How is AI disrupting leadership roles?

Organisational leadership is being overhauled in the age of artificial intelligence (AI), with a new report indicating shifts in leadership headcount and how leaders' work gets done.

Findings from The Conference Board revealed that more than a third of leaders anticipate fewer middle managers (38%), as well as frontline managers and project leaders (36%), amid AI adoption.

Just four per cent of the 775 international leaders surveyed said they expect cuts in C-suite roles.

The anticipated cuts in management layers indicate the continued phase-out of middle management in workplaces, which was reported last year by Korn Ferry.

But employers have long been cautioned against cutting middle management, with Korn Ferry warning that the move risks losing a "vital link" with employees.

Erka Amursi, Principal Researcher, Human Capital, The Conference Board, suggested alternatives to middle management cuts.

"Rather than simply eliminating management layers, companies should rethink how decisions are made, responsibilities are shared, and performance is measured to ensure their organisational structures support new ways of working," Amursi said in a statement.

How leaders get work done

But thinning headcount is not the only disruption facing leadership in workplaces amid AI adoption, as The Conference Board found that the technology is also changing how leaders' work gets done.

The report found that leadership is becoming more distributed, with ownership of AI-related leadership decisions being inconsistent or unclear.

It comes as 36% of leaders lean slightly towards a hybrid model, where input and responsibilities are shared across leadership.

Another 30% have also expressed support for a distributed leadership approach, where responsibilities are spread across levels, functions and roles.

Nearly a quarter of employers (24%) also shared that they are in favour of shared leadership, where individuals take the lead according to the expertise required.

The skills needed in leadership are also changing, with 40% of leaders citing continuous AI literacy and knowing when human judgement should override AI as enduring skills.

A third (33%) of them also noted that being able to redesign work for human-AI collaboration is important.

Diana Scott, US Human Capital Center Leader, The Conference Board, said AI is "fundamentally transforming" what an effective leader looks like.

"Success will depend less on managing tasks and more on guiding teams through change, building trust, and rethinking how work gets done," Scott said.

"Organisations that focus only on AI skills risk overlooking the broader leadership capabilities needed to turn the technology into meaningful business value."

How can HR leaders help?

Chief human resources officers (CHROs) can address the ongoing leadership shift through different measures, according to The Conference Board.

This includes testing more flexible leadership models and integrating AI into workforce planning.

"Bring HR, business, finance, and technology leaders together to align work redesign with staffing, skills, and technology needs," the report said.

It also urged CHROs to move away from generic AI training towards more practical training tied to leaders' actual work, while helping them build critical judgement, systems thinking, risk awareness, coaching, empathy and the ability to provide context.

It further advised CHROs to define who owns AI-related decisions and who remains accountable for AI-generated outputs, and urged them to balance AI speed with human judgement.

"Build in time for reflection, review, and coaching so faster work doesn't compromise quality, learning, or accountability," the report read.