Matt Cockbill, Partner in the CIO & Technology Officers Practice at Odgers, explains how leaders can develop resilience to ensure they effectively deliver AI projects
The most powerful force reshaping business today is not just AI itself but the uncertainty that comes with it.
As executives grapple with rapid advances in artificial intelligence, shifting markets, and rising expectations from stakeholders, the ability to lead through ambiguity has become a defining skill. Technology may drive transformation, but resilience determines whether organisations thrive or falter in the process.
Resilient AI leadership is not about mastering every new tool or application. It is about mastering adaptation. The most effective executive leaders are combining the rich insights from the mastery of data, with empathy, trust, and clear communication to navigate constant disruption.
The Uncertainty Imperative
AI is transforming how executives think about leadership. According to PwC’s 2024 Global CEO Survey, 70% of CEOs expect generative AI to significantly change the way their company creates, delivers, and captures value within the next three years.
Yet many still acknowledge gaps in readiness, particularly around workforce skills, governance, and trust. The acceleration of AI adoption is rewriting operating models faster than most leadership frameworks can keep up.
Traditional approaches to change management no longer apply. Where previous transformations affected one or two departments or process at a time, AI touches everything—strategy, workforce, culture, and governance—simultaneously. Leaders can no longer rely on “predict and plan.” They must “sense and respond,” using real-time insight to guide decisions through shifting conditions.
The uncertainty created by AI is not a temporary phase. It is the new operating environment. Resilient executives recognise that volatility is now a constant, and they view it not as a threat but as a testing ground for better, faster decision-making.
Core Qualities of the Resilient AI Leader
Effective AI leadership starts with adaptive decision-making. Executives must make calls with incomplete information, interpreting what AI models reveal without surrendering judgment to them. Predictive analytics can illuminate patterns, but human context and ethical reasoning remain essential.
Equally critical is empathy. As automation changes roles and responsibilities, emotional intelligence becomes the differentiator that keeps teams aligned. Research from Google’s Project Aristotle shows psychological safety is the top driver of team effectiveness, reinforcing the leadership need for empathy and open dialogue when adopting AI. Creating psychological safety allows people to question algorithms, test assumptions, and surface risks early.
Transparency also builds resilience. Many AI initiatives fail not because the technology is flawed but because communication breaks down. Teams need to understand why and how AI is being used, and what it means for their work. Open forums, regular updates, and visible leadership involvement help replace fear with trust.
Ethical foresight completes the foundation. Resilient executives anticipate unintended consequences and establish governance frameworks that evolve alongside innovation. This foresight protects both reputation and long-term strategic advantage. Remaining on the right side of AI ethics has a critical part to play in the enduring motivation of delivery teams, customers, investors and shareholders.
How Executives Can Lead Through AI-Driven Change
Resilient leaders take deliberate, structured action. The first step is to anchor strategy in purpose. Connecting AI initiatives to a clear mission helps teams understand that transformation serves more than efficiency or cost reduction. Purpose provides stability when processes, systems, and roles are in flux.
The second step is to build learning agility. Encouraging continuous learning and “safe to fail” experimentation turns uncertainty into progress. Many forward-thinking organisations now run internal AI academies where data scientists and business leaders collaborate to share knowledge and accelerate adoption.
Empowering cross-functional teams is another essential tactic. AI transformation cuts across technical, operational, and ethical boundaries. Bringing together specialists from data, HR, and strategy functions helps organisations adapt faster and identify risks earlier.
Finally, executives must model resilience from the top. Admitting uncertainty, sharing reasoning, and celebrating adaptive problem-solving set the tone for the organisation. Transparent leaders increase employee trust in AI initiatives.
Building Organisational Resilience
Resilience must extend beyond individual leaders to the organisation as a system. Governance, flexible processes, and open data practices can make companies less vulnerable to disruption. AI can play a direct role here too.
Predictive analytics can anticipate market shifts, workforce stress, or supply chain disruptions before they occur. BCG finds that while 26% of companies have progressed beyond pilots to realise AI value, just 5% are achieving value at scale, highlighting why governance, data quality and operating model design matter.
Institutional resilience depends on more than contingency planning. It is about embedding adaptability into the DNA of the organisation so that AI becomes a stabilising force, not a destabilising one.
The Human Advantage
The paradox of AI is that while it automates intelligence, it cannot replicate wisdom. The most successful executives in the AI era will be those who embrace technology as an amplifier of human capability. Curiosity, adaptability, and empathy are as critical measures of leadership strength, as realising value from transformation delivery.
AI allows leaders to see further and act faster, but it is the human qualities of judgment and integrity that turn insight into impact. The executives who understand this balance will not only manage change; they will ensure organisational culture is geared to thrive upon it.
Leading in the AI Era
AI will continue to accelerate volatility, but it also offers leaders an unprecedented ability to anticipate, respond, and innovate. The question is no longer “How do we use AI?” but “How do we best exploit it to the advantage of our people in delivering excellence?”
Resilient AI leadership is about guiding teams through uncertainty with confidence and compassion. It is about leveraging advanced technologies to strengthen trust, sharpen decision-making, and build cultures capable of evolving as fast as the world around them. Those who lead with clarity and empathy will both endure the age of AI and define it.
