From Command to Context Why Tomorrow’s Leaders Must Become Systems Architects
Written by Adrian Maharaj
(Views mine, not Google’s)
Ninety‑two percent of executives plan to raise AI spending in the next three years, yet only one in four organisations has a fully implemented AI governance programme an organisational time bomb ready to detonate. McKinsey & CompanyAuditBoard
1. Context beats control
Generative decision engines surface thousands of weak signals daily. The leadership premium is shifting from directing tasks to curating context deciding which signals earn runway and which die fast. That means building data contracts, trust rails, and closed loop feedback systems, not cults of personality.
2. The double‑loop boardroom
A recent survey found 76 percent of corporate directors already experimenting with GenAI, but only 40 percent say their companies are implementing a recognised AI risk framework. CFOmidia.kpmg.com.br
Run board meetings in double loop mode: commercial ambition in the first loop, algorithmic risk in the second, so strategy and safety mature together.
3. Beware the optimism trap
Harvard Business Review research shows executives who used ChatGPT became systematically rosier and less accurate in their forecasts. Harvard Business Review
Translate that: if your 2026 plan looks heroic, cut 15 percent of the upside now or tighten your data priors.
Leadership Operating Principles
Radical Observability: instrument every decision node; surface latency as aggressively as cost.
Human Failsafes > Human in the Loop: assign people to break things, not rubber stamp them.
Trust as a KPI: publish an “algorithmic trust score” next to NPS each quarter.
If you don’t architect context, context will architect you.
