The Leadership Journey Through an AI-Transformed World

image: Niek Doup via Unsplash

“So, What’s the Future of Leadership Going to Look Like?”

Lately, I’ve been getting that question more and more. Usually right after someone asks me how to use ChatGPT to write a performance review.

It’s a fair question. The pace of change is dizzying, and AI seems to be showing up everywhere except my morning commute (which, let’s be honest, could’ve used a little algorithmic energy).

But beneath the tools and trends is a more personal shift… one that’s already reshaping what leaders need most.

Whether we like it or not, the ground beneath leadership is shifting. Artificial intelligence is no longer a future consideration — it’s an active force shaping how decisions are made, how work gets done, and how people relate to one another inside organizations.

But while the tools and technologies are advancing fast, the human side of leadership is facing a slower, more complex transformation. And this is where personally I feel coaching matters most—not for teaching someone how to prompt ChatGPT, but for helping them navigate who they’re becoming in the process.

Let’s break it down across the next few years:

Now: Leading in the Fog

Right now, many leaders are quietly staring down the unknown. They’re expected to guide teams, make smart bets, and stay optimistic. All while admitting (sometimes only to themselves) that they don’t have the map.

At this stage, what leaders need most isn’t mastery. It’s clarity. Coaching today is about helping leaders get comfortable not knowing, stay grounded when the terrain is shifting, and find their footing in the midst of ambiguity. It’s less about having the right answer and more about learning to move forward without one.

2 Years From Now: Bridge-Building in Hybrid Worlds

In a couple of years, AI will be more deeply embedded in daily workflows. What used to be routine will be automated. Communication will be filtered through new channels. And human connection will require more intentionality, not less.

This is when leadership will need to become more relational, not just operational. Coaching will help leaders become bridge-builders — keeping their teams human-centered even while the systems around them become increasingly technical. It’s not about resisting the tech; it’s about refusing to lose the people inside it.

5 Years Out: Anchored in Self

Fast-forward five years, and the leaders who thrive will be the ones who know themselves deeply. Not just what they do, but how they decide. Not just what they stand for, but how they stay true when everything around them changes.

This is the future of leadership: leaders guiding themselves and their teams toward inner clarity, not external polish. Helping them build their own internal operating system so they don’t crumble when the playbook goes out the window. In a world shaped by rapid, relentless change, the unshakable center of leadership will be self-awareness and grounded decision-making.

The Path Forward

These days, I can’t walk into a leadership conversation without someone asking, “What’s coaching going to look like with AI?” Depending on the mood, my answers range from “we’ll all be replaced by holograms” to “still mostly listening, just with better lighting.”

But here’s the truth: the future of leadership won’t be defined by AI alone — it’ll be defined by how leaders grow with it.

So the journey ahead isn’t just technical — it’s profoundly personal.

We’ll go from leaders managing uncertainty, to leaders rehumanizing systems, to leaders anchoring in something deeper than strategy.

And along the way, the job of a coach isn’t to predict the future — it’s to walk beside leaders as they shape it.

With curiosity. With clarity. And with just enough humor to keep it real.