Leadership Deconstructed: Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) Rejects Performative Styles for True Metacognitive Depth

This paper presents a critical analysis of traditional leadership theories, asserting that their performative and actor-centric frameworks, rooted in trait, behavioral, transactional, transformational, and situational approaches, are insufficient to address the complex demands posed by artificial general intelligence (AGI). By referencing neuroscientific studies and cognitive bias research, it highlights how anthropocentric perspectives and entrenched biases have historically impeded paradigm shifts in both cosmological and organizational contexts, paralleling resistance to heliocentrism. Conventional models emphasize incremental progress and predefined roles, resulting in rigidity, ethical challenges, and limited metacognitive awareness. In response, this paper introduces Futural Leadership Theory (Markham, 2024), proposing metacognition, a reflective awareness and regulation of cognitive leadership decision-making processes, as a foundational meta-layer that can enhance any existing leadership approach. This perspective draws on critiques from Kuhn, Feyerabend, and complexity theorists, enabling more objective, forward-thinking decision-making, reducing bias, and preparing leaders for transformation into an AGI-driven environment.