Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming what it means to lead – and the opportunity for today’s leaders is to seize on its adoption for commercial success. In our previous blog we explored why organisations urgently need AI-powered leadership. Now we look at what this means in practice for HR leaders. To embed AI into HR strategy represents both a great opportunity and a new responsibility – to help all leaders harness AI in ways that enhance, not erode, what makes work human.

The good news is that HR is already well placed to guide this transformation. By designing strategies and actions around the five pillars outlined in our new report on AI-powered leadership, HR can become a central enabler of this transformation – one that unites human insight with intelligent technology, to drive organisational performance. 

Those AI-powered leaders working in HR also have a unique opportunity to practice what they preach. They can redefine and set the tone for AI integration by modelling these AI-powered leadership behaviours in their own work.

From principles to practice  

Based on our global research at Top Employers Institute, our AI-powered leadership report moves beyond theory to what this looks like in practice.  

Here are three of the five pillars in our blueprint – digital confidence, human-centred design and applied empathy – and what they mean for HR leaders.  

1. Digital confidence 

Digital confidence is the foundation of AI-powered leadership. It means developing enough understanding to question, evaluate and apply AI responsibly, rather than being a technology expert.

According to our research at Top Employers, only 46% of leaders have had any form of structured training in generative AI, while just 16% of employees say their organisation support skill development in this area. 

HR’s role is to narrow that gap, by embedding AI fluency into leadership development. Practical actions by HR leaders outlined in the report include introducing short, bite-sized learning modules that fit around daily routines or facilitating peer learning through AI roundtables, where leaders share real case studies and lessons learned.  

The experience of Chiesi, a certified Top Employer, shows the value of this approach. When its Global HR Analytics and HRIS team began implementing AI tools, they focused on helping leaders listen to experts, trust their teams and apply ethical judgement before making decisions. Their success lay in fostering open collaboration and building trust between human insight and data-driven intelligence.  

2. Human-centred design 

Human-centred design ensures that AI strengthens human capability rather than eroding it. It’s about aligning technology with people’s needs to create more meaningful, engaging work.  

The data is clear: high-profitability companies are 7% more likely to use AI to enhance employee experience than their lower-performing peers. These organisations see it as a lever for autonomy, purpose and connection, driving improvements in AI and employee experience.  

Certified Top Employer, NLB Komercijalna Banka in Serbia offers a powerful example. When introducing AI, the bank placed people before technology by creating AI ambassadors and governance structures that promoted trust and collaboration. Employees were empowered to shape how AI was integrated resulting in higher engagement and innovation.  

For HR leaders, human-centred design begins with practical actions, such as employee experience mapping, role-impact analysis or co-designing workshops with frontline leaders. These activities help identify where AI enhances the flow of work – and where it risks creating disconnection. By guiding human-centred design, HR can ensure technology becomes a catalyst for growth.  

3. Applied empathy  

AI makes analysis faster and communication more efficient, but it can never replace the emotional connection that employees need to feel from their leaders. Applied empathy means using AI to strengthen understanding, not to create distance. Early actions could include piloting AI-powered coaching tools, or using GPT-based simulators to help leaders practice sensitive conversations in a safe environment. 

Several organisations are already doing this. For example, some have introduced AI-powered coaching that prompts leaders through challenging scenarios, helping them refine tone, clarity and confidence. Our new report highlights that 85% of Top Employers now encourage self-reflection in leadership development, a practice linked with higher engagement and lower voluntary turnover. 

Autostrade per l’Italia offers a practical example of how AI can deepen relational leadership. The company combined survey results with AI-supported analysis of more than 4,000 open ended employee comments. The key has been in the humanity of the follow-through, where leadership discusses and acts on the findings, which drives real change and meaning for their teams. 

In the AI era, empathy is about connection with purpose. It’s about leaders using data to deepen humanity, not diminish it and HR leaders play a key enabling role in embedding this mindset across the organisation.

HR must seize the opportunity 

The time to act is now. For HR, championing the value of AI-powered leadership is both a commercial necessity and a critical part of responsible AI in HR. And it will become the means through which stronger engagement, better decision-making and more resilient performance become possible. 

The spotlight now falls on senior HR to deliver leadership in the AI era for the benefit of current and future generations. And as AI redefines work, CHROs and CPOs can themselves model AI-powered leadership – using it to augment judgment, empathy and purpose in how they lead their organisation. 

Download the full AI-powered leadership report to access the practical roadmap. See how your HR function can turn this blueprint into action.

The era of AI-powered change is well underway, redrawing the architecture of organisations faster than leaders can adapt. This is already testing their readiness to guide their people and businesses through a period of accelerated transformation. 

In parallel, market volatility, uneven economic growth, and the redeployment of talent into AI-focused, revenue-generating roles are intensifying this pressure on leaders. All of this is redefining not only what leaders need to do to respond, but also how they need to lead in 2026. 

Although the impact of AI is clear, three-quarters (74%) of employers still find it difficult to translate AI’s potential into scaled value. For those organisations that can achieve this, the benefits are clear: our own research, based on more than 2,300 Top Employers across 125 countries, shows that high-profitability companies are 7% more likely to use AI to enhance the employee experience than their lower-performing peers.

Leaders face complex, competing pressures: to drive innovation while maintaining trust, a central challenge in developing responsible AI in HR. They also need to ensure that AI serves as a catalyst for human potential, rather than a substitute for it. This requires a radically different approach – a new leadership mindset which we call “AI-powered leadership”. 

Those HR leaders failing to redesign leadership for the AI era risk building faster systems on faltering foundations, hampering commercial potential. The challenge is to offer the organisation practical ways to turn AI into more human-centred, high-performing leadership.

Our five-pillar blueprint for AI-powered leadership

AI-powered leadership redefines how leaders think and act, using technology to strengthen human values and drive resilient, high-performing organisations. Based on our global research at Top Employers Institute, our AI-powered leadership blueprint defines five interconnected pillars that all organisations can base their leadership on to thrive in the AI era. When combined, they offer a model for uniting human insight with intelligent technology to drive organisational performance with purpose. 

1. Digital confidence 

Digital confidence is foundational to build AI skills for leaders. An AI-powered leader needs the ability to question, evaluate and integrate AI responsibly, even though they are not technology experts. The most effective leaders understand when to use AI’s analytical strength to amplify human judgment. For example, in simulated market experiments within the automotive industry, AI models outperformed humans in predictable conditions but struggled during unexpected disruptions. Human knowledge and experience provided the context that algorithms lacked. 

2. Human-centred design 

AI should enhance the human experience of work. Organisations that use AI to elevate employee experience as well as efficiency, are already outperforming their peers. Evidence around organisations implementing AI highlights a trade-off: quick wins may boost efficiency, but without deliberate design where humans take the lead, it can erode long-term engagement. This shows that when technology is designed around people’s needs, engagement and innovation can grow together. 

3. Ethical stewardship 

As AI reshapes and speeds up decisions and workflows, ethics become a defining measure of leadership quality and the backbone of responsible AI in HR. Ethical stewardship means embedding fairness, transparency, and accountability into every process, at a time when concerns around trust are widespread. For example, when leaders take responsibility for how AI is used and clearly explain the principles guiding their choices, they turn technology into a source of trust rather than the source of uncertainty. 

4. Applied empathy 

AI can analyse data and respond with great efficiency, though it cannot replicate emotional connection. Leaders who combine AI insights with emotional intelligence create workplaces where communication is open and trust is strong. Some organisations, for example, use AI-powered coaching tools such as custom GPTs to help leaders improve the quality of the difficult conversations they sometimes need to have. Our own research shows that 85% of Top Employers now encourage self-reflection in leadership development, a seven-point increase from the previous year. 

5. Systems awareness 

AI-powered leaders view their organisations as dynamic systems. They anticipate how AI will reshape not only tasks but relationships, structures, and culture. Systems awareness allows leaders to guide teams through complexity. For example, it helps them recognise that a single technological decision can have ripple effects across the entire organisation. The most effective leaders balance innovation with this system-wide context, ensuring that AI enhances both collaboration and adaptability. 

HR’s big opportunity – and responsibility

For HR leaders, AI-powered leadership represents both an opportunity and a responsibility. There is an unprecedented opportunity to embed AI in HR strategy to help organisations reimagine what leadership looks like in the AI era, by embedding the five-pillar blueprint into learning, performance, and culture. 

HR leaders have an incredible opportunity to act as the catalysts of this change, empowering senior executives and boards to harness AI in ways that truly augment human potential. Those that can seize this opportunity and embrace the responsibility of AI-powered leadership will ensure that technology strengthens, rather than replaces, human insight and judgment in their organisation. 

Download our AI-powered leadership report now to see the five pillars in action – and learn how HR can lead the transformation.

The next era of leadership is here, and it’s powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI). It is redefining what it means to lead as it transforms decision-making, reshapes workforce structures, and accelerates at a pace that demands organisations adapt now.   

The challenge for leaders is no longer whether to use AI, but how to lead with it. Leaders who step up to the challenge will find success with a mindset that reinforces human values across every decision they make.   

Our latest research, AI-powered leadership: The blueprint for uniting human insight with intelligent technology to drive organisational performance, explores how HR leaders can embrace an approach that strengthens human insight by using AI.   

The blueprint for AI-powered leadership  

The report features five pillars that define successful leadership in the AI era:  

1. Digital confidence: understanding AI’s potential and limits, guiding teams with informed clarity.  

2. Human-centred design: using AI to elevate human capability, not replace it.  

3. Ethical stewardship: embedding transparency and accountability into every decision.  

4. Applied empathy: leveraging technology to strengthen human connection.   

5. Systems awareness: anticipating complexity and change to act with consistency and clarity.  

These pillars form the foundation of AI-powered leadership, a model that transforms how leaders think, decide, and act in an age of intelligent technology.  

A call for HR leaders  

For HR leaders, there is a pivotal opportunity to bring this blueprint to life for both their leaders and themselves. They can be the catalyst that ensures this leadership approach strengthens human insight and judgment in the workplace. And in so doing, they will guide their organisation towards commercial success.   

Discover how AI-powered leadership can elevate your organisation’s performance and people. Download the full report by filling out the form below.