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AI & Leadership Posture 2026

AI does not merely change your tools: it exposes your management style and the way your organisation holds together. Understanding this posture becomes essential for 2026.
3 January 2026 by
AI & Leadership Posture 2026
PAS A PAS DIGITAL, Micheline Boutrin Deroire
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What I call posture, here

It is the way you hold your role. The way you make decisions. Your ability to keep a clear line, without scattering your focus, without being “caught between two chairs”.

It is what shows your teams: “this is where we are going”, “this is how we move forward”, “this is what remains stable”.

Posture is not technical. It is an internal point of support. It shapes your choices, your pace, your messages. And it is what allows your organisation to evolve with AI — without losing itself.

This way of seeing things also aligns with leadership research.
The ethicist Joanne B. Ciulla shows that a leader’s posture goes beyond technique: it is expressed in how one positions oneself, makes decisions and remains coherent in the eyes of their teams.

Analyses from McKinsey highlight the same levers: a clear direction, stable behaviours and coherence between intention and action.
AI simply acts as a revealer of this posture.L’IA agit simplement comme un révélateur de cette posture.

2025: a year of observation, between improvisation and awareness

A closer look at what 2025 truly brought to light

My recent articles shed light on what I observed in the field. 2025 was about tests, intuitions and isolated uses.

  1. AI & WorkSlop: outputs that looked perfect on the surface but were hollow.
  2. AI & Competitiveness: little ROI without clear intention.
  3. AI & Organisational Debt: inconsistencies, diverging versions.
  4. AI & Imitation: progress without a real change of ground.

I include myself in this movement. 2025 allowed me to clarify my own posture, refine the way I support organisations and adjust my direction.

2026 now calls for a real repositioning. For everyone.


2026: the year when executives, team leaders and internal relays reclaim their ground

The moment when each person takes position

Every organisation has its own structure. Sometimes a formal team leader. Sometimes a hybrid role. Sometimes a relay collaborator.

In some organisations, there is no formal team leader.
Depending on the reality on the ground, it may be an assistant, a technician, an office manager or an experienced collaborator who plays this relay role.


What matters is knowing who, within your organisation, can carry this framework with you.

Clarifying expectations, owning what is changing and setting clear boundaries: this is where everything begins.

Moving away from “we’ll see”

Experimentation had its place. Today, your teams need stable ground.

Placing the framework before the technology

What I want to tell you is simple: the question is not which technology, but which framework supports the way you work.

  • A framework that clarifies.
  • A framework that simplifies.
  • A framework that reduces mental load — not amplifies it.

Leadership posture as the organisational foundation in 2026

A posture that holds the framework, not the tool

You do not need to master everything. Your role is to hold the direction. Internal relays — whatever their title — bring it to life on a daily basis.

Internal coherence starts with you

Teams observe your posture. The way you make decisions. Your ability to remain clear. Your consistency creates theirs.

Internal maturity: a foundation built here

What you put in place now prepares your internal maturity. Progress is made in stages, not in leaps. Article to come: AI & Internal Maturity.


What AI has revealed about managerial posture and the culture of change

Blurred areas have become visible

This is what I see. This is what executives tell me. This is what internal relays observe.

AI makes blurred responsibilities visible, different methods apparent, and misaligned decisions obvious.

Internal tensions rise faster

Deadlines. Quality. Mental load. AI accelerates everything, including what lacks coherence. When governance is unclear, organisations quickly lose momentum.

AI reveals the real way organisations operate

Your relationship to pace. Your approach to day-to-day operations. Your ability to hold the course.

Un dirigeant me confiait récemment : “Je vois tout de suite quand quelqu’un utilise l’IA pour aller vite… mais je vois surtout la manière dont il travaille.” Et c’est exactement ce qui se joue : l’IA amplifie ce qui existe déjà. 
An executive recently told me: “I immediately see when someone uses AI to go fast… but above all, I see how they work.” That is exactly what is happening: AI amplifies what already exists.

Leading a living transformation, not a technological one

You set the pace

  • Too fast: confusion.
  • Too slow: inertia.

The right pace creates alignment — an organisation moving forward together, guided by a shared intention.

You carry the change

Your teams move according to what they see.

  1. Transparency: saying where you are going.
  2. Coherence: acting with continuity.
  3. Consistency: holding the direction.

These are the signals they follow.

Internal relays become essential

Regardless of their title. They carry your decisions. They install the practices. They turn AI uses into real working methods.


What enables you to prepare 2026 with clarity and coherence

Clarifying expectations and scopes

State what is expected for each role. Define responsibilities. Bring blind spots to light.

Establishing a shared language around AI usage

No jargon. Simple words. A shared ground.

Returning to reality: observing everyday practices

Weak signals are already there. In practices. In gaps. In tensions. This is your decision-making material.

Making 2026 a year of organisational alignment
​
Tools alone are not enough. Technology accelerates, but it does not create coherence. It is your posture, your decisions and your methods that establish a solid way of working.

I support executives, team leaders and internal relays — whatever their title — in installing a living framework, structuring AI usage and evolving the way work is done.

This is where performance becomes possible, sustainable and coherent.​


About the author

Micheline Boutrin Deroire

Founder of PAS À PAS DIGITAL, strategic consultant in AI applied to work practices and the human transformation of organisations.

She accompanies managers, executives and team leaders who want to integrate artificial intelligence into their practices while cultivating a conscious managerial posture and an aligned culture of change.

Her approach connects four pillars: AI, digital optimisation, usage practices and posture — to transform without losing oneself.

Book a meeting

www.pasapas-digital.com/appointment/1

Contact me

+596 696 37 66 90 • [email protected]

Follow on LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelineboutrin

Awards (2024)

Best Innovation & Strategic Change Consultancy Leader – Western Europe

Digital Transformation Expert of the Year – France


AI & Leadership Posture 2026
PAS A PAS DIGITAL, Micheline Boutrin Deroire 3 January 2026
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