Where Are All the Great AI Leaders?

As AI becomes our easiest source of information, the leaders who once prided themselves on having all the answers are seeing that edge rapidly disappear. But great leadership has never been about being the smartest person in the room.

AI has leveled the playing field by making information even more abundant and accessible to all. But it can’t create or replace distinctly human strengths like leadership. As a result, great leadership has become more valuable, not less. And to truly compete in an AI world, leaders must actively build high-trust cultures where those uniquely human capabilities can shine.

Two-thirds of employees have low confidence in the quality of today’s leaders, while only 42% say they trust their own leaders.

FranklinCovey · where are all the great leaders?

The Magnifier Effect of AI in Leadership

AI serves as a magnifier, amplifying and intensifying what already exists inside an organization. When confidence and trust are low, AI significantly enhances those effects. 

A recent Harvard report reveals a concerning pattern: Leaders who are given AI tools to augment their judgment are all too willing to defer to the tool that provides narrative context, even when the tool is wrong. The perceived “algorithmic authority” of these AI tools can cause leaders to implicitly trust the machine over an expert panel or even their own experience. 

In other words, the AI tools end up degrading leaders’ judgment—the very skill the tool was designed to support in the first place. We’ve also found that the more frequently people use AI in their work, the more likely they are to trust the AI’s answers over the judgment of their managers and their colleagues.

Not only are some leaders placing too much trust in AI tools, but they’re failing to build trust with their teams. Our own research reveals the fragile foundation of trust across organizations: 

• Two-thirds of employees have low confidence in the quality of today’s leaders. 

• Only 42% of employees say they trust their own leaders. 

• Fewer than 7% of teams describe their trust level as world-class. 

While the rapid advancement of AI is disruptive, the tools themselves aren’t introducing these issues. They’ve been there all along. When confidence and trust are already low, AI accelerates hesitation and uncertainty. Instead of collaborating with others or trusting their own experience, people in these environments default to a tool they know will provide validation.  

The takeaway here isn’t “leaders must avoid using AI tools at all costs.” Instead, it’s “leaders must use AI tools mindfully, and never as a substitute for truly great leadership.”

That way, AI can give further support to the human capabilities that already exist instead of trying and failing to make up the shortfall.

AI’s power and potential have merely revealed and magnified the need for skills that no computer can replicate, like clarity, judgment, character, and trust. And rather than being the one with all the answers, the leaders who have the courage to ask the right questions—and empower their people to safely take risks, utilize judgment, and contribute their best ideas—will be the ones who win out.  

Trust is Foundational, Not Optional 

Although it’s often and unfairly labeled as a “soft skill,” trust is an organization’s operational infrastructure. In high-trust environments, costs decrease while speed and productivity consistently increase. Our analysis shows that high-trust organizations see a measurable performance impact, including: 

But research shows that, despite its importance, trust remains woefully underdeveloped in today’s organizations. The 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer revealed that while 73% of people believe CEOs are obligated to build trust, only 44% believe they’re doing it well. A 2026 study by staffing company Howdy found that 42% of workers say their CEOs are held to lower behavioral standards than the average employee, and one in six employees say their leaders have made five or more decisions they don’t understand this year. What’s more, 82% of respondents in a U.S. News and World Report survey said that the values held by today’s business leaders aren’t aligned with those of everyday Americans.

Inside an organization, this absence of trust places severe limits on what people are willing to contribute during times of change and uncertainty. When you add new and potentially job-threatening technology into the mix, it’s no surprise that people hesitate.  

Rolling out a new AI tool isn’t enough to guarantee results. It’s what your leaders do (and specifically, the trust they build with their teams) that determine AI outcomes. 

How Great Leaders Build Trust and Accelerate AI Results 

Just as AI can’t act as a substitute for great leadership, it also can’t be treated as a proxy for great teams. Today’s strongest leaders understand that AI works best when human and machine capabilities complement, rather than replace, one another. In other words, AI works when people do. Furthermore, these leaders also know that every AI-related decision is ultimately an opportunity to build or erode trust.  

For people to experience AI as a performance amplifier, rather than a personal threat, leaders should: 

Where Trust Is High, You’ll Find Great AI Leaders  

Great AI leaders aren’t hiding somewhere in the shadows. They’re not even necessarily the tech wizards at cutting-edge AI companies. They’re the ones who are engaging in people-first, trust-rich practices. They’re the ones building environments where character and judgment guide the use of powerful tools. And they’re the ones who know that credibility comes from leading with integrity, intent, clarity, and consistency—not from having the fastest answer or projecting unwavering confidence when so much is uncertain. 

Adoption isn’t the hard part anymore. Most people are already using their favorite LLM on their own subscription or free account, whether their company sanctions it or not. Impact is what’s scarce. And impact, the kind that truly makes a difference, moves at the speed of trust. The greatest opportunity for AI in leadership belongs to the organizations that treat trust as the ultimate performance accelerator and know that, no matter how powerful, an algorithm can’t replace a leader’s judgment, character, or capabilities.