Conference Board: AI is reshaping leadership faster than firms adapt

Adoption is ahead of accountability

The report draws on a survey of 775 international leaders and 20 interviews. According to The Conference Board, 64% of respondents say AI is used across several functions or highly integrated into daily work in their organizations.

Yet 37% say ownership of AI-related leadership decisions remains inconsistent or unclear. The gap narrows where AI is deeply embedded: 85% of organizations with highly integrated AI report clear ownership or formal governance, compared with just 26% of organizations still exploring AI.

The report also warns that AI's pace is creating new managerial bottlenecks, fatigue and the risk of "work slop." Leaders now have to evaluate a growing flow of AI-generated work without sacrificing quality, sound judgment or employee development.

Management layers and leadership models

Respondents expect the effects to land unevenly across the hierarchy. Just 4% of leaders expect a reduction in C-Suite roles, while 38% anticipate fewer middle managers. Another 36% expect reductions in both frontline managers and project leaders.

Erka Amursi, Principal Researcher, Human Capital at The Conference Board, said: "AI is changing how work gets done faster than organizations are changing how they're structured." She argued that rather than simply eliminating management layers, companies should rethink how decisions are made, responsibilities are shared and performance is measured.

Preferences for leadership models are shifting away from the traditional approach:

• 36% favor a hybrid model, in which leadership input and responsibilities are shared.
• 30% favor distributed leadership, with responsibilities spread across levels, functions and roles.
• 24% favor shared leadership, where individuals take the lead according to the expertise required.
• Just 5% say a traditional leader-centered model is best suited for the AI era.

Skills leaders say they need

Critical thinking ranks first among enduring skills. 52% of respondents rate critical thinking and decision-making as the most important enduring leadership skill. Among competencies expanded by AI, continuous AI literacy and knowing when human judgment should override AI tie for first at 40% each. In addition, 33% identify redesigning work for human-AI collaboration as an important AI-expanded competency.

On training, 72% favor hands-on practice with AI tools over more traditional development approaches.

Diana Scott, US Human Capital Center Leader at The Conference Board, said: "Organizations that focus only on AI skills risk overlooking the broader leadership capabilities needed to turn the technology into meaningful business value."

Recommendations for HR chiefs

The report directs six recommendations at chief human resources officers:

• Clarify AI accountability and decision rights, including who remains accountable for AI-generated outputs.
• Balance AI speed with human judgment by building in time for reflection, review and coaching.
• Test more flexible leadership models while keeping clear accountability, authority and decision-making structures.
• Integrate AI into workforce planning by bringing HR, business, finance and technology leaders together.
• Strengthen distinctly human leadership skills, such as critical judgment, systems thinking, risk awareness, coaching, empathy and providing context.
• Tailor AI development by leadership level, moving from generic training to practical, role-specific learning tied to leaders' actual work.

For organizations, the findings suggest that deploying AI is only part of the task. According to the report, defining ownership, redesigning work and developing leaders' judgment will determine whether the technology delivers business value.