The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) is redefining leadership in education, requiring a shift from hierarchical governance to adaptive, participatory, and ethically grounded leadership models. While the Dynamic Leadership Model (DLM) provides a structured approach to AI-driven leadership, its success depends on collaborative decision-making and trust-based engagement. This paper advances DLM by integrating employeeship, a Scandinavian leadership philosophy emphasizing shared responsibility, collective engagement, and participatory governance. The DLM+Employeeship framework ensures AI adoption in education is strategically aligned, socially sustainable, and institutionally embedded.

Insights from education leaders applying DLM in strategic sustainability training highlight the need for co-creative leadership in AI governance. This framework strengthens three key dimensions of institutional AI adoption: shared AI governance, transitioning from centralized AI decision-making to participatory, stakeholder-driven implementation; trust-driven leadership culture, creating an open, engagement-based approach to AI adoption; and collective AI competence development, expanding from individual AI literacy to institutional learning and adaptation.

These dimensions address key leadership gaps identified by The Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO) and other European organizations, such as the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS) and the European AI Office. These organizations emphasize the need for leaders who integrate AI with sustainable, participatory leadership approaches. The DLM+Employeeship framework enables institutions to transition from reactive AI adaptation to proactive, collaborative transformation.

This study employs a mixed-methods research design, integrating semi-structured interviews, participatory observations, and document analysis. Data is drawn from a four-year longitudinal study (2020–2024) of 67 education executives, supplemented by qualitative insights from leaders who have applied DLM in strategic sustainability education. Thematic analysis was applied to identify governance structures supporting trust-based AI integration in education.

A comparative analysis of institutions implementing DLM+Employeeship versus those using traditional AI governance models reveals that institutions adopting participatory AI leadership experience higher AI adoption success rates due to stakeholder-driven implementation, stronger institutional resilience by reducing faculty resistance and increasing innovation, and more sustainable AI integration ensuring long-term adaptability.

This paper makes a significant contribution to AI-driven educational leadership by demonstrating how employeeship enhances AI adoption through shared governance and institutional capacity-building. The DLM+Employeeship framework provides an actionable model for higher education, ensuring AI fosters collaborative leadership, ethical decision-making, and institutional resilience rather than reinforcing hierarchical control. As AI reshapes education, institutions must move from passive adoption to participatory governance models. The DLM+Employeeship framework offers a scalable, research-backed approach, ensuring that digital transformation supports inclusive, trust-based, and future-ready institutions.

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Educational Leadership, Dynamic Leadership Model (DLM), Employeeship, Ethical AI Governance.