By Maureen Metcalf, Forbes Councils Member
As we approach the end of 2025, the leadership landscape is evolving at a faster pace than ever. The convergence of AI, global uncertainty and shifting workforce expectations is reshaping what it means to lead effectively. In my work with executives and thought leaders, I have observed a clear pattern emerging: The leaders who thrive are those who embrace AI, navigate complexity, lead with purpose and adapt with agility.
Here are six key leadership shifts I believe will define the coming year, along with practical ways leaders can respond.
AI is transforming every facet of business, from operations to strategy to customer experience. However, the real differentiator isn’t the technology itself; it’s how leaders utilize it. I’ve seen too many executives still delegating AI to IT or data teams, missing the opportunity to shape its strategic impact. AI needs to be treated as part of the team, not just a technology tool.
This theme recurs regularly in my work; I find myself frequently applying the five levels of the CoThink AI Fluency Ladder. How I prompt AI and what I learn from it is making me better and allowing me to deliver better work products.
Leadership Recommendation: Make AI part of your personal leadership toolkit. Model curiosity and experimentation: Learn the basics, ask better questions and get involved in prioritizing use cases. When leaders are visibly engaged, teams follow suit and transformation accelerates.
While AI grabs headlines, human skills are quietly becoming more valuable than ever. Empathy, inclusion and emotional intelligence are no longer “soft skills”; they’re power skills. In a hybrid world, people want to feel seen, heard and valued.
These soft skills can translate to soft power. My facilitator team members participated in research on the use of soft skills and leadership maturity last November. We explored how awareness of leadership maturity levels and managing interactions based on participant maturity can amplify impact. You can turn a values-based experiment into an institutional capability without positional power by developing shared agreements, mutual purpose and developmental awareness.
Leadership Recommendation: Build future-ready leadership skills. Lead with empathy and authenticity. Build trust by being transparent, listening deeply and creating space for diverse voices. Engage others in finding opportunities and solving challenges. Make inclusion and collaboration a daily practice, not a quarterly initiative. The leaders who connect and listen deeply will build the most anti-fragile and engaged teams.
The pace of change is accelerating. Leaders must navigate constant disruption while maintaining clarity and direction, which requires a new kind of agility, one that balances experimentation with a grounded purpose. I have written extensively about business agility as a foundation for strong businesses. This used to be a differentiator; it is now a survival strategy.
Leadership Recommendation: Adopt the mindset of a scientist to become more adaptable. Encourage rapid learning, empower teams to make decisions and embrace iteration. At the same time, anchor your organization in a clear purpose and values. Agility without direction leads to chaos; agility with purpose leads to innovation.
In addition to organizational agility, we need leaders who have the capacity to sustain personal agility. This requires leaders to build anti-fragile resilience, where leaders actually become better based on the stresses they face. Pairing the agility of a scientist with the precision of an engineer can transform bold ideas into tangible solutions through disciplined design and dependable systems.
Middle managers are the glue that holds organizations together, yet their roles are under pressure. As AI automates routine tasks, managers must shift from oversight to coaching, development and culture-building. This shift is profound, and it requires support.
Leadership Recommendation: Invest in redefining and re-skilling your managers. Help them adopt the seven mindsets required to lead and manage in dynamic times. Next, determine the framework that supports your development journey and implement it consistently within your organization. Clarify expectations, provide coaching and feedback tools and create communities of practice.
Managers are your culture carriers; equip them to lead with purpose and make a lasting impact.
Increasing power demands, climate resilience and sustainability are no longer side initiatives; they’ve become central to long-term success. Stakeholders, from investors to employees, expect leaders to take meaningful action. The challenge lies in aligning sustainability with business outcomes.
Leadership Recommendation: Integrate sustainability into your core strategy. Sustainability can cover a broad range of topics, from the circular economy to navigating climate change. Set measurable goals, tie them to financial performance and communicate progress transparently.
Lead with a transformational mindset; your legacy will be shaped by how you respond to current and future sustainability challenges.
In a polarized and fragmented world, leaders must be more than decision-makers; they must be unifiers. People are craving connection, meaning and trust. The most effective leaders are those who bring people together around shared purpose and values. They develop trust and communicate authentically across multiple stakeholder groups.
Leadership Recommendation: Be intentional about cultivating a strong, cohesive organization. Confirm and reinforce rituals that reinforce belonging, foster community, celebrate shared wins and navigate conflict with grace. Lead with humility and courage. In times of division, unity is a strategic advantage.
As change continues to accelerate and as stakes rise, tenures shorten and individual decisions change the trajectories of careers, it is crucial for leaders to evolve their leadership algorithms continually. That means adapting how you think about leadership and your actions to meet the current challenges. As leaders, we co-create the future our organizations experience.
Source: Forbes