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SHAPEIndex

The organizations that will scale AI are not just the ones with the best models, but the ones with the right leaders - leaders who can SHAPE. SHAPEIndex gives organizations a clear, behavior-based framework for building the leadership muscle to scale AI with impact and integrity.

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Strategic Leadership Advisory to Accelerate AI Success at Scale

As AI becomes democratized, the competitive edge has shifted from who has the best technology to who can lead through uncertainty, inspire teams, and turn potential into progress at speed.

Amidst the surge in companies’ AI investments, a quiet truth is overlooked: the success of AI hinges less on the models themselves and more on the leaders who envision, implement, and scale their use. Yet only 38% of leaders we surveyed believe their organization has the right leadership in place to succeed with AI. While some recognize the importance of leadership in AI initiatives, they may lack clarity on how to enhance it. Through our research, we’ve identified five leadership behaviors that consistently accelerate AI adoption and impact, what we call ‘AI Velocity’:

Hiring the right leaders is paramount. But doing so isn’t easy—the skills that matter most rarely show up on a resume. And, hiring is not enough on its own. There simply isn’t a high enough supply of AI-ready leaders in the market to meet demand. In addition to hiring, organizations need to identify and develop the leaders they already have—the ones who can think strategically, lead across silos, and inspire trust.

Effective AI leadership isn’t the job of a single person; it requires to complementary archetypes working in concert. AI Architects design and govern the technical foundation, ensuring scalable, responsible infrastructure. AI Shapers embed AI into business workflows, driving adoption, trust, and real-world impact. Both roles are essential, and it’s their collaboration that turns potential into performance.

SHAPEIndex helps close the leadership gap – and to our knowledge, it’s the only framework specifically designed to assess and develop AI Velocity across both technical and non-technical leaders and teams.

How we partner with you

We can help you achieve a leader-first playbook that moves from experimentation to enterprise-wide impact in four key areas:

1. Assessment. We assess both individual leaders and leadership teams to understand where AI transformation is most likely to succeed and where it may stall. For individual leaders, we provide deep insight into their AI leadership potential using the SHAPEIndex, highlighting the specific behaviors to accelerate. At the enterprise level, we identify your AI Architects and Shapers, map capability gaps across functions, and highlight where to invest for maximum impact. Whether the goal is targeted development or broad organizational readiness, we help you see the leadership signals that matter most.
2. Hiring. We help you hire for where the business is going, not just where it’s been. By using the SHAPEIndex, we embed leading indicators of effective AI leadership into hiring scorecards and assessments. We focus on behaviors like curiosity, adaptability, trust-building, and ethical judgment. This allows you to identify and select future-ready leaders, even in roles where prior AI experience is limited or nonexistent.
3. Leadership Development. We accelerate growth in the behaviors and capabilities that drive AI Velocity. Our approach is grounded in real business context, not generic training. For individual leaders, we offer SmartCoaching, provide targeted feedback, and recommend stretch roles to build the fluency, judgment, and adaptability needed to lead through disruption. For cohorts, we run SHAPE masterclasses and cross-functional experiences that build a shared language and drive momentum across teams. We also support C-suite succession planning by embedding AI leadership into high-potential talent pipelines.
4. Role Modeling. We work directly with CEOs, senior teams, and boards to embed AI into daily decision-making, culture, and governance. This includes coaching leaders to adopt AI visibly in their own workflows, supporting onboarding for senior hires, and facilitating governance conversations that shift focus from risk to value. By helping senior leaders model experimentation and responsibility, we signal that AI transformation is not just a project that can be delegated. It is a leadership priority.

What you can expect

By partnering with ghSMART and integrating the SHAPEIndex into your leadership strategy, you will gain sharper visibility into which leaders can drive AI transformation and how to strengthen them. Our work helps you build the capabilities, alignment, and confidence needed to lead AI with purpose and scale it responsibly across the business.

The outcome is faster adoption, greater trust, and enterprise-wide impact, led by people rather than pilots. With SHAPEIndex, AI becomes more than a toolset; it becomes a leadership mindset embedded at every level of the organization.

"We also need to be thinking ahead to a new kind of leadership question: How do you lead people who are themselves powered and augmented by AI?”

AI Executive
Global Private Equity Firm