Picking up the conversation from last time, we were focused on Human Intelligence as AI continues to rapidly transform: from assistance with individual tasks (2022) to complex cognitive capabilities utilized to improve organizational workflows (2024), and now to physical automation ranging from individual agentic companions to industrial robots (2026). I know, mind-blowing, right? In just four years, AI has completely transformed the potential for how work gets accomplished and by whom.

And yet, research consistently confirms that the humans at the top of these organizations are not optional. McKinsey’s 2026 research on developing human leadership in the age of AI is unambiguous: generative AI cannot set aspirations, make tough calls, build trust among stakeholders, or generate truly new ideas. Those remain deeply human responsibilities, and more important to get right than ever, given the scope of change and uncertainty organizations are navigating. (McKinsey & Company, 2026)

So what we hear and see with leaders we serve are major challenges that get in the way of strategic thinking:

• Lack of confidence in centering vision, mission, and goals because the ground seems to continue to shift under organizational value, competitive positioning, and market viability.
• The confusion that comes from lack of alignment, caused by leaders under stress engaged in frenetic activity rather than aligned around a singular, compelling future vision that can be viable and sustainable in the ERA of AI.
• A gap in mindset and skillset to use AI as a strategic companion to contribute to problem solving and ideation for innovation.
• A hyper-operational focus on re-aligning priorities rather than engaging in the new strategic conversations needed in the ERA of AI.
• Overwhelm and stress that keeps leaders from the strategic focus and discipline that is needed most, now.

These challenges show up in the data. Deloitte’s 2026 Global Human Capital Trends survey of more than 9,000 business and HR leaders across 89 countries found that 72% of leaders report that the volume of data and their lack of trust in that data has stopped them from making any decision at all. (Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends, 2026)

That is a staggering number. And it speaks directly to why strategic thinking, not just operational execution, is the leadership imperative of this moment.

What Uniquely Human Leaders Bring to Strategic Thinking

We need to remember that, uniquely as humans, we have the deep institutional knowledge and experience that creates business acumen and intuition, and we can:

• Provide the vital context needed to use AI.
• Set the stage for solving the most intractable problems.
• Generate multiple, creative, strategic scenarios for growth.
• Use AI as a partner to add value, critique, and anticipate obstacles.

Once again, we are responsible for the consequences of all AI contributions.

As we think about Human + Artificial Intelligence strategically, only humans have the strategic thinking capabilities grounded in experience and intuition to understand the real implications and consequences of decisions that impact customers, people, culture, and operations.

Defining Strategic Thinking

What, then, is strategic thinking? It is:

• The combination of external and internal analysis of current reality.
• It begins and ends with intuition and data collected on customer insights.
• It also includes: brand and competitive positioning, business acumen, cultural reality, deep operational knowledge, current technology, accurate assessment of change capabilities, and knowledge of talent capacity.

AI can accelerate the development of data assessment, analysis, and reporting as a partner in strategic thinking, but the parameters and guidance must be human, or the consequences could range from inaccurate to catastrophic. This is validated by findings from the MIT Center for Information Systems Research, whose 2025 AI maturity study found that organizations with formal AI strategies are 3.5 times more likely to achieve significant business benefits, and that the greatest gains come not from the technology itself, but from aligning AI investments with strategic goals and embedding human oversight at every stage. (Woerner, Weill, Sebastian & Káganer, MIT CISR, 2025)

If critical thinking is the actual sound business judgment that helps to guide AI to rapidly develop strategic insights utilizing data and intuition, then strategic thinking is the synthesis of external and internal eco-systems data that matches, supports, and critiques intuition to make decisions about strategic direction, focus, and execution.

I know, a lot to take in. Now let’s explore the new paradigm for Strategic Thinking in the ERA of AI, at a time when most businesses are experiencing change at a disorienting pace.

The Six Domains of Strategic Thinking in the ERA of AI

These six domains represent the essential skillsets every leader needs to navigate strategic decisions with confidence in the AI era. In our next conversation, we’ll go deeper into each one:

• Continuous Curiosity:  the capacity to ask the “what if” and “what could be” questions that are intuitive and can seed innovation.
• Data Strategy: using systems knowledge and intuition to guide rapid development of data to analysis and reporting on potential strategic options.
• Critical Thinking: developing sound judgment and discernment about the why, what, and how of strategic possibilities.
• Systems Thinking: understanding and skill to analyze external and internal eco-systems to discover strategic gaps, risks, and challenges.
• Disciplined Alignment: insight to capture value-add and creation for customers that has enduring value to guide strategic and operational decisions.
• Exploring Implications: ability to think through new strategies to anticipate eco-system and human impact.

Your vital strategic thinking mindsets and skillsets will have enduring value. I invite you to develop them and to trust that you are the most important element in the Human + Artificial Intelligence equation.

Stay tuned for our next conversation, where we’ll take a deeper look at each of these six domains, and what it looks like to develop them in your leadership practice.

Sources

Sternfels, B. & Pacthod, D. “Developing human leadership in the age of AI.” McKinsey & Company, January 2026.

Mallon, D., Duda, J., Besana, S. & Bodan, M. “AI and the future of human decision-making.” Deloitte Insights, 2026 Global Human Capital Trends, March 3, 2026. https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/topics/talent/human-capital-trends/2026/decision-making-with-ai.html

Woerner, S., Weill, P., Sebastian, I. & Káganer, E. “How to boost your organization’s AI maturity level.” MIT Center for Information Systems Research (MIT CISR), February 2026. https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/how-to-boost-your-organizations-ai-maturity-level