Old Ways of Leadership Won’t Work in the Age of AI

Michel Koopman’s Fast Company article “Old ways of leadership won’t work in the age of AI. Change these 5 things” (Sept 23, 2026) argues that AI is rewriting authority itself.

He recounts overriding a superior AI recommendation out of ego, then realizing—after talking with Microsoft’s Michael Jabbour—that every new AI tool changes who decides more than what gets decided. Leadership is shifting from directing people to designing systems for how humans and machines think together. The first practical change: stop managing tasks and start building decision systems.

Leaders can no longer outspeed AI on insight; they must control how those insights are used and who has the rights to act on them.

Our book, Designed for Volatility (available on Amazon on November 2nd) treats AI as a full exam of the enterprise, not a tech race. It exposes weak data, unclear decision rights, brittle workflows, and fragile metrics—then turns that exposure into redesign.

It is the playbook that directly supports Koopman’s thesis:

Decision systems over tasks. We move decision rights closer to the work and design the guidance system, escalation rules, and human–AI handoffs.

Four operating moves. See the fragility, Protect the core, Build the option portfolio (small bets + kill rules), and Hold a 90-day cadence turn AI’s disruptions into continuous improvement.

Leadership as system design. Strategy becomes a guidance system; communication becomes infrastructure; consequences are tied to incentives. Leaders are valued for the quality of the human–machine architecture they create, not personal task mastery.

Koopman articulates the why. Designed for Volatility supplies the shared language and practical playbook so volatility—including AI—makes the organization stronger.

Full article: https://lnkd.in/evQip9Df