This post was originally published by Karla Dorsch, Founder and Managing Partner Evrima / AltoPartners Abu Dhabi, on LinkedIn. To view the original post, click here.

In recent months, nearly every conversation I’ve had, whether with young professionals, board members, or senior executives, has found its way back to artificial intelligence.

A junior hire quietly asks whether their job will still exist in five years. Leadership teams are shifting their focus, no longer solely fixated on performance metrics, but grappling with disruption, talent displacement, and organisational readiness. Even the most experienced leaders are admitting that they aren’t sure where all of this is heading.

We are all, in one way or another, having an AI moment.

But leadership has never operated in the comfort of certainty. Waiting for perfect clarity before taking action is not an option, nor has it ever been. The work of a leader is to move forward with intention even when the way ahead feels undefined.

That does not mean rushing blindly but allowing ourselves a moment of gaining perspective and looking with clear eyes at where we stand now. In periods of transformation, we need to step back before we step in. We do not need to be prophets, but we do need to see what is true, not filtered through fear or distraction, but with calm objectivity. The question is not whether the glass is half full or half empty but knowing how much is in the glass and deciding what to pour next.

Now is the time to imagine what could be: six months from now; one year/two. What kind of organisation are we building and what kind of leaders do we need to become. The picture may evolve, and that’s expected and to chart a path without at least choosing a direction.

I was speaking recently with a senior executive who recalled how agile his organisation became during the pandemic. Decisions were faster and teams were bolder. Risk was tolerated, because survival demanded it. But now, as the urgency fades, he sees people slipping back into old patterns, more process, less movement, fear where there was once momentum.

When failure becomes something to be feared above all else, progress stalls. But setbacks are not signs of failure, they are proof that motion is happening. Learning agility, the capacity to adapt, absorb, and take action is what sustains effective leadership, especially in uncertain times.

Despite all the extraordinary advances in technology, it is still people who shape the outcomes. AI is not the threat. The risk lies in how we choose to respond.

Uncertainty is a given. Taking a breath, recalibrating, that’s human. But we cannot remain static. The world is not waiting, and neither should we.