The Industry 5.0 initiative, introduced by the European Commission in 2021, aims to reorient industrial development by emphasizing human-centered technologies and fostering collaborative interaction between humans and machines within European industry and beyond. This paradigm shift addresses the challenges of smart manufacturing in dynamic, technology-driven organizational contexts. At the heart of Industry 5.0 lies the reintegration of human agency, combining human expertise and creativity with technological systems. This approach promotes sustainable production processes and resilient systems while creating work environments marked by collaboration and co-creation, with humans as indispensable contributors. In a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment, organizations face mounting competitive pressures, demanding rapid adaptability and informed decision-making by leaders. Hybrid decision architectures that integrate human intuition with AI’s analytical capabilities are essential for navigating unforeseen changes while developing long-term strategies. These architectures optimize the strengths of both humans and AI. This paper provides guidelines for implementing such decision structures, based on expert interviews with academics and industry leaders from German industrial companies. Using Jacobs’ Theoretical Framework of Organizational Change, the paper examines how organizations can effectively introduce and integrate AI-supported decision-making processes. The findings emphasize the need for clearly defined roles for AI in decision-making, focusing on the development of human-centered decision structures, flexible delegation of authority, and innovative human-machine partnerships. By adopting these principles, organizations in general and leaders in particular can operationalize the core tenets of Industry 5.0 and leverage AI as a driver of transformative change toward smart manufacturing.