Leading Through Change in the AI First Era: The New Leadership Skillset

Heather Saulnier, Sr. Director, Technology Enablement & Portfolio Office, Western Governors University

Heather Saulnier is an operations and transformation executive with deep experience in organizational design, digital enablement and enterprise scale change. She has led modernization efforts, AI driven operational improvements and workforce transformation programs across multiple industries. Her work focuses on clarity, care and sustainable execution.

“AI reshapes work. Leadership shapes the outcome.”

Artificial intelligence is reshaping how technical organizations operate. Systems that once required months of planning now deploy in days. Teams absorb new workflows at a pace that challenges even the most stable environments. This shift raises a central question. What does effective leadership look like in an AI First organization.

Across my work leading enterprise operations and digital transformation, I have learned that technology accelerates change, but people determine whether change succeeds. AI does not reduce the need for leadership. It increases it. Teams need clarity, structure and support as AI alters expectations, tasks and long-term career paths.

A Culture of Care

A strong culture is the foundation. Research from Gartner shows that seventy eight percent of workers expect AI to change their roles within three years. Anxiety about job security is real and predictable. A culture of care is not soft. It is strategic. Successful adoption depends on trust, transparency and psychological safety. Leaders create this environment by communicating why AI is being implemented, explaining how it supports team goals, acknowledging concerns directly, giving teams space for experimentation and reinforcing that AI is meant to augment human capability. When there is trust, teams shift from resistance to curiosity. When trust is absent, even strong AI solutions fail to take hold.

Adaptive Leadership

AI driven environments also require adaptive leadership. Tools update quickly. Workflows change. Leaders must respond with clarity rather than rigidity. Adaptive leadership means recognizing operational shifts early, communicating change in small and understandable steps, modeling continuous learning and maintaining calm during rapid iteration. Teams work with more confidence when their leaders model stability in uncertain conditions.

Transformational Leadership

AI is now reshaping entire systems and the way work is organized. Leaders must review workflows end to end, adjust decision frameworks to incorporate AI generated insights, and rethink roles so humans focus on higher level contribution. Strong leadership aligns teams around shared AI goals and measures whether automation improves quality and efficiency. AI is most effective when leaders redesign systems so people can do more meaningful work.

“Strong leadership aligns teams around shared AI goals and measures whether automation improves quality and efficiency. AI is most effective when leaders redesign systems so people can do more meaningful work.”

Career development becomes even more important in this environment. McKinsey estimates that up to thirty percent of job tasks may be automated by 2030. Leaders must make sure these changes create opportunity rather than reduce it. This requires reskilling programs, clearly defined new competencies, training resources and space for employees to innovate and advance. AI should expand potential. Leaders must design the systems that allow it to happen.

These leadership qualities can be summarized as empathy, adaptability, vision and commitment to growth. Organizations that build these qualities will not only adopt AI. They will thrive with it.

At Western Governors University, our Ed Tech organization provides a practical example of how this leadership approach works in real operations. My role spans system design and delivery, operations and workforce transformation. I see every day how leadership directly affects AI adoption. Strong leadership accelerates progress. Weak leadership slows it.

WGU serves a national student population at scale. AI supports that scale. Our work uses AI to increase speed, accuracy and quality across both technical teams and learner support teams. We use AI to automate system upgrade preparation, assist project and program management, generate backlog analysis for product teams and create documentation and artifacts. In multiple areas, AI has reduced manual processing time by more than half. This gives teams time to focus on design reviews, system health and innovation rather than repetitive work.

AI also improves the experience of students, faculty and staff. Students receive more personalized support. Faculty gain clearer visibility into learner progress. Staff shift from task repetition to strategic work. In each case, AI acts as a lever for human impact, not a replacement for people.

Culture remains the accelerator. Technology alone does not create transformation. The environment matters. WGU teams work in a culture that encourages open ideation, experimentation, cross team collaboration and career growth. Teams are encouraged to bring forward ideas and test prototypes. Leadership aligns goals, clears structural barriers and ensures the support needed to move from concept to execution. This partnership between trust, technical capability and mission enables rapid adoption with measurable outcomes.

AI is changing the structure of work. Leadership determines whether people thrive within that structure. The most effective leaders use clarity, empathy, adaptability and vision to guide teams through transformation. Organizations that combine technical innovation with human centered leadership will shape the future of work.

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