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AI-Ready Leader

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AI Success Depends on the Right Leaders

Nearly all leaders believe AI will disrupt their industry, yet only a tenth of talent leaders say their organization’s leadership team is ready.

The gap between what's possible with AI and what your leaders are ready to do with it is getting wider every week.

But the real barrier to AI success isn't technology. It's people.

Do your leaders have:

  • The confidence to embed AI into how work gets done?
  • The clarity to make calls under uncertainty?
  • The ability to set governance that people can follow?

Chances are they don’t. It’s all very new, and it’s not easy. Yet most leaders feel caught between the pressure to adopt AI and uncertainty about how to make it work.

That's where AI-ready leaders make the difference.

They don't wait for perfect clarity or a risk-free path. They act with enough conviction to move forward and enough judgment to avoid reckless mistakes. And they know how to lead people through uncomfortable change with honesty—addressing fears, fostering learning, and holding the vision steady, even when progress is messy.

In the Human + AI era, this kind of leadership isn't optional anymore. For businesses, it’s make-or-break.

Why AI-Ready Leadership Can't Wait

99% of leaders believe AI will disrupt their industry, but the majority of their workforce doesn't think leaders are ready.

Source: Korn Ferry Institute (KFI) AI research

Only 11% of talent leaders say their leadership is well prepared for what AI demands.

Source: Korn Ferry’s TA Trends 2026 data

Just 5% of HR teams feel ready to implement AI, even though it's one of the top priorities for CHROs.

Source: Korn Ferry’s 2025 CHRO Survey

AI-Ready Leader Insights

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Frequently Asked Questions

1. What Is an AI-Ready Leader?

An AI-ready leader doesn't need to be a technical expert. But they do need to be someone who can:

  • Sustain the vision
    Keep teams anchored to a clear direction, even when AI evolves faster than expected.
  • Take decisive action
    Act with conviction and judgment, balancing urgency with thoughtful decision-making.
  • Prioritize for impact
    Focus on high-value AI efforts, not scattered experiments.
  • Stay curious
    Continuously test, learn, and iterate rather than settling for early wins.
  • Champion learning and unlearning
    Help teams build new capabilities while letting go of outdated habits.
  • Address fears
    Lead through change with honesty, addressing concerns about jobs and the future openly.

They embed AI into how decisions are made and how work gets done.

2. Why Is AI-Ready Leadership Urgent Now?

AI is already here. Your people are using it. Boards are demanding ROI. And the gap between AI’s potential and what your leaders are ready to do with it keeps growing.

Without leadership that can govern AI use, make sound decisions under uncertainty, and lead through transformation, organizations get stuck with scattered pilots and rising risk instead of real impact.

3. What's the First Step CHROs Should Take to Prepare Leaders for AI?

Use Korn Ferry's AI-Ready Leader Success Profile to identify which leaders have the necessary capabilities and which ones show signs they aren't ready.

From there, you can build targeted development programs that address specific behavioral patterns rather than running generic AI training that doesn't stick.

4. What Behaviors Do AI-Ready Leaders Demonstrate?

AI-ready leaders show:

  • Future-focused thinking
    They stay curious, explore what's possible, and help teams see how AI can unlock new potential.
  • Action orientation
    They move ideas forward into tangible progress, even when uncertainty is high.
  • Accountability
    They follow through and build cultures where people take ownership of their work and outcomes.
  • Team building
    They create environments where trust and safety allow teams to experiment and grow.
  • Collaborative problem-solving
    They connect across functions, make complexity understandable, and rally people toward common goals.

These behaviors may evolve as AI continues to reshape work, but they represent the core capabilities organizations need now.

5. Do Leaders Need Technical Skills to Be AI-Ready?

No, AI-ready leaders don't need to code, build models, or understand algorithms in depth.

What they need is the ability to:

  • Ask the right questions
  • Make sound decisions with AI in the mix
  • Set governance that works in practice
  • Lead people through transformation without losing trust

Technical fluency can help, but leadership capability matters more.

It’s about knowing when to act decisively, how to balance speed with responsibility, and how to guide teams through uncomfortable change.

6. How Does Korn Ferry Help Organizations Develop AI-Ready Leaders?

Korn Ferry helps organizations close the leadership readiness gap by combining behavioral science, proven assessment tools, and decades of leadership data to build AI-ready capability at scale.

We help you:

  • Determine readiness
    Identify which leaders can guide through AI transformation using the AI-Ready Leader Success Profile.
  • Develop targeted capabilities
    Improve decision-making under pressure and the ability to lead through fast-moving change.
  • Embed AI into how work happens
    Help leaders integrate AI into daily operations without sacrificing trust or performance.

Is Your Leadership Team Ready for AI?

AI won't slow down for businesses that aren't prepared. Want help getting your leaders ready?

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