoption of AI across industries, the evolving role of leadership, and explores the potential set of essential skills leaders need to thrive in this new environment.
AI has transitioned from a futuristic concept to a fundamental component of business transformation. A recent survey indicates that:
40% of global companies are currently utilizing AI, with an additional 42% exploring its potential applications.
This widespread adoption spans various sectors, including healthcare, finance, retail, and manufacturing, where AI is employed to streamline operations, enhance decision-making, and improve customer experiences (Exploding Topics).
According to Gartner’s 2025 HR Trends Report, AI-driven automation is reshaping roles, requiring leaders to rethink talent strategies to balance efficiency with workforce engagement. AI is also shifting employee expectations, with workers increasingly seeking reskilling opportunities and leadership support in navigating AI-driven changes.
With AI becoming an integral part of business strategy, organizations and their leaders must understand and develop new skills to stay relevant.
A 2023 survey by edX revealed that 92% of 500 chief executives plan to improve their AI skills in the coming 12-24 months.
In the following year, a 2024 PwC survey found that 49% of technology leaders have fully integrated AI into their companies.
The integration of AI is altering the skills landscape within organizations. A January 2025 McKinsey report highlights that while almost all companies are investing in AI, only 1% believe they have reached maturity in its implementation. To bridge this gap, leaders must focus on upskilling, adaptability, and fostering a culture of continuous learning. In addition, leaders will need to assess and identify potential skill gaps within organizations, and prepare teams for AI-augmented roles (Gartner, 2025).
Therefore, the role of leaders is expanding to encompass several key responsibilities in the AI era:
To stay ahead, leaders will need to invest in continuous learning, adapting to the rapid evolution of AI technologies.
Integrating AI will require leaders to restructure organizations to optimize human-AI collaboration within processes and teams.
AI can enable leaders to identify new opportunities, enhance productivity, and drive competitive advantage. It will be important for leaders to understand how to leverage this and action these possibilities for growth.
Ethical considerations are a priority to ensure fairness, transparency, and accountability in AI applications, as well as the trust of teams.
With AI automation increasing, leaders must ensure employees remain engaged, motivated, and reskilled for emerging roles (Gartner, 2025).
As organizations are pushed to redefine leadership in an AI-driven world, ensuring fairness and effectiveness in leadership identification and development is critical. Evidence-based tools that go beyond traditional concepts of leadership will support in capturing the evolving skills and leadership impact required for successful AI integration.
Saville Assessment’s Leadership Impact Model deconstructs traditional approaches to assessment of leadership and highlights the need for diverse leadership. In developing our own model, we analyzed data that pointed clearly towards the idea that there were three broad types of leadership: Professional, People and Pioneering leadership. We believe AI will require different types of leaders across various domains:
Those with impact in technical expertise and continuous learning, ensuring they stay up-to-date with AI advancements.
Focus on motivating teams, fostering a human-centered AI adoption approach, and ensuring AI enhances collaboration rather than replacing human ingenuity.
Visionaries who leverage AI to drive innovation, growth, and long-term strategic advantage.
By leveraging advanced leadership assessment tools, organizations can ensure they identify and develop leaders who are not only equipped to work with AI but also foster a balanced approach that integrates technology with human-centric leadership.
AI is not replacing leadership; it is redefining it. Leaders who embrace AI literacy, ethical considerations, and continuous learning will likely be well positioned and equipped to navigate this evolving landscape. By aligning leadership strategies with AI’s transformative potential, organizations can remain competitive and foster a future-ready workforce.
Additionally, it is important to consider HR’s role in shaping AI-ready leadership. Organizations should be prioritizing leadership development programs that integrate AI skills as well as workforce well-being, change management, and strategic adaptability.
As stated by Forbes in their March 2024 article, with AI, standing still means being left behind. Leaders who successfully embrace AI and bridge the gap between technology and human potential will define the future of AI-driven business and leadership success.
Learn more about our research and our model of leadership impact.
Amber is a Managing Consultant at Saville Assessment. She is a Neurodiversity at Work Expert and has a passion for creating inclusive assessments.
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