The Future of Leadership

Imagining leadership in an AI-shaped world — where roles blur, data surfaces choices, and leaders must redesign how they create value.

The Future of Leadership:
Why Leadership Value Matters More Than Ever

Let’s be honest: most leadership pipelines still reward what’s visible and measurable—and just as often, who navigates influence and sponsorship best. These unspoken rules have long shaped who rises to the top. But the world has changed, and so must the way we identify, develop, and promote leaders.

Today, the rules are different. AI and technology are redefining where value resides, work is more fragmented than ever, and real influence flows through networks, not just organizational charts. If we keep promoting people for the same old reasons—roles, resumes, and past deliverables—we risk overlooking the leaders we truly need for what’s next. Nearly every CHRO and business leader I meet feels this tension: the rules are changing in real time, and yesterday’s answers rarely fit today’s questions.

Here’s what I see every week: In coaching leaders and working with organizations at every stage, the pattern repeats. The leaders who thrive aren’t just good at what got them here—they’re constantly reinventing how they add value. They embrace what I call “leadership range” (the ability to stretch across new problems and relationships) and “relevance” (the knack for continually creating unique value, no matter how fast things shift).

If this feels a little uncomfortable or at odds with your experience, that’s a good thing—it means your context is unique. Take this as a prompt for discussion within your team or leadership circle—not as a final answer.

What’s Broken in Leadership Pipelines (and What That Looks Like):
Here’s where traditional pipelines fall short:

• Performance over potential. We still reward what’s easy to measure from the past, not what’s possible in the future. For instance, the best sales manager may get promoted but then struggles to lead a cross-functional team through change and ambiguity.

• Expertise over adaptability. We favor deep subject matter experts, even when agility and learning are what’s needed. Imagine a brilliant engineer who can’t pivot when the strategy shifts or the environment changes rapidly.

• Certainty over sensemaking. We value clear answers over the ability to navigate ambiguity and make sense of complexity. How about leaders who can recite the playbook, but freeze when the playbook doesn’t fit?

When the world moves faster than our leadership models, capability gaps widen and potential goes untapped.

Where to Focus: Range, Relevance, and Value

Range – The ability to flex between vision and action, empathy and decisiveness, stability and change. Leaders with range adapt across contexts and challenges without losing themselves.
Think of a leader who flexes between vision and action, shifting from inspiring the team at an all-hands meeting to rolling up their sleeves in a crisis.

Relevance – Sensing what truly matters now, and recalibrating as context shifts. Leaders who stay relevant let go of yesterday’s definitions of success and focus on what creates value in the present and future.
For instance, a business unit head regularly discards outdated KPIs to focus the team on what matters most as market realities shift.

Value – Creating outcomes that last beyond a project or quarter. From building resilience to shaping culture, true value is what endures for teams, organizations, and the people they serve.
Say a CHRO who champions a shift to flexible work and, in the process, builds a culture of trust that endures beyond the initial transition.

These three capacities are the foundation for lasting leadership success. They’re the thread running through every meaningful behavior, decision, and reinvention.

What Design Shifts Talent Systems Can Consider Incorporating:
For organizations, here’s how to design for what matters most:

1. Assess for value creation, not just succession. Look for people who can flex their approach, make sense of complex systems, and influence beyond their title—not just those with great KPIs.
   Elevating a project manager who’s repeatedly delivered cross-team results, even if they haven’t followed the traditional promotion path.

2. Build capability, not just skills. Develop behaviors that are transferable, coachable, and can be scaled across the organization.
   Training managers to coach others, so the ability to develop talent spreads across the organization, not just in HR

3. Look for decisiveness in ambiguity. Prioritize leaders who can make timely, thoughtful decisions even when the data is incomplete or the situation is uncertain.
   A leader who makes a tough call with limited data—then quickly adapts and communicates a new course as more information emerges.

Here’s what I often encourage CHROs and CxOs in our coaching conversations:
Ask different questions.

Instead of “Who’s ready for the next role?” ask, “Who can deliver value beyond today for their team, organization, and themselves?”

That shift changes the conversations you’re having, the signals you’re measuring, and the kinds of leaders you bring to the surface.

Where to Begin (Immediate steps):

You don’t need a complex psychometric assessment to understand your starting point. The fastest way is with the Leadership Value Scan—a five-minute diagnostic that maps your strengths, risks, and where you can create more value right now.

Start here:

1. Take the Leadership Value Scan to see your current profile across Range, Relevance, and Value.

2. Review your instant insights—no jargon or delay, just a clear snapshot of what’s working and what’s next.

3. Pick one area to focus on for the next month. Real change starts with a single, intentional step.

Leadership for the future isn’t about being perfect—it’s about knowing where you are, growing where it counts, and creating value that lasts.

Snapshot of Organizational Aggregated Insights Report