New research reveals a disconnect between leadership and front line managers on AI readiness at public and private sector organizations in the UK.
The study from business transformation consultancy Sopra Steria finds around two thirds of senior leaders (65 percent) rate their organization’s AI governance, infrastructure and strategy highly compared to just 44 percent of mid-level and junior managers. At the same time 59 percent of senior leaders rate their organization’s AI expertise highly, yet just 34 percent of frontline managers agree.
Becky Davis, director of AI at Sopra Steria Next UK, says:
For many senior leaders there’s already an expectation that when it comes to AI, they’re able to confidently set direction, manage risk, and make the right calls. But this is often without a clear understanding of the fundamentals of AI. It’s perhaps no surprise, therefore, that those in leadership positions can often misunderstand and sometimes overstate their organization’s level of maturity.
Equally, when senior leaders set bold strategies, but managers lack the infrastructure or cultural support to execute, progress stalls. Bridging this gap means turning vision into reality: ensuring governance, technology, and talent evolve together so AI moves beyond pilots and delivers measurable business value.
There’s also a 20 percent perception gap on AI culture with 61 percent of senior leaders saying their organization has a positive AI culture compared to 41 percent of mid‑level and junior managers.
“Our findings shine a light on the gap between how AI maturity is perceived at senior leadership level and how it’s experienced by those in front line delivery roles. This disparity is not about technology, it’s about leadership. AI doesn’t fail because organizations lack tools, it fails because leaders haven’t yet learned how to lead with AI,” says Fiz Yazdi, managing director of Sopra Steria Next UK.
You can find out more about Sopra Steria’s AI Maturity Survey and its free ‘AI for Leaders’ online training on the company’s site.
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