How technology can accelerate the leadership journey of next-gen leaders
Every senior leader I meet—whether in a boardroom in Bengaluru, a startup hub in Chennai, or a CEO retreat in Singapore—shares the same worry. The leadership pipeline is thinning. The first line is often strong: functional heads, seasoned managers, directors who know the business well. But the second line? That is where the silence falls.
We expect Gen Z, and soon Gen Alpha, to fill that gap. They are bright, digital-first, and fearless in experimentation. But leadership is not built on digital fluency alone. It requires judgment, resilience, and confidence—qualities that usually take years to grow. The question is: can AI accelerate that journey?
Part One: AI as a Coach for Gen Z and Gen A
In my book The Founder Catalyst, I argued that every CEO needs a mentor. Feedback and course correction cannot wait for an annual review; it has to be continuous. The same holds true for young leaders. AI can step into this role—not replacing human mentors, but acting as an always-on coach.
1. Practice Before It Matters
Harvard Kennedy School research shows that behaviour in AI-led simulations often predicts how the same individual performs in real groups. In short: practising leadership with AI makes you better at practising it with people. AI provides safe spaces to try tough conversations, rehearse boardroom pitches, or negotiate under pressure—without the career risk of failing in public.
2. Build by Doing
Gen Z and Gen A are builders. They don’t want to just consume; they want to create. Razorpay understood this and did something unusual: they asked every leader—finance, HR, marketing—to build something with AI, not just the engineers. No spectators, only hands-on creation. The head of marketing won by prototyping an AI-powered customer support tool. The lesson was not the tool, but the shift in confidence. Leaders began asking: “Why should this take three weeks? I can do this in a day with AI.”
3. Everyday Empowerment
Leadership is not only about big strategy moments; it is about everyday initiative. At Zerodha, a business analyst—not an engineer—used AI to automate accounting checks, freeing up hours. That small act is what second-line initiative looks like when empowered. With AI, even non-technical leaders can step up, experiment, and contribute beyond their job description.
4. Feedback Without Delay
This is where AI truly shines. Imagine a 24/7 sparring partner: always available, always patient, never judgmental. With data drawn from emails, calls, presentations, and projects (handled responsibly and with consent), young leaders can get real-time insights. It’s like a coach whispering in the background, nudging them to improve.
Think of it as a feedback loop with three faces:
- Mentor – guiding and suggesting.
- Sparring partner – challenging and stress-testing.
- Mirror – reflecting back strengths and weaknesses clearly.
All three reinforce the same principle: leadership skills grow when practised, not when observed.
Part Two: How CEOs Use AI to Build the Second Line
Leadership coaching for individuals is powerful. But to solve the pipeline problem, CEOs must think in systems. AI can help here in three critical ways: hiring, mobility, and succession.
1. Smarter Hiring with Skills at the Centre
Too often, hiring depends on pedigree—degrees, titles, brand names. AI enables a shift to skills. By analysing candidates’ work samples, projects, and problem-solving patterns, AI can surface people who may not look impressive on paper but can perform and adapt in practice.
This widens the talent pool, makes hiring fairer, and ensures organisations don’t miss out on hidden gems. AI-assisted assessments can also reduce bias when designed carefully, focusing on skills and outcomes instead of background.
2. Internal Mobility and Talent Marketplaces
Retention is the hidden cost of leadership failure. Young employees don’t leave because of pay alone; they leave when they don’t see growth. Schneider Electric faced this problem head-on. They launched an AI-powered internal “open talent marketplace.” Within two months, 60% of employees had signed up, unlocking 127,000 hours of hidden talent. Thousands explored new roles inside instead of leaving.
Practical moves for any CEO:
- List ten real projects needing help for four to six weeks.
- Let AI match volunteers by skills and goals.
- Recognise managers who release talent for these gigs—they are building your bench.
Mobility lets young leaders “try before they leap.” They test themselves, find fit, and build networks across functions. And the organisation saves both time and trust.
3. Succession as a Living System
Succession is not about filling a chart with names. It is about ensuring the organisation is ready when leadership gaps appear. AI allows succession planning to become real-time:
- Tracking skills and leadership readiness across levels.
- Predicting who could step into new roles.
- Simulating scenarios—who can lead if a key person leaves suddenly.
This makes succession dynamic and evidence-driven, not a once-a-year ritual. As Google DeepMind’s Nicky Vallelly puts it: “Gen Z values learning and development opportunities. If you’re not investing in their growth, you will not hold them.” AI makes that investment visible and consistent.
Balancing AI with Human Leadership
Let’s be clear: AI cannot replace human qualities. Leadership still needs empathy, ethics, and wisdom. Gartner calls the most effective leaders of the future “Human Leaders”—authentic, empathetic, adaptive. AI can sharpen skills, but only human mentors can model care, trust, and flexibility in the real world.
The role of the CEO is to set these ground rules:
- Use AI for data and insights.
- Ensure transparency and fairness in every process.
- Keep humans responsible for final judgment.
Three steps you can begin tomorrow:
- Adopt skills-based hiring and experiment. Move beyond degrees and titles, and run small AI pilots—mock interviews, leadership simulations, or feedback loops.
- Make growth visible. Build an internal marketplace, even simple at first. Map who is ready, who is next, and support them.
- Model what machines cannot. Authenticity, empathy, adaptability—these must come from leaders themselves.
Reflection
The leadership pipeline is thinning, but the tools to fix it are here. For Gen Z and Gen A, AI is a mentor, sparring partner, and mirror. For CEOs, it is a system for fairer hiring, smarter mobility, and living succession.
The future will belong to leaders who learn to work with AI—not as a crutch, but as a partner in growth. With AI as coach and CEOs as enablers, tomorrow’s leaders can step forward—with confidence and clarity.
