Turning the vision of what C-Suite leaders expect AI to deliver into reality requires more than enthusiasm for new technology. Unlocking the business value of AI requires leaders to redesign how work gets done while continuously upskilling their workers and providing opportunities to develop AI capabilities.
The scale of potential economic benefits for businesses that adopt AI is significant. Government data shows that around 70% of UK workers are in occupations containing tasks AI could potentially perform or enhance, with many in roles where AI could complement human expertise and improve productivity.
Although the opportunity is clear, turning it into measurable business value is proving to be a headache.
Gaps in Leadership Capability and Workforce Skills are Creating Roadblocks
Many C-Suite leaders can see where AI can take the business, but the challenge is translating that ambition into day-to-day work.
Government survey findings on AI skills show that many employers are not confident in the capability of their senior leadership teams when it comes to AI. Only 36% consider their leaders to have a ‘good’ understanding of how AI is used in their industry, and the proportion drops to 34% when asked to rate their leaders’ ability to identify new opportunities to use AI in the business.
AI is also reshaping the skills your workers require, and there’s a challenge to ensure your workforce can adapt to rapid, uneven, and uncertain technological change. The Skills England 2026 report argues that although upskilling and reskilling are key to supporting the transition of the workforce and realising the potential productivity gains from AI, inequities in access to relevant skills and training still persist.
The gaps in leadership capability and workforce skills are leaving organisations in a pickle. Leaders expect faster decisions, greater productivity and better output from AI, but employees are still working out how to use these tools safely, accurately and effectively.
You can’t close such gaps by simply throwing money at another AI platform. The organisation needs to understand what employees need to succeed with it and have leaders who can steer them in the right direction.
AI Performance Gains Depend on How Work Changes
AI adoption doesn’t automatically improve productivity. Instead of simply introducing AI into the existing ways of working, leaders must reshape skills, roles and workforce strategy around it.
The CIPD emphasises that organisations need stronger workforce planning and skills development to capture the benefits of AI. It highlights gaps in confidence when leaders and HR professionals are required to step up and rethink how work gets done. Among HR leaders, only one third feel confident estimating future workforce needs created by AI, while 40% feel confident designing reskilling pathways, and 46% feel confident leading job redesign.
You may also have senior leaders who are less confident in communicating AI strategy clearly or understanding the legal responsibilities that come with AI use. This is where your AI programmes lose momentum.
Employees receive a new tool, but their objectives remain unchanged. Processes stay the same, approval chains remain slow, and performance measures still reward the old way of working. The technology becomes another layer rather than a genuine improvement.
C-suite leaders must ask what work should look like once AI becomes part of it. Which tasks can AI remove? Which responsibilities should change? Where can employees spend the time saved? Job design needs to become part of the AI conversation from the start, and it can help move the conversation from technology adoption to business performance.
Your Workforce Needs More Than AI Training to be Ready
A common response when organisations are faced with an AI capability gap is to launch training, and although it has a role, it can’t solve every problem.
Skills England argues that only a small number of workers need specialist technical skills. The majority requires practical AI literacy, including the ability to use, verify, and safely integrate AI tools. Workers also need communication, critical thinking and analytical skills to use AI effectively and responsibly.
The government’s employer research shows that among organisations with employees working with AI, only 45% rate their staff as good at writing clear prompts. Around 57% rate them as good at judging the accuracy and reliability of AI-generated information.
Such capabilities become increasingly important as AI moves into higher-value work.
Your employees need to understand when AI can help, when its output needs checking, and when human judgement should take over.
C-Suite Leaders Need a Clearer Workforce Plan
The first step is to stop treating AI as a technology programme sitting separately from workforce planning. C-suite leaders should identify how AI will change specific roles and tasks across the business. This requires you to look beyond headcount and ask what capabilities will become more important over the next two to three years.
Once you’ve identified them, the next task is to determine where they’ll come from. You can fill some gaps through development, but others will require recruitment. Senior appointments may also require external search, particularly when you need experience leading AI-enabled transformation rather than technical expertise alone.
The labour market has become increasingly competitive for top talent, and there’s a growing value for roles that combine AI expertise with human judgement, leadership and creativity. That combination is difficult to hire if the brief is too narrow.
Bring HR Into AI Decisions Earlier
AI decisions often begin outside HR, but their impact reaches across the organisation. Early involvement gives HR a chance to influence workforce planning, job design and reskilling before decisions become fixed.
Instead of bringing in HR once the technology has been selected and asking how employees should be trained, the board should include them earlier so they can help shape the workforce strategy alongside the investment case. That means asking HR questions such as where capability gaps will appear, which roles need redesign, and which leaders can take the organisation through the transition.
Measure Whether AI Is Actually Improving Performance
AI adoption figures can make an impressive board presentation, but they won’t necessarily tell you whether the business is performing better.
Leaders should track whether AI is improving productivity, quality, decision-making, customer outcomes or employee capacity. They should also monitor where employees struggle to use new tools effectively.
The UK government’s AI labour market assessment warns that evidence on firm-level productivity remains limited and many reported benefits are self-assessed. It also notes organisations may experience an adjustment period as they experiment, integrate AI into workflows and train employees.
This makes measurement essential, as it helps you distinguish between activity and impact.
Novo’s Perspective
The biggest AI challenge for many organisations isn’t access to technology but the gap between what leaders expect AI to deliver and what the workforce can and is prepared to do with it.
Better outcomes come when organisations redesign work, build capability and give leaders a stronger understanding of how AI will change their workforce. C-suite leaders must treat AI readiness as a leadership and workforce issue, not simply a technology investment.
At Novo Executive, we believe the organisations that gain the most won’t necessarily be those adopting AI fastest, but the ones making the organisational changes needed to turn AI capability into better performance.
