AI and Leadership

Welcome back to Everyday Leader. Shannon here with Conrad. Today we're taking on a big topic -- one that's very loud in our world right now. What does AI have to do with leadership? How should leaders be thinking about it?

And this isn't a conversation about whether AI should be in our world. It's here. As leaders, we're now at choice about how to be in relationship with it. That's really the question Shannon and I want to explore: what does that relationship look like, and how does it serve -- or not serve -- the work we're doing?

Leaders have navigated technological shifts before. There was a day before the internet, before many of the tools we now take for granted. This is another one of those moments -- it just feels especially loud. So let's make some sense of it.

I'll be transparent: I was resistant at first. My initial reaction was that AI wasn't relational -- that it would take people out of relationship with each other. That was my concern. Over time, that shifted into curiosity: how can this be used thoughtfully, in a way that actually cultivates relationship and amplifies meaningful work? That's where I am now -- still learning, but curious.

I'm in a similar place. The questions I keep asking are: what do I need to understand about this in order to use it in a way that's aligned with my values? Values like sustainability, ethics, privacy, integrity. That's my starting point -- not whether to engage with AI, but where engagement is and isn't aligned with who I am and what I'm up to.

And I want to be clear: we're sitting with these questions. We don't have all the answers. If you're looking for definitive guidance, there are probably other podcasts better suited for that. For us, these questions feel rich and worth staying in. How do we be in this, as leaders, around what feels like a fundamental shift?

Here's the rubric I keep coming back to: if I'm using AI for anything, how do I make sure I'm staying in my own purpose, my own voice, my own creativity? It took me a long time to get clear on my leadership voice. I don't want to compromise that. AI can be a distraction if you're not careful -- just another thing that pulls you off course from what you're actually up to in the world.

That's it for me too. How do I use it as a tool, not the tool? How does it complement and amplify meaningful work rather than diminish human connection? That's the line I'm still finding.

What I've noticed with leaders who do use AI -- including myself -- is that when you're clear on what you're trying to do, AI can help you start. It helps people get over their own stuckness, move past the need for perfection, get a first draft down. It's not teaching you anything new or telling you what to do. It's just helping you do the thing. And sometimes that momentum is exactly what's needed.

We're just getting started on this one. We'd love to hear from you -- what's working, what isn't, what you love, what concerns you. We're all in this together, figuring out how to be in relationship with something genuinely new.

This community has a lot to offer on this subject. Please share. Until next time -- be well.