All hail the AGENTS OF AGILITY
Artificial intelligence is transforming every industry, making it a reality that fundamentally shifts leadership demands. Technical fluency is no longer sufficient; today’s leaders must also master strategic agility and emotional intelligence, as well as possessing a high tolerance for risk, maintains Porto Business School dean José Esteves
The definition of ambidextrous leadership Ambidextrous leaders are those who can manage and balance two often opposing priorities at once: exploration and exploitation. Exploration involves experimenting with new ideas, questioning existing assumptions and embracing risk. Exploitation, on the other hand, is about refining what already works, focusing on efficiency, execution and continuous improvement. Most people and organisations tend to favour one over the other. They either become stuck in routine (too much exploitation) or chase every new trend without follow-through (too much exploration). Ambidextrous leaders, however, can toggle between these modes based on the context. That flexibility is what helps organisations stay innovative without losing focus. The idea of ambidextrous leadership originated in organisational theory, but the concept has gained traction in leadership development. It captures a core challenge of modern management: how to maintain operational excellence today while also innovating for the uncertainties of tomorrow. Cultivating an ambidextrous mindset means avoiding the ‘success trap’. This occurs when businesses become so focused on exploiting current strengths that they fail to invest in what’s next. Ambidextrous leaders help organisations avoid this trap by encouraging a mindset of continuous learning and adaptation. They help to create cultures that value both operational discipline and experimental thinking. This dual capability becomes even more critical in AI-infused environments. AI can amplify leaders’ capacity to analyse, decide
A rtificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a distant promise – it’s a present-day reality. From finance to healthcare, logistics to education, AI is transforming how industries operate, how work is performed and how leadership decisions are made. What’s needed is not only a new kind of leadership, but a new kind of learning. The leaders of tomorrow must first be ambidextrous learners today: individuals who can navigate complexity by switching between learning modes depending on the challenge at hand. It follows, therefore, that the learning environments we create must reflect this dual imperative. We need leadership that is not only adaptive and visionary, grounded and innovative, but also transformational – shaped through learning that mirrors the very challenges leaders are expected to solve.
16 Ambition • ISSUE 5 • 2025
Made with FlippingBook - Share PDF online