A recap from our August 19 Executive Reset on Executive Maturity and AI

Two research findings framed our discussion. From the London School of Economics: the barrier to AI adoption is rarely technological, it reflects a shortage of leadership capability. From Boston Consulting Group: 70% of adoption challenges are people and process issues, not technology.

Neither finding surprised the group. What did land differently was the framing we used to talk about it: Executive Maturity is the calm center of the storm. AI didn’t create the disruption every organization is navigating right now. It sped it up. The leaders who feel most ready aren’t the ones avoiding the spin. They’re the ones who aren’t spinning with it.

What Executive Maturity Actually Means

Executive Maturity has two dimensions, and both matter more than either alone. 1. What you DO: strategic AI judgment, governance and ethics, human-AI work design, business alignment, and future leader development. 2. How you BE: executive presence, listening and discernment, reflection and pause, growth mindset, and trust, empathy, and credibility.

None of these ten are new. What’s new is the urgency AI has attached to them, and the fact that a leader can no longer be strong on one dimension and skip the other.

The Harder Problem: Building the Next Generation

Entry-level hiring has dropped sharply since 2023 at organizations using generative AI, per data from Harvard University and ZipRecruiter. The roles that used to grow future leaders are disappearing. The shift is best described as moving from doing the homework to grading it. Junior talent is increasingly asked to evaluate AI output rather than produce work from scratch. To do that, they need a standard to grade against and the confidence to override a system that sounds right, but isn’t.

AI can really accelerate weak judgment just as easily as strong judgment. I constantly push for validation, making sure you are reviewing and understanding the output AI is providing, because it can look polished and authoritative even when it is wrong.

Participant, Chief Compliance Officer & General Counsel

Two themes tied together the nine approaches the group discussed for building maturity at every level: keep humans above the loop and treat change as business as usual rather than a temporary disruption.

Take Action

We’re continuing this series monthly. On September 15, we’re covering Organizational Infrastructure Necessary for Leaders in an AI World.