How Leaders can harness Wellbeing Intelligence in the world of AI

A few weeks ago, I found myself listening to a senior leader describe how her organisation was “embracing AI” to “free up human capacity.” When I asked what that human capacity would be used for, she paused, smiled tightly, and said, “To do more.”

It was a telling moment. For all our talk of digital transformation, the deeper transformation – the human kind – often lags behind. The world is moving fast, but inside many of us, there is a quiet question growing louder: what kind of leadership do we need now?

The new intelligence: not just artificial

AI, automation and analytics are reshaping our organisations, but leadership still rests on something fundamentally human – awareness, empathy, reflection, purpose. The real frontier, I believe, is not artificial intelligence but wellbeing intelligence: the capacity to understand, nurture, and apply wellbeing at every level – self, team and system.

The Global Wellness Institute defines wellbeing as “the active pursuit of activities, choices and lifestyles that lead to a state of holistic health.” For leaders, this is not just personal – it is strategic. Wellbeing intelligence is the ability to perceive the interconnections between human energy, organisational systems and collective outcomes, and to make choices that sustain all three.

It is both introspective and systemic. Drawing on psychological research, we might think of it as a synthesis of emotional intelligence (Goleman, 1995), systems thinking (Senge, 1990) and self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985). It is a living form of intelligence – not static, but evolving as we do.

Inner work before outer change

When leaders cultivate wellbeing intelligence, they start from the inside out. This means developing the capacity for self-awareness (understanding what energises and depletes them), self-regulation (managing attention and emotion), and self-compassion (leading without self-criticism).

Research increasingly shows that these inner skills are predictive of resilience, ethical decision-making and sustainable performance. A 2023 study in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that leaders who engage in regular self-reflection demonstrate higher levels of adaptive leadership – crucial when facing the uncertainty that technology brings.

In practice, this might look like scheduling reflective “white space” in a diary, asking for feedback on one’s impact, or engaging in coaching or contemplative practice. It is not indulgence; it is intelligent self-maintenance for complex systems leadership.

The outer work: designing systems that support wellbeing

The outer dimension of wellbeing intelligence concerns how leaders design environments where others can also thrive. This requires shifting from wellbeing as programme to wellbeing as infrastructure.

Too often, organisations approach wellbeing as a set of perks or campaigns – yoga at lunchtime, mindfulness on an app. While these may be helpful, they are insufficient if the surrounding system still rewards burnout, overextension and constant connectivity.

Instead, wellbeing intelligence asks leaders to look at how work is designed, how performance is measured, and how people are supported. It is about embedding wellbeing principles into the operating fabric of the organisation – for example:

• Embedding psychological safety into team rituals (Edmondson, 2018)

• Aligning workloads and reward systems with values of sustainability rather than perpetual acceleration

• Encouraging genuine autonomy, mastery and purpose – the core drivers of motivation identified by Deci and Ryan

AI can actually help here – if used wisely. Automating low-value tasks, providing data on workload patterns, and supporting flexible working can all enhance human wellbeing. The danger is not in the tools themselves, but in how we use them.

The paradox of pace

One of the central paradoxes of our time is that the faster technology moves, the more leaders need to slow down. Reflection, sense-making and ethical consideration cannot be outsourced to an algorithm.

In leadership psychology, this is sometimes described as double awareness – the ability to act and reflect simultaneously. Leaders must hold both the system and the self in view. This requires pausing, listening, and noticing not just what is happening, but how it feels, and what it signals about the health of the whole.

From wellbeing to wisdom

If intelligence is about understanding, then wisdom is about integration. Wellbeing intelligence matures into wisdom when leaders use their awareness to guide ethical, systemic and sustainable action. It is what philosopher Martha Nussbaum calls “human capability in practice” – the expression of values in the world.

We do not need to reject technology; we need to humanise it. AI will continue to learn from us – but the question is, will we continue to learn about ourselves?

The leaders of the future will be those who recognise that wellbeing is not a side concern; it is the operating system of effective leadership. From the inside out, they will integrate head and heart, data and discernment, intelligence and empathy.

And in doing so, they will remind us that the most advanced form of intelligence – artificial or otherwise – is still deeply, profoundly human.