If you’re planning your 2026 leadership development strategy right now, you’re hearing a lot about AI. In fact, it might feel overwhelming. How do you know where to invest—especially when budgets are tight?
Let’s simplify things: AI has real value in leadership development. But it’s not a magic solution. When we implement our New Lens® platform with clients or provide other services (like coaching), we get a firsthand look at what’s actually working—and what’s not—across a variety of industries. So, as you finalize your 2026 L&D plans, let me share some insights on AI in leadership development that I hope will save you time, money and stress as you equip your people to lead through these change-filled times.
Where AI Delivers Value
AI excels at tasks that are data-intensive, repetitive and scale-dependent. In leadership development, that means:
Content delivery and logistics. AI can schedule learning modules, send reminders, track completion rates and adapt content sequences based on learner progress. It handles the administrative scaffolding that used to eat up program coordinators’ time.
Initial knowledge transfer. For foundational concepts—emotional intelligence, delegation, meeting facilitation—AI can deliver consistent, accessible content to hundreds or thousands of learners simultaneously.
Data analysis and reporting. AI can quickly identify patterns across cohorts, flag engagement issues and surface which modules resonate most with different learner groups. This helps you refine programs faster than manual analysis ever could.
The Critical Leadership Skills AI Can't Teach
But here’s where I’m worried many organizations will make expensive mistakes in their 2026 planning. On its own, AI cannot develop the most critical leadership capacities your organization needs.
One big shortcoming of AI is that contextual judgment requires lived experience. AI struggles with ambiguity. It can process enormous amounts of data, but it interprets that data rigidly. Leadership decisions, on the other hand, depend heavily on context: organizational culture, team dynamics, individual circumstances and ethical considerations that aren’t easily codified into algorithms.
When your leaders need to decide how hard to push the team, whether to escalate an issue or not, whether to follow established processes or make an exception—that requires the kind of contextual wisdom that comes from actual human experience, not data analysis.
Making Smart Investment Decisions for 2026
What does this mean for your 2026 planning? Here’s how to think about it:
Your 2026 leadership strategy should not start with decisions about technology. Instead, first determine the leadership capabilities your organization actually needs (for most companies, those capabilities include strategic thinking, emotional intelligence, change leadership and team building). Then determine which tools best support that development—whether they use AI or not.
Complement that learning with human connection and real practice opportunities. For example, an AI platform might deliver foundational content on how to delegate. But then leaders join peer cohorts where they discuss the real delegation challenges they’re facing, practice difficult conversations and hold each other accountable for applying what they’re learning. The AI handles the “what”; humans handle the “how” and the “why.”
Plan for continuous learning, not one-time training events. The business landscape keeps changing. Leaders need ongoing development, not annual workshops. AI can support continuous micro-learning that leaders can access when they need it.
This is exactly the approach we’ve taken with New Lens. Our platform uses technology to deliver customized development plans and make learning accessible anytime, anywhere—but the real transformation happens through peer cohorts, practical application and connection with others facing similar challenges.
Looking Ahead
AI will continue advancing. But the fundamentals of leadership development won’t change: Your people will still develop leadership capacity through challenge, reflection, practice, feedback and connection with others who are also growing.
Your 2026 strategy should use AI where it genuinely adds value—efficiency, scale, accessibility, data analysis. But don’t forget the human elements: meaningful practice, honest feedback, peer learning and the kind of authentic connection that builds trust.
If you would like to talk in more depth about determining the capabilities your leaders need most or how your leadership development programs should take shape in 2026, just drop us a note. We have the deep experience to identify your organization’s challenges, plus a full toolbox of solutions—New Lens, executive coaching and more.
Don’t wait for performance to drop before taking action. Discover how the New Lens® platform helps organizations support managers with bite-sized, actionable learning—built for today’s fast-paced, high-stress environments.