Leading in an AI Age: Forward Thinking

The importance of forward thinking for modern leaders

In this blog series, we’re exploring four core capabilities that define AI-ready leaders. In our previous blog, we looked at the importance of people leadership. Here, we focus on why successful leaders are not those who simply react well to change, but those who can anticipate it, reframe it, and use it to create progress.

AI can accelerate analysis, automate routine tasks, and generate options but it cannot create a future-focused perspective, shift a team’s mindset, or turn disruption into momentum. That remains a distinctly human leadership advantage. Forward thinking leaders will keep teams moving forward with energy and optimism, even when the path is not fully clear.

Core competencies that define forward thinking

Using data from 1,600 leaders, SHL’S AI Leadership Profile identified two core competencies that define forward thinking leaders: ‘Imagines & innovates’ and ‘embraces challenges & adapts'.

Imagines and innovates

This competency is about rethinking current ways of working, using creativity to improve systems, and setting a clear vision of the future. AI-ready leaders challenge assumptions, explore better approaches, and use new technology to make work more efficient and effective.

When this capability is strong, leaders help others understand where the organization is going and help create direction for future success. Our analysis showed that just over 40% of Senior Executive and C-Suite leaders scored highly in this competency, compared to just over 30% of senior managers, and just over 20% of manager/supervisor-level leaders. This shows the need for development across the board, but particularly among lower-level leadership where innovation is weakest.

Embraces challenges and adapts

This competency is about staying calm, hopeful, and decisive when plans change. AI-ready leaders do not view setbacks as failures; they see them as stretching challenges that call for new thinking.

They can reframe problems, adjust quickly, and continue business growth without losing confidence. That resilience matters in fast-moving environments where strategies, markets, and priorities can shift overnight.

This competency showed the biggest gender variation, with 31% of men scoring highly compared with 44% of women. That suggests organizations should pay close attention to how they define, assess, and develop adaptability, because there may be meaningful differences in how this capability appears across talent groups.

What assessment data can reveal

Assessment data gives organizations a clearer view of whether someone truly has the ingredients of a forward-thinking leader. Rather than relying on someone’s reputation as “strategic” or “agile,” assessments can show how strongly they demonstrate future orientation, innovation, adaptability, and positive problem-solving.

That insight matters for several reasons. It can help identify people with genuine leadership potential before they are asked to lead through major change. It can also show where development should focus; for example, whether someone needs to become more effective at communicating vision, or more resilient when plans shift.

For HR, this kind of insight is valuable because it moves the conversation from general leadership potential to specific, evidence-based skills development.

Developing forward thinkers to provide a leadership edge

Development often starts with widening the role of innovation. Instead of being the only source of ideas, effective AI-ready leaders create space for others to experiment, challenge existing methods, and learn from what does and does not work. They also become stronger when they can turn disruptions into learning stories that help others to respond better next time.

Organizations can strengthen innovation by giving leaders opportunities to lead change and test new approaches, building confidence in thinking differently with small experiments before moving to larger-scale transformation projects.

Developing the ability to embrace challenges and adapt requires practice in real pressure moments. Leaders benefit from support that helps them pause, think, and respond with clarity rather than reacting defensively. Reflection after change is especially powerful, because it helps leaders turn difficult experiences into reusable insight.

With the right data, and development, organizations can empower leaders to utilize AI at work, looking ahead, innovating with purpose, and staying composed when the unexpected happens. This makes forward thinking a critical future capability.

Learn more about how SHL can help you identify and develop future-ready leaders.