The Executive Edge (Q2 2025): AI as a Teammate, Strategic Planning Amid Uncertainty, and Skills in Demand

Stay ahead with insights from The Executive Edge. Join the Michigan Ross Executive Education mailing list to receive the next edition directly in your inbox.

Join the Mailing List

AI as a Teammate

• Business Insider: AI assistants are popping up in meetings. Etiquette experts say be ready to ditch them if a coworker isn't comfortable.
• Fast Company: Microsoft thinks AI colleagues are coming soon
• HR Dive: Half of Gen Z ChatGPT users say they view it as a co-worker, survey shows
• KPMG: Trust, attitudes and use of artificial intelligence: A global study 2025
• Michigan Ross Executive Education: Why Human-AI Collaboration Starts With Leadership
• Salesforce News: New Slack Research: Daily AI Usage Among Workers Surges 233%
• SHRM: CHROs Are Pivotal Players as CEOs Double Down on AI
• Yahoo Finance: Goldman tech chief says AI agents will be your next coworkers

Headline Highlights: AI is quickly becoming a part of daily work routines, from note-taking assistants in meetings to co-creating content. New research suggests younger generations often already see AI as not just a tool, but a teammate. Another global survey found that more than half of workers are using AI without telling their managers, highlighting a growing gap between adoption and oversight. As usage surges, questions around etiquette, trust, and leadership are rising, posing new challenges for business and HR leaders.
 

Expert Perspective from Monica Worline, Lecturer of Management and Organizations, Faculty Director of the Center for Positive Organizations, Michigan Ross:

What are some ways leaders can help their teams view AI as a teammate, and not a threat?

So many people are reading headlines about AI that lead to sensational views of the technology and its capabilities, which is one source of threat. It is helpful for leaders to talk openly with teams about what kind of AI a firm is adopting and why the adoption is helpful. Along with this message about the purpose behind the adoption, it is wise for leaders to play with the AI and bring some humor, lightheartedness, and relatability to the technology. For example, to introduce an AI agent as a teammate, it’s helpful to give the agent a name and perhaps ask the AI questions you might ask a new teammate, like what kind of books do you like to keep on your bookshelf? It’s also helpful to encourage team members to ask the AI questions about collaboration, like what are your strengths and weaknesses as a team player? This type of interaction with the AI reminds people how it can be useful and where the boundaries are around its capacity.
 

What are some practical ways leaders can create the conditions for teams to explore AI together, without fear of failure?

The most practical way to foster exploration of AI together and keep it interesting and generative for a team involves designing deliberate small experiments. These can be micro use cases or key questions about functionality that are agreed with the team and run in short “sprints” of a week or two. At the end of a sprint, bring the team together to talk about what they tried as part of the experiment and what they learned from doing it. These are energetic learning spaces that foster curiosity rather than fear. Use the lessons to design another small, deliberate experiment and iterate. Using this kind of process gives you the keys to exploration without fear:

1. Shared understanding of an experimental use of AI in a limited fashion
2. Regular cadence of reflective conversation and knowledge sharing that sparks curiosity and a desire to keep learning
3. Permission to try new things with a small expectation of production but a large expectation of learning
4. Building on small wins to create a foundation of understanding and a launchpad for growth
    

Where do you see the greatest opportunity for human-AI collaboration right now?

Decades of research reveal three key drivers that can be structured into an organization’s networks and routines to cultivate thriving, meaning that the organization can produce excellent performance while also elevating human potential and wellbeing. The first key driver is higher quality connections between people, so making AI more relatable to humans and emphasizing high-quality human connections in the use of AI is essential. Without that, we won’t get human-AI collaboration at all. The second key driver is—perhaps surprisingly to many business leaders—positive emotion: think things like interest, curiosity, and grit. We have to recognize that human-AI collaboration needs to incorporate human motivation fueled by interest, enthusiasm, and even joy. In a climate of fear—which is what most people are feeling now about AI—a leader’s capacity to help people see how the technology can enhance our lives, make our work more interesting, and enable us to accomplish more of what matters to us is the greatest space opportunity and it is where the best leaders will differentiate themselves to truly shine.
 

Strategic Planning Amid Economic Uncertainty

• Axios: CEO confidence plunges at fastest rate in nearly 50 years amid trade war
• Bloomberg: US, Europe See Biggest Drop in CEO Confidence: Report
• Business Insider: CEOs haven't felt this gloomy about the economy since the pandemic
• CNBC: European businesses have never been this gloomy about China
• Forbes: The Importance Of Business Strategy In Unpredictable Times
• Fortune: How top CFOs are managing long-term strategy in ‘elevated uncertainty’
• IndustryWeek: Poll: Wait-And-See Becoming Strategy No. 1 Amid Tariff Uncertainty
• PwC: New PwC survey reveals US executives are taking action despite uncertainty from evolving policy landscape
   

Headline Highlights: CEO confidence has dropped sharply in both the US and Europe, marking the steepest decline in decades. Business leaders are facing overlapping challenges, from trade tensions and geopolitical risk to sluggish demand and uncertainty in key markets. While some companies are adopting wait-and-see strategies, others are pushing ahead with long-term plans that emphasize resilience, adaptability, and scenario-based decision-making. As uncertainty becomes the norm, the power of foresight—a key dimension of advanced strategic planning—is a critical skill for executives and leadership teams navigating this new global reality.

Expert Perspective from Sabrina Sullivan, Founder, by + by foresight:

In an environment where uncertainty is constant, how should leaders rethink traditional strategic planning methods?

I’ve spent years working alongside strategy and leadership teams who are doing their best to plan with integrity—but often using tools built for a different era. Back when the environment felt more stable, planning could afford to be linear, annual, and often inward-looking. Today, we need to rethink what we mean by planning—centering it on strategic resilience. What does that actually mean? It means shifting from planning as prediction to planning as preparation. And let me be clear: preparation is not quick, easy, or convenient. It requires deep thinking, sustained discipline, and the courage to engage with ambiguity.

I often describe it like this: planning today needs to be less like drawing a precise route on a map, and more like outfitting an expedition team. You still have a destination in mind, but you're prepared for terrain changes. You need to lead like an orienteer—scanning for signals, assessing conditions, and adjusting course with intention. The leaders who succeed in this role aren’t avoiding uncertainty. They’ve become fluent in it.

In business terms, this is about building a responsive strategy system. One that integrates scenario thinking, establishes dynamic signposts, and rehearses for a range of plausible futures—not just the most probable ones. This isn’t about abandoning discipline. It’s about applying a different kind, with strategic foresight as a leadership essential. In a world where change is constant, the real risk is sticking to a plan that assumes it won’t be.

 

In a time when many leaders are defaulting to “wait and see,” what does it take to plan boldly and responsibly?

“Wait and see” has quietly become a new risk posture. It sounds measured—even responsibly cautious. But in today’s environment, it can be one of the riskiest choices a leader can make—especially when it becomes the default. Delaying action in the hope that certainty will appear rarely works, and by the time clarity arrives, the window to lead may have closed. The leaders I respect most aren’t rushing forward with bravado. They’re intentional, working to clarify their direction and build the capacity to act early and wisely when the moment calls for it. 

I remember a conversation from the late 2010s, when exponential technologies and digital transformation were dominating headlines. A colleague estimated it would take 100 days just to get senior leaders meaningfully caught up on the shifts underway. That revealed how long it takes to build real readiness—and how easy it is to fall behind when you wait too long to engage with what’s changing.

Bold planning isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about rehearsing—exploring a range of plausible futures and practicing how you might respond. That process builds confidence, not just in your strategy, but in your ability to adapt it when the ground shifts.  I also see boldness in leaders who make space for structured divergence—scanning for unusual signals, inviting uncomfortable questions, and stress-testing assumptions that may no longer serve. That kind of exploration doesn’t eliminate uncertainty, but it does reduce the shock when disruption inevitably arrives.

 

In your experience, what’s one common mistake organizations make when responding to uncertainty, and how can they avoid it?

One mistake I often see is treating uncertainty as an interruption—something that gets in the way of the “real work” of planning, prioritization, or execution. It’s seen as noise to manage or a delay to navigate, rather than a signal to learn from. Leaders push ahead with strategies that were built for different conditions. Teams avoid revisiting assumptions because it feels destabilizing. Scenario work gets done—but rarely integrated. Even when uncertainty is acknowledged, it’s often treated as temporary.

But the reality is: uncertainty isn’t a detour. It’s the environment. The more resilient organizations I’ve worked with are the ones that treat moments of uncertainty as a cue to stop, reassess, and adapt—not with panic, but with discipline. That’s where tools like the time cone help. They provide a structure for engaging with uncertainty across different horizons—tactics, strategy, vision, and system-level shifts. When you have a shared understanding of what kind of thinking belongs where, you’re less likely to collapse everything into the short term.

Uncertainty is no longer something to minimize. It’s the raw material of leadership. The leaders who see it as a feature—not a flaw—are the ones who will rise. They use it to build resilience, explore white space, and pursue bold opportunities that others won’t even see.
 

Skills in Demand That Are Shaping Development Needs and Gaps

• Business Newswire: New Research Finds 65% of Generation Z is Eager for Professional Development and Career Growth, Challenging Stereotypes Toward Newest Members of the Workforce
• CNBC: Within 5 years, ‘70% of skills used in most jobs will change,’ LinkedIn report says—how you can keep up
• Fast Company: Let’s stop calling them ‘soft skills.’ They’re the hardest ones to master
• HR Brew: HR leaders think soft skills are more important than ever—just don’t call them ‘soft’
• HR Dive: Job seekers say there’s a training gap — not a skills gap
• Inc.: Leadership Soft Skills Could Use a Boost—Here’s How AI Can Help
• People Management: Reskilling trumps wellbeing as top HR challenge for 2025, study shows
• SHRM: Career Development Gaps Frequently Drive Employee Turnover
• World Bank Group: Soft skills training helps grow businesses in rural India
   

Headline Highlights: As job demands shift, organizations are placing greater emphasis on skills like communication, adaptability, and leadership, often labeled “soft” skills despite being difficult to master. Many HR leaders and business experts argue it’s time to move beyond the term, recognizing these capabilities as essential for individual and organizational success. While employees, especially younger generations, are eager to grow, development opportunities often lag behind. With reskilling now a top HR priority, companies are rethinking how to close the gap and build the capabilities that matter most.

Expert Perspective from Shawn Quinn, Executive Education Faculty Director, Michigan Ross

What do you see as the most critical capabilities organizations will need to prioritize in the next few years?

While centuries worth of data have continued to demonstrate that soft skills set people apart, many organizations still treat them as “nice to have” because they’re harder to measure and link directly to the bottom line. Right now, every organization is racing to build AI fluency—and they should. Technical skills will always matter, but they are teachable and they evolve rapidly. The tougher, long‑term challenge is the human side of work—collaboration, conflict resolution, and leadership—especially for younger generations who’ve had fewer opportunities to practice these skills. Remote work adds another wrinkle: it can sidestep opportunities to develop those interpersonal muscles essential for growth.

The urgency is underscored by LinkedIn’s projection that 70% of the skills used in most jobs will change by 2030. Leaders can’t plan their way to a perfect future state. They must guide people through an emergent process—unifying employees around a shared vision, crafting flexible strategies, and being willing to adapt as they learn. And employees want to learn, yet when uncertainty hits, training and leadership development budgets are often the first to go. Forward‑thinking companies resist that instinct. They know that investing in people—not just their technical skills, but their ability to lead, collaborate, and innovate—pays back in loyalty and long‑term performance.

Finally, leaders must recognize the emotional weight of all this change. The next generation of leaders will need the skills to help people process uncertainty, move out of self‑protection, and step into a mindset of possibility and creation. Those capabilities—human, durable, and deeply needed—will define organizational success in the years ahead.

 

How do you see AI changing the types of human skills that will be most valuable? 

AI is changing what it means to “add value” at work. As automation takes over repetitive, procedural, and even analytical tasks, the spotlight shifts to the capabilities only humans bring. One is cognitive flexibility. In an AI-driven workplace, roles and required skills won’t stay static. The real differentiator will be the ability to pivot, connect insights across disciplines, and learn your way into new situations. Leaders will need to help people build that muscle—through experiences that force them to adapt, experiment, and think across boundaries.

AI also increases the need for relational intelligence. The more work is mediated by technology, the more powerful it becomes to create trust, defuse tension, and lead teams through the human side of change. Remote and hybrid work have already stretched these skills, and AI will amplify that trend. Then there’s the issue of judgment. AI can generate options, synthesize data, and offer predictions—but it can’t weigh trade-offs in messy, value-driven situations. Organizations that thrive will teach their leaders and teams to pause, ask better questions, and navigate those gray zones responsibly.

Finally, there’s a hidden risk: overreliance on AI can subtly erode people’s own thinking. When the tool always has an “answer,” it’s tempting to stop interrogating the problem. Critical thinking and curiosity will become protective skills. Companies will need to actively create space for debate, reflection, and even healthy skepticism to keep those abilities alive. In short, AI isn’t eliminating the need for human skills; it’s rewriting which ones matter most. The future won’t belong to the people who can out-code AI—it will belong to those who can think, connect, and lead in the spaces where AI stops.

 

How can leaders move beyond short-term upskilling and invest in long-term talent capabilities? 

Organizations today face a set of positive tensions when it comes to developing their talent. An encouraging shift is that Gen Z is deeply motivated to learn and grow—far more than the stereotypes suggest. In an era where AI and other disruptions are reshaping traditional career paths, this hunger for growth is a gift—because linear paths don’t make much sense anymore. But there’s a catch. As Deloitte notes, two‑thirds of managers report that new hires have skills but lack the experience to apply them. In other words, experience—not technical skill—is now the real gap. Leaders can bridge it by turning learning into lived experience: offering short, frequent cycles of practice, experimentation, and reflection, rather than relying on one‑off projects. Running multiple cycles of try‑reflect‑refine before introducing new concepts ultimately builds deep, lasting capability.

There’s also the reality that many employees now expect to stay in a role for only 18–24 months before moving on in search of growth. That desire for new experiences brings energy into organizations—but there’s a downside when people leave before seeing the impact of their decisions or contributing to long‑term initiatives. Leaders need to help employees understand that growth doesn’t always mean leaving, and can reframe growth by creating development opportunities within roles and encouraging internal mobility across functions, giving employees fresh experiences without weakening continuity.

Ultimately, leaders will need to hold both truths at once: honoring what’s good for individuals and creating shared expectations about what’s best for the organization. That means investing in the long‑term capabilities that make employees—and the business—future‑ready: sustained learning experiences, cross‑functional growth, and cultures where engagement and connection are strong and development is continuous. In doing so, they can transform today’s tensions into the foundation for the next generation of leadership.

 

Get in Touch with Michigan Ross Executive Education 

Whether you are considering executive development for yourself, someone on your team, or a group within your organization, Michigan Ross is committed to your short—and long-term success. Connect with us to see how we can work together to reach your goals.

Get in Touch