This study examines the relationship between AI use and leadership dynamics in the context of digital transformation. The paper focuses on the relationships between AI use, decision-making quality, team dynamics, trust in AI, and ethical concerns. Although the use of AI in organizations has expanded in recent years, empirical studies explaining how it affects leadership effectiveness in real-world work environments are still limited. The study is based on survey data collected in Azerbaijan. After data cleaning, 103 valid responses were used for statistical analysis. Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression methods were applied to assess the relationships between variables. The results show that there is a strong positive relationship between AI use and decision-making quality. However, the strongest explanatory factors in terms of leadership effectiveness were trust in AI and team dynamics. Although ethical concerns were perceived by respondents, they did not play a statistically significant role in assessing leadership effectiveness.
Keywords: Artificial intelligence; leadership; decision-making; digital transformation; organizational behavior.