July 22nd, 2025

2 min read

The world of AI is changing fast. It can be hard to keep up. Leaders need to understand the challenges and opportunities so they can effectively guide their teams through these exciting times. 

The LeadershipGarage, founded by Sabine Remdisch in 2014, is a research initiative focused on studying leadership in the digital age, including AI. The program operates at both Stanford University and Leuphana University Lüneburg, and partners with companies in Germany and Silicon Valley. Carol Scott Senior Director Software & Digital Platforms, Partner/ISV AI, Microsoft, was the LeadershipGarage’s AI expert and guest speaker in one of its leadership programs, sharing practical AI examples and use cases. 

We speak with Remdisch and Scott about leadership in an AI-driven world.

Bridges and Barriers 

For organizations to succeed in the face of rapid AI-driven change, “we need transparency and trust above all,” says Remdisch. 

Leaders need to actually use AI to build trust, says Scott, and that’s not something too many are doing yet.  “You really have to understand what AI can do. And it’s like a step change. It is allowing us to do things and think in ways and create things that have never been done before. So unless you’re using it and experiencing it, it’s hard to envision where you’re going.” 

Collaboration among global partners, as well as with R&D, government and academia, is also critical to building trust in AI – and driving innovation. Remdisch’s work is a good example of science intersecting with business: she conducted a study on AI-driven leadership and identified a performance leadership model including interpersonal, corporate and personal performance. The study outlines crucial behaviors for successful leaders: 

  • AI-upskilling

    Ensuring the team has necessary future competencies for AI use.

  • AI acceptance

    Using AI tools to support leadership activities.

  • Responsible AI use

    Establishing clear ethical guidelines, prioritizing data privacy and security.

  • AI impact

    Introducing innovative AI tools to enhance productivity.

“AI is a huge transformation of the workforce: eliminating some roles and creating new ones. The pace of change is difficult to keep up with for organizations. Collaboration between academic institutions, R&D, government, and business leaders is so important to increase trust in AI. Is it working reliably? Is there fairness? Are privacy and compliance regulations being adhered to? Who will lead companies through this massive AI transformation? Leaders are key. They need to understand the power of AI and how it is changing our world and how to adapt and use AI responsibly and ethically. If leaders understand the potential and challenges of AI, they can lead their teams to success in this new era.”

Sabine Remdisch, Director LeadershipGarage, Visiting Scholar Stanford University 

“My team manages our largest ISV partners at Microsoft deploying globally like Adobe, ServiceNow or Snowflake. With these partners we have the largest scale AI projects and programs deployed to over 500 million users and deployments with open AI through our different partners. I have a leadership development background and working with our partners you really must understand what AI can do. AI allows us to do things and think in ways and create things that have never been done before. We really need leaders to adopt and allow it to impact their leadership. You can’t really outsource this change. Leaders need to use it and model use of it in their organizations.”

Carol Scott, Senior Director Software & Digital Platforms, Partner/ISV AI, Microsoft

AI in Society 

Research at the LeadershipGarage also shows that the biggest opportunities with AI are increased efficiency and productivity, innovation, and personalized customer experiences. “However,” says Remdisch, “we can only achieve these benefits through responsible implementation and regulations. This approach is the key to fully exploiting the potential of AI while minimizing the risks.”  

For leaders, this means clearly communicating changes, plans and impacts. It also means creating an environment where employees feel secure and valued during any transition to AI. 

Lifelong learning is crucial. People must keep updating their skills to build their AI literacy. And that includes leaders. 

 As Scott says, “It’s great to see all the R&D and different things going on in companies, but we really need leaders to adopt, and that’s going to help them come up with better ideas for their own leadership on how to change. So you can’t really outsource the AI without thinking about how the leaders are going to use it and model it.”