The Leadership Reset

Artificial intelligence is creating a fundamental shift in how organisations create value. It changes the very way we can achieve our objectives.

That means we cannot simply graft AI onto old structures, processes, and leadership models. To capture its potential, there is an opportunity (or need) for leaders need to refound their organisations: Resetting leadership energy, breaking outdated patterns, and anchoring their company around outcomes that matter.

For leaders, this means shifting from custodian to entrepreneur, from siloed leaders to one team with shared outcomes, from committees to mobilisers of energy.

A Refounder’s playbook for the AI age

1. Anchor in outcomes, not processes

AI has a tendency to generate activity - endless pilots, dashboards, and proofs-of-concept. But activity is not impact.

“The trap is confusing activity with impact,” notes Danique Wagemaker. “A refounder leader asks: Did this reduce customer wait times? Did it increase retention? Did it free employees for higher-value work?”

Success is measured by business and human outcomes - customer experience, growth, productivity - not by the number of models deployed.

2. Challenge Conventions - Solve for the Real Problem

Refounder leaders refuse to accept surface fixes. They go beyond patching symptoms and confront what’s really holding the business back.

Many organisations throw AI at pain points - automate a process, reduce a cost line, patch a journey - without asking: what’s the root cause?

“There are constraints you must respect, like security or compliance,” says Alex Astley. “But then there are ‘made-up rules’ — habits or assumptions that slow everything down.”

Refounder leaders:

• Distinguish between constraints worth keeping (ethics, reliability) and artificial barriers.
• Surface root causes of inertia, even if uncomfortable.
• Break system mechanics that constrain customers, employees, or stakeholders — not just outdated processes.

3. Lead with decisions

AI transformation is full of trade-offs. Should we automate today’s processes, or invest in tomorrow’s customer innovations?

“Leaders should lead with decisions, not processes,” argues Victor Hoong. “Every choice needs to be framed as an outcome trade-off: if we invest here, this accelerates; if not, we delay it. And equally important: deciding what not to do.”

Courageous clarity means making the hard calls and focusing energy where it matters most. Clarity is created as much by subtraction as by addition.

4. Energise Collaboration - build trust to tackle real challenges

AI spans every function, but leaders often behave like competitors defending their turf. Refounder leaders reframe collaboration as co-entrepreneurship: shared accountability for outcomes, not siloed ownership.

“Refounder leaders act as co-entrepreneurs. They create energising forums where leaders solve problems together, not just update each other,” says Wagemaker.

But collaboration requires more than structure - it requires safety.

“For leaders to make real decisions together, they first need to feel like a team. Otherwise, it becomes just another update meeting,” explains Alex Astley. “If people don’t feel safe, they’ll only bring challenges they already know the answer to - or avoid exposing problems altogether.”

Refounder leaders design forums where leaders feel safe to surface real blockers, admit vulnerabilities, and co-create solutions. That trust is what turns collaboration from ritual into results.

5. Mobilise Transformation as a Movement

AI adoption cannot be run as a compliance exercise. It must feel like a movement.

“People don’t get inspired by compliance reports,” Wagemaker argues. “They get inspired by stories of how AI improved a customer’s life or made an employee’s job easier.”

Refounder leaders mobilise transformation as a movement: with compelling narratives, visible wins, and milestones that keep energy high. As Victor puts it:

“The way you run the transformation should already model the culture you want to build.”

The Refounder’s Checklist

If you want to start tomorrow, here are five simple actions:

• Stop one ritual that creates activity but not outcomes.
• Call out one “made-up rule” that slows you down.
• Frame your next AI investment as a clear decision trade-off.
• Host one conversation where leaders surface real blockers.
• Share one story of AI impact that inspires movement.

Closing Thought

The age of AI makes yesterday’s leadership models obsolete. Custodianship, silos, and process obsession no longer serve us.

The leaders who thrive will be those who anchor in outcomes, solve root problems instead of symptoms, make courageous decisions, build trust for deep collaboration, and mobilise transformation as a movement.

As Danique Wagemaker concludes:
“In the age of AI, the job of a leader is not just to keep the machine running. It’s to reinvent the business again and again.”