Leadership focus shifts from AI anxiety to building trust
Executive anxiety over artificial intelligence (AI) is a distraction from essential leadership skills like trust-building, according to Egon Zehnder. Strategic trust is seen as more valuable by boards than AI fluency alone.
The pervasive fear among business leaders regarding artificial intelligence (AI), often termed 'FOMO' (fear of missing out), is diverting attention from more critical leadership competencies, such as building trust. This observation comes from extensive discussions with executives by the consulting firm Egon Zehnder.
According to the leader of Egon Zehnder's FinTech practice, boards increasingly favor leaders who have deliberately built strategic trust over time, rather than those who merely speak fluently about AI. While AI fluency is acquirable within months and will become commoditized, genuine trust is built over years through consistent, small interactions.
"Boards never say: 'The reason we chose her over other candidates is that she understood AI better,'" the Egon Zehnder representative notes. Instead, they observe outcomes like, "People bring him their real problems" or "Her team would walk through walls for her."
Leaders who cultivate true trust create an environment where truth travels unimpeded. Their practices include genuine curiosity about individuals beyond transactional value, addressing uncomfortable truths proactively, and openly acknowledging knowledge gaps. These qualities are vital for timely problem detection and effective decision-making.