Every conference. Every webinar. Every conversation.
Leadership in the AI age. Leading with AI. Leading Humans and AI.
Of course, AI is the big challenge and opportunity of our time.
But what's been driving me crazy is all the fluff:
- Vague calls to “be more human”
- Recycled leadership models with AI copy-pasted
- Or just slapping AI on the title to fill seats.
I'm a mother of a 4 year old. I don't have time for fluff. I can barely get dinner on the table. So I got fed up. And I went looking for what “leadership in the AI age” actually, practically means.
Here’s what I landed on: AI doesn’t change what leadership is — it changes the conditions under which leadership happens:
- Speed is higher
- Certainty is lower
- Leverage is asymmetric (small decisions can have huge impact)
- Thinking quality matters more than experience
“Be more human” looks lovely on a t-shirt but it's not the answer we need.
My favorite litmus test for practicality is: What can we do differently in a team meeting on a Wednesday afternoon?
đź‘“ 1. Frame the question before jumping to answers
Instead of opening with “Here’s the plan”, start with: “Here’s the question we’re actually trying to answer — and here’s why it matters right now.”
đź‘€ Why? This shifts the meeting from who has the smartest answer --> are we solving the right problem? It also stops AI (and humans) from running ahead with polished answers to the wrong question.
📣 2. Say out loud what you know — and what you don’t
“Here’s what we think we know.”
“Here’s what we’re assuming.”
“Here’s what’s still unclear.”
👀 Why? Doing this lowers false certainty, invites challenge without drama, and models that not-knowing isn’t weakness. It sounds simple but it's surprisingly rare - and powerful when it's said out loud.
🧫 3. Be explicit about what you’re betting on vs. what you’re testing
“This is a reversible decision, so we’re going to move and learn.”
“This one’s harder to undo, so here’s what we need to validate first.”
👀 Why? This helps teams understand when speed matters more than correctness, when AI outputs are inputs, not answers, and it makes human judgment visible — instead of hidden behind AI-based confidence or tools.
👉 If this was useful, like or share
so it reaches other leaders who are also drowning in AI-flavoured fluff. I’ll keep sharing what I’m learning about leading in the AI age — hopefully without the hype!