FROM RELUCTANCE TO READINESS: WHAT BOARD LEADERS REALLY THINK ABOUT AI
July 2025 Edition - Written by Lottie O’Conor
Deloitte's latest report on the governance of AI offers a snapshot of a business landscape that remains, in many ways, worryingly resistant to technological change. The report, which surveyed 700 board directors and executives across 56 countries, clearly demonstrate that “AI transformation is still in its early stages,” but concedes that there is “a growing impetus for action.”
The rapid rise of AI in the past year has raised multiple questions - many around risk, data protection and the impact of this technology on both skills and the job market as a whole. Media fear mongering has played a significant role in our collective reluctance to accept the scope and impact that AI will inevitably have on the way we do business. This feeling was evident in the survey results: nearly 1/3 of respondents said that AI is not even on the board agenda; the same percentage said that their organisation was not currently ready to deploy AI.
Results from Russell Reynolds’ H1 2025 Global Leadership Monitor sheds further light on leaders’ “increasingly complex views on GenAI.” The survey offered a more positive view overall, with 64% of respondents excited about “AI’s potential to create new revenue streams in their organisation.” Concerns remain however around AI’s impact on critical skills, and whether over-reliance could affect employee’s abilities to “develop critical thinking and judgment.”
Leaders are right to be concerned about the possible impacts of AI, from layoffs to skills gaps, but there is also much to gain. Only by committing to a forward-thinking, open minded approach can we stay one step ahead of these sweeping technological advances.
The question is not, should AI and its role in the organisation be part of the board's agenda. We are beyond that point - this technology not only exists, but is already so embedded into the way we work that companies that do not take it seriously and embrace its capabilities risk being left flagging, while their competitors storm ahead. The Russell Reynolds survey revealed that 82% of all leaders agree: “A strong understanding of generative AI will be a required skill for future C-suite members.”