Generative AI isn’t coming-it’s already here. And if you’re a leader waiting to see how it plays out, you’re already behind. Companies using it effectively are cutting costs, boosting productivity, and even creating new revenue streams. But here’s the catch: generative AI doesn’t fix bad leadership. It amplifies it. If your team is disengaged, your processes are messy, or your culture is toxic, AI won’t save you. It’ll just make those problems faster and bigger.
Stop Treating AI Like a Shortcut
Too many leaders see generative AI as a way to do more with less. Write faster emails. Generate reports in seconds. Automate scheduling. That’s not strategy-that’s tinkering. The real opportunity isn’t in saving an hour a day. It’s in redesigning how work gets done. Take USAA. Instead of slapping AI on customer-facing chatbots, they used it internally to cut case resolution time by 27%. Why? Because they asked: What’s slowing down our people? Not: What can we automate to cut headcount? The result? Faster service, happier employees, and no customer backlash. McKinsey’s 2025 data shows that organizations treating AI as a transformation tool-redesigning 30% or more of their core workflows-are three times more likely to see real financial returns than those just automating tasks. If your AI use case doesn’t change how your team works, it’s not worth doing.Build a Leadership Team, Not a Tech Team
You don’t need a CTO to lead AI adoption. You need a cross-functional team of leaders who understand both the business and the people. MIT Sloan’s research gives a clear blueprint: assemble your team within 30 days. Include HR, operations, legal, frontline managers, and one or two tech-savvy employees who aren’t in IT. Don’t wait for perfect data or a flawless plan. Start with one high-impact, low-risk use case-like drafting internal memos, summarizing meeting notes, or analyzing customer feedback. IBM’s approach is telling. They didn’t roll out AI training as a tech module. They made it part of leadership development. Their new online course, Leading in the Age of Gen AI, teaches managers how to use AI for difficult conversations-like giving feedback or addressing underperformance. The goal? To make leaders more human, not less.
People First, Tools Second
The biggest failure I’ve seen isn’t technical. It’s cultural. A director at a major retail chain rushed AI tools to their teams without explaining why. No training. No guardrails. Just: “Here, use this.” Within months, employee anxiety spiked 30%. People thought they were being replaced. That’s not AI’s fault. It’s leadership’s. Leaders who succeed are the ones who talk openly about AI. They say: “This tool won’t take your job. It’ll take the boring parts so you can focus on what matters-helping your team, solving real problems, and connecting with customers.” IBM’s data shows leaders who redirect AI-saved time toward human activities-like one-on-one check-ins, coaching, or strategic planning-see 37% higher team engagement. That’s not magic. That’s intentionality.Governance Beats Bans
Some companies banned generative AI outright. Others let employees use whatever tool they wanted. Neither works. MIT Sloan found companies with clear AI governance policies outperformed those with bans by 3.2x in productivity. Why? Because rules create safety. When people know what’s allowed, they use tools responsibly. Start simple:- What tasks can AI help with? (e.g., drafting, summarizing, brainstorming)
- What’s off-limits? (e.g., customer communications, legal docs, HR decisions)
- Who reviews AI outputs before they’re used?
- How do we protect sensitive data?
Don’t Chase the Hype-Focus on the Hard Stuff
The market is flooded with AI tools. Microsoft, Google, and Amazon control 81% of enterprise AI infrastructure. But tools aren’t the bottleneck. People are. McKinsey found 42% of organizations struggle with talent gaps. Not because no one knows how to code AI. But because no one knows how to lead with it. Frontline managers need 8-12 weeks of structured training. Executives need less time-but more courage. You have to model the behavior you want. If you’re using AI to avoid hard conversations, your team will notice. If you’re using it to free up time for coaching, they’ll feel it. Paradise Solutions’ 2025 guide says this: Only pursue use cases with two criteria-high impact (at least 20% efficiency gain) and feasible (can be done in 120 days). Most teams fail because they try to boil the ocean. Pick one. Nail it. Then move to the next.What’s Next? Redefine Leadership
By December 2025, 61% of Fortune 500 companies have formal AI governance frameworks. That number was 29% just nine months ago. The pace is accelerating. The leaders who’ll thrive aren’t the ones who know the most about prompts or models. They’re the ones who know how to:- Use AI to listen better
- Use AI to empower, not replace
- Use AI to make space for empathy, creativity, and judgment
2 Comments
Ashley Kuehnel
Love this post! I’ve seen so many teams panic when AI tools get rolled out, but the key is just talking to people like humans. At my company, we started with summarizing meeting notes-no big deal, right?-but suddenly people felt heard for the first time. No one got fired. Everyone got a little more breathing room. That’s the magic.
Also, typo: ‘formal’ not ‘formaly’ lol. I’m always messing up spelling but I mean it! 😊
adam smith
This article is overly complicated. AI is just a tool. Use it or don’t. Stop making it sound like a religion. I just want to write emails faster. That’s it.