October 21, 2025 • 23 mins
Your inbox is full of articles about AI replacing jobs. You're wondering: Am I next? Here's the truth: Great people-first leaders won't be replaced by AI—but 88% of heavy AI users are burning out because they're doing it wrong.
In this episode, you'll learn how to use AI strategically to become MORE people-first, not less. Get the exact methods leaders are using to save 100+ hours per year while spending more time with their teams, not less.
What You'll Learn:
- Why 88% of AI users burn out (and how to avoid the trap)
- Two practical AI applications you can start this week
- What makes you irreplaceable as a leader
- How to use AI for difficult emails and data analysis
- The paradigm shift: More time with people, not more tasks
Featured Insights:
James Zallie (CEO, Ingredion), Rick Western (CEO, Kotter), Steve Case (CEO, Revolution Growth)
Perfect for leaders who want practical AI strategies without losing the human connection that makes leadership work.
Connect with Colby Morris
- Website: nxtstepadvisors.com
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/colbymorris
Services: Executive Coaching | Leadership Training | Keynote Speaking
Enjoyed this episode?
- Leave a 5-star review
- Share with another leader navigating AI
Remember: Keep using AI to free up time for your people, not to avoid them. Because those are the things that leaders do.
#AILeadership #PeopleFirstLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #ExecutiveCoaching #LeadershipPodcast
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
People first leadership.
Actionable strategies, realresults.
This is Things Leaders Do withColby Morris.
SPEAKER_01 (00:11):
So your inbox has yet another article about AI
replacing jobs.
Your LinkedIn feed is full ofexperts telling you to adapt or
die.
And you're sitting herewondering, well, am I next?
Will my role even exist in fiveyears?
(00:32):
Here's what I want you to heartoday.
Great people first leaders willnot be replaced by AI.
But, and here's the catch, 88%of heavy AI users are
experiencing significant burnoutright now.
They're stressed, disconnected,and twice as likely to quit.
(00:55):
Meanwhile, other leaders who useAI strategically are saving over
100 hours per year, and 77% ofC-suite leaders confirm real
productivity gains from AIadoption.
So what's the difference?
That seems paradoxical, right?
(01:16):
The leaders who succeed aren'tchoosing between people and
technology.
They're actually using AI tobecome more people first, not
less.
Hey leaders, this is ColbyMorris, and this is the Things
Leaders Do podcast.
Today we're talking aboutsomething that is keeping a lot
(01:38):
of leaders up at night, andthat's how to lead effectively
in the age of AI without losingthe human connection that makes
great leadership possible in thefirst place.
So let me be really clear aboutsomething.
AI will not replace great peoplefirst leaders.
(02:00):
Okay, leadership isfundamentally human-centric, and
the best leaders understand thatdeeply.
They get it.
(02:37):
He put it perfectly when hesaid, We in positions of
leadership and management have aresponsibility and
accountability to employees tocontinuously try to figure out
on their behalf how they canhave fulfilled careers and be
motivated.
I took my job as CEO as ChiefClarity Officer.
(02:58):
Hmm.
Chief Clarity Officer.
I absolutely love that.
And here's the thing (03:03):
79% of business leaders say their
company needs to adopt AI tostay competitive.
And it's not because AI is magicor some silver bullet, but
because it frees you to do whatZali is talking about.
Providing clarity, motivation,and fulfilled careers for your
(03:25):
people.
Now, the leaders who ignore AIcompletely?
Look, they're going to be okayif they're already great people
first leaders, but they won't benearly as effective as they
could be.
They can keep doing the samething, sure, but why wouldn't
(03:46):
you want to optimize?
Why wouldn't you want to free upyour time so you can spend more
time on your people?
That just makes sense.
Alright, so let's talk aboutwhat AI is genuinely good at
because this is where thepractical magic actually
happens.
First, AI crunches numbers andfinds patterns you'd miss.
(04:11):
I'm talking about data analysisthat would take you hours or
that you never even attemptbecause let's be honest, who has
that kind of time?
AI can look at performancemetrics, budget allocations,
team productivity, teamproductivity patterns, and it
can pull out those insights inminutes, seconds, not hours,
(04:35):
minutes.
And second, AI draftscommunications you can refine
with your human touch.
Notice I said drafts, not writesperfectly.
You still need to add yourvoice, okay?
Your understanding of thesituation, your knowledge of the
people involved.
(04:56):
But starting from a solid draftinstead of a blank page, that's
a game changer.
So let's do a real-time example.
Let's say I want to, I don'tknow, talk.
I would say I want to tell myteam about a deadline change.
Okay.
What I want to say is, and I'mgoing to type this where we're
(05:17):
going.
Hey team, the client moved thedeadline up by a week.
I know this sucks, but let'sfigure it out together.
All right, so I'm going to typethen to Claude, and I'm going to
say, help me rewrite this emailto my team to sound more
(05:40):
professional and empathetic inthe delivery.
All right, here's what Claudegives me back.
Dear team members, I am writingto inform you of a modification
to our project timeline.
The client has requested anaccelerated delivery schedule,
advancing our deadline by sevenbusiness days.
(06:01):
I have confidence in ourcollective ability to adapt and
meet this challenge withprofessionalism and dedication.
Okay.
We'll see what happened there.
AI went full corporate speak onme.
Modification to our projecttimeline.
Seven business days.
(06:21):
Yeah, nobody talks like that.
So now I take that draft, Istrip out like all the stuff
that sounds like a legaldocument, and I put my actual
voice back in.
So I'd say something like, heyteam, heads up.
The client just moved ourdeadline up by a week.
(06:42):
I know that's not ideal timing,but I've seen this team pull off
tougher pivots before.
Let's regroup tomorrow morningand figure out the game plan
together.
Yeah, that's not bad.
So that's the process.
See, AI gives you the structure,you give it the soul.
(07:02):
That's pretty good.
That's using AI as your startingpoint, not your finish line.
Third, AI and analyzes data soyou can focus what it means for
your people.
There's a huge differencebetween knowing the numbers and
knowing what to do about them.
See, AI handles the what, youhandle the so what and the now
(07:28):
what.
Here's an example for you.
Let's say you're looking at teamperformance data.
AI can tell you thatproductivity dropped 15% in Q3,
and that it correlates with aspike in project handoffs, and
that three specific team membersare showing signs of overwhelm
(07:51):
based on their communicationpatterns and deadlines.
I mean, that's valuableinformation, right?
But what AI can't tell you iswhy those three people are
overwhelmed.
Okay, it can't read the bodylanguage in your 101s, it cannot
sense the hesitation when youask how they're really doing.
(08:14):
It can't see what's not beingsaid in those conversations.
And that's where you come in.
So this is the most importantpart of this entire
conversation.
Okay?
You possess inherent skills thatAI will not have, at least for a
(08:34):
very long time.
Maybe ever.
You can read body language andemotional cues.
When someone says, I'm fine, buttheir shoulders are tense and
they won't make eye contact, youyou see that.
AI doesn't.
It can't.
You can see what's not beingsaid.
(08:57):
The team member who who used tocontribute ideas but has gone
quiet, the high performer who'ssuddenly asking about other
opportunities, the shift inenergy when a particular project
gets mentioned.
AI misses all of thiscompletely.
You build trust andpsychological safety, and people
(09:19):
don't trust algorithms, theytrust other people.
They trust leaders who've shownup for them, who've had their
backs, who's made tough callswith empathy and fairness.
That's human stuff.
You make judgment calls onnuanced people situations.
(09:41):
Should you push this personharder or give them space?
You know, is this is thisconflict about the project or
something deeper?
Does this team need morestructure or more autonomy?
These aren't math problems withyou know right answers.
They require wisdom andexperience and human judgment.
(10:04):
Rick Western, the CEO of Cotter,said something that really
resonates here.
He said, This is the broadestview of diversity.
It's about opening your apertureand not acting like you've got
all the answers yourself becausethings are so complex.
That complexity, that's thetrain of human leadership.
(10:27):
AI can inform your decisions,absolutely, but it can't make
them for you.
You're the leader that peoplelook to.
You have a role that can't bereplaced.
But you need to lean into thatand start adopting the AI tools
that free you up to be evenbetter at the irreplaceable
(10:48):
parts.
Both things can be true at thesame time.
Alright, so let's get reallypractical here.
If you're just starting with AI,here are two specific ways to
begin that will give youimmediate value.
Number one, difficult emaildrafting.
(11:09):
Look, we've all been there,right?
You have to deliver toughfeedback via email or
communicate a decision thatpeople won't like, or you know,
address a sensitive situationwhere tone is absolutely
everything.
Here's the process I use.
First, write out the key pointsyou need to communicate, just
(11:31):
you know, bullet points.
Doesn't need to be pretty orpolished.
Second, you have to give the AIcontext.
Something like, you know, I needto write an email to my team
about in whatever the situationis.
The tone needs to be in, youknow, whatever you need it to be
here.
It could be, you know, directbut empathetic, professional but
(11:54):
warm, firm but supportive.
Okay.
And then the key points are, andyou put your bullets, you know,
your bullet points in there.
And then third, this is reallycrucial, tell it to generate
three or four different drafts.
Ask AI to vary the approach.
(12:14):
Okay, one more direct, onethat's more conversational,
okay, one that leads withempathy.
Get options.
Fourth, and listen to this,don't don't use any of them
verbatim.
Don't just copy and paste.
Read through them and pull thephrases that resonate, combine
(12:36):
the elements and add your ownvoice.
Okay, the AI gave you thearchitecture, but you're doing
the finishing work.
I use this constantly.
It saves me from staring at ablank screen for 30 minutes
trying to figure out how tostart a difficult message.
Instead, I spend you know fiveminutes getting drafts and then
(12:58):
10 minutes refining that intosomething that sounds like me
and addresses the specific humandynamics at play.
And that's powerful.
Application number two is dataanalysis and pattern
recognition.
This is where AI becomes agenuine force multiplier for
leaders.
(13:20):
Say you're you're looking atyour team's performance metrics,
you know, budget utilization,project timelines, employee
engagement scores, those kind ofthings.
Separately, you might notice afew things, but AI can look at
all of it simultaneously andfind patterns you'd never spot
on your own.
(13:41):
Here's how I approach it.
Just upload your data or sharethe key metrics with your AI
tool.
Then start asking it questions.
You know, what patterns do yousee in team productivity over
the last six months?
Are there correlations betweenbudget allocation and project
success rates?
(14:02):
What might be you know causingthe dip in engagement scores for
this specific team?
The AI will analyze combinationsof factors that would take you
hours, maybe days, toinvestigate manually.
It might tell you that projectswith certain characteristics
consistently run over budget, orthat engagement drops correlate
(14:27):
with specific types of projectassignments, or that certain
team members are bottlenecksthat you hadn't identified.
Here's what you do with thatinformation: you dig deeper with
your people, you haveconversations, you ask
questions, use your humanjudgment to understand the why
(14:48):
behind the patterns.
The AI gives you theinvestigative leads.
You do the actual investigating.
That's the partnership.
Now, if you want to take thisfurther, and I do this with
several of my clients, you cancreate custom AI agents designed
specifically for your role oryour company's needs.
(15:11):
I have agents built for specificclients that understand their
industry, their company values,their communication style, their
common leadership challenges.
When I need to analyze asituation or draft something for
them, the agent already has allthe context.
Okay, it's like it's like havingan analyst who's been with you
(15:32):
for years and knows how youthink.
You can do the same thing.
You can create an agent thatknows your team structure, your
strategic priorities, yourleadership philosophy.
You can, you know, feed itrelevant documents, past
communications, successfulinitiatives, and then just use
it as your like your first passanalysis for everything from
(15:56):
performance reviews to you knowstrategic planning.
It's really a game changer whenyou set this up right.
So let's talk about the peoplefirst plus AI integration.
It's the paradigm shift I wantyou to embrace.
(16:16):
Using AI actually makes you morepeople first, not less.
Let that sink in for a second.
Think about it.
Right now, how much time do youspend on tasks that don't
require your unique humanjudgment?
(16:36):
Budget spreadsheets, performancereview templates, status report
summaries, data compilation,calendar management, all that
stuff.
Well, what if you cut that timein half?
What would you do with thoseextra hours?
Well, you'd spend more time inone-on-ones actually listening
(16:57):
instead of rushing through them.
You'd have space to mentor thathigh potential team member who
needs your guidance.
You'd notice the subtle shiftsin team dynamics before they
become problems.
You'd be present in meetingsinstead of mentally writing the
follow-up email while someone'stalking.
(17:17):
The trap that the 88% of heavyAI users fall into, the ones
experiencing burnout, is thatthey use AI to do more work at
the same pace instead of usingit to do the same work with more
presence and better quality.
Now yeah, let me explain what Imean by that.
(17:42):
See, when you when you get goodat AI, suddenly you can draft
that email in five minutesinstead of 30.
You can analyze data in 10minutes instead of an hour, you
can create that presentation in20 minutes instead of half a
day.
I mean, that's amazing, right?
But here's what happens.
Instead of taking that save timeand investing it in your people,
(18:07):
you fill it with more tasks.
You think, great, now I canrespond to 50 emails instead of
20.
Now I can analyze five data setsinstead of one.
Now I can create threepresentations instead of one.
And suddenly you're moreproductive on paper, but you're
(18:27):
working at the same franticpace, or or worse, you've got no
space to actually lead.
You're you're still rushingthrough one-on-ones, you're
still not fully present inmeetings, you're still not
seeing the early warning signson your team, you're just doing
more stuff faster.
That's the burnout trap.
(18:48):
Don't fall into it.
Don't add more tasks to yourplate just because AI makes each
task faster.
Use the time savings to be theleader your people need.
That's the whole point.
Steve Case, the CEO ofRevolution Growth, observed
we're seeing a transition fromAI being a big horizontal
(19:11):
platform to more vertical AIdeployed in industry verticals,
which creates an opportunity allacross the country.
What does that mean?
That means AI is becoming moretailored, okay, more specific,
more useful for your particularcontext, which means the tools
(19:32):
will get better at handling yourspecific task, freeing you up
even more for leadership thatonly you can do.
And that is exciting.
So here's what I want you to dothis week.
Just this week.
Start small.
First, identify one repetitivetask that eats up your time, but
(19:55):
doesn't require your uniquehuman insight.
Email drafting, data analysis,report generation, just just
pick one.
Don't try to boil the oceanhere.
And second, experiment withusing AI for that specific task.
Don't try to revolutionize yourentire workflow overnight.
(20:16):
Just test one thing.
See how it feels.
Refine your approach as you go.
And third, and this is the mostimportant part, track what you
do with the time you save.
Don't let it just disappear intomore busy work.
Intentionally redirect ittowards people first leadership
(20:37):
activities.
Have an extra conversation.
Spend more time observing yourteam.
Think more deeply aboutsomeone's development.
Be intentional with it.
Remember, you're not competingwith AI.
You're not being replaced by AI.
You're learning to use AI so youcan focus more energy on the
things that make youirreplaceable.
(21:00):
Reading people, building trust,making nuanced judgment calls,
and providing the clarity andthe motivation that humans need
from their leaders.
The leaders who figure this outwon't just survive the AI era,
they will thrive in it.
Because while AI is gettingbetter at task, your people
(21:24):
still need and will always needhuman leadership.
That's what you bring.
And AI should make you better atit, not worse.
If your organization needs helpintegrating AI into your
leadership approach withoutlosing that people first focus,
(21:44):
hey, I'd love to help.
I work with leaders and teamsthrough keynote speaking,
executive coaching, andleadership training to build
people-first cultures that drivereal results.
Now, with the power of AIworking for you, not against
you.
You can connect with me onLinkedIn or feel free to visit
(22:04):
my website, nextstepadvisors.com.
There's no e, just nxt, nextstepadvisors.com.
And hey, if this episoderesonated with you, would you do
me a favor?
Subscribe to the show whereveryou listen to podcasts, and
please leave a review and sharethis episode with another leader
who needs to hear it.
(22:25):
That's how we grow thiscommunity and how we get the
word out to make a bigger impacton the workplace.
Because the more leaders who getthis stuff right, the better
workplaces become for everyone.
And remember, keep using AI tofree up time for your people,
not to avoid them.
(22:45):
Keep reading what's not beingsaid, not just what the data
shows, and keep being the leaderyour team looks to because AI
can't replace that.
And you know why?
Because those are the thingsthat leaders do.
SPEAKER_00 (23:05):
Thank you for listening to Things Leaders Do.
If you're looking for more tipson how to be a better leader, be
sure to subscribe to the podcastand listen to next week's
episode.
Until next time, keep working onbeing a better leader by doing
the things that leaders do.
People first leadership.
Actionable strategies, realresults.
This is Things Leaders Do withColby Morris.
SPEAKER_01 (00:11):
So your inbox has yet another article about AI
replacing jobs.
Your LinkedIn feed is full ofexperts telling you to adapt or
die.
And you're sitting herewondering, well, am I next?
Will my role even exist in fiveyears?
(00:32):
Here's what I want you to heartoday.
Great people first leaders willnot be replaced by AI.
But, and here's the catch, 88%of heavy AI users are
experiencing significant burnoutright now.
They're stressed, disconnected,and twice as likely to quit.
(00:55):
Meanwhile, other leaders who useAI strategically are saving over
100 hours per year, and 77% ofC-suite leaders confirm real
productivity gains from AIadoption.
So what's the difference?
That seems paradoxical, right?
(01:16):
The leaders who succeed aren'tchoosing between people and
technology.
They're actually using AI tobecome more people first, not
less.
Hey leaders, this is ColbyMorris, and this is the Things
Leaders Do podcast.
Today we're talking aboutsomething that is keeping a lot
(01:38):
of leaders up at night, andthat's how to lead effectively
in the age of AI without losingthe human connection that makes
great leadership possible in thefirst place.
So let me be really clear aboutsomething.
AI will not replace great peoplefirst leaders.
(02:00):
Okay, leadership isfundamentally human-centric, and
the best leaders understand thatdeeply.
They get it.
(02:37):
He put it perfectly when hesaid, We in positions of
leadership and management have aresponsibility and
accountability to employees tocontinuously try to figure out
on their behalf how they canhave fulfilled careers and be
motivated.
I took my job as CEO as ChiefClarity Officer.
(02:58):
Hmm.
Chief Clarity Officer.
I absolutely love that.
And here's the thing (03:03):
79% of business leaders say their
company needs to adopt AI tostay competitive.
And it's not because AI is magicor some silver bullet, but
because it frees you to do whatZali is talking about.
Providing clarity, motivation,and fulfilled careers for your
(03:25):
people.
Now, the leaders who ignore AIcompletely?
Look, they're going to be okayif they're already great people
first leaders, but they won't benearly as effective as they
could be.
They can keep doing the samething, sure, but why wouldn't
(03:46):
you want to optimize?
Why wouldn't you want to free upyour time so you can spend more
time on your people?
That just makes sense.
Alright, so let's talk aboutwhat AI is genuinely good at
because this is where thepractical magic actually
happens.
First, AI crunches numbers andfinds patterns you'd miss.
(04:11):
I'm talking about data analysisthat would take you hours or
that you never even attemptbecause let's be honest, who has
that kind of time?
AI can look at performancemetrics, budget allocations,
team productivity, teamproductivity patterns, and it
can pull out those insights inminutes, seconds, not hours,
(04:35):
minutes.
And second, AI draftscommunications you can refine
with your human touch.
Notice I said drafts, not writesperfectly.
You still need to add yourvoice, okay?
Your understanding of thesituation, your knowledge of the
people involved.
(04:56):
But starting from a solid draftinstead of a blank page, that's
a game changer.
So let's do a real-time example.
Let's say I want to, I don'tknow, talk.
I would say I want to tell myteam about a deadline change.
Okay.
What I want to say is, and I'mgoing to type this where we're
(05:17):
going.
Hey team, the client moved thedeadline up by a week.
I know this sucks, but let'sfigure it out together.
All right, so I'm going to typethen to Claude, and I'm going to
say, help me rewrite this emailto my team to sound more
(05:40):
professional and empathetic inthe delivery.
All right, here's what Claudegives me back.
Dear team members, I am writingto inform you of a modification
to our project timeline.
The client has requested anaccelerated delivery schedule,
advancing our deadline by sevenbusiness days.
(06:01):
I have confidence in ourcollective ability to adapt and
meet this challenge withprofessionalism and dedication.
Okay.
We'll see what happened there.
AI went full corporate speak onme.
Modification to our projecttimeline.
Seven business days.
(06:21):
Yeah, nobody talks like that.
So now I take that draft, Istrip out like all the stuff
that sounds like a legaldocument, and I put my actual
voice back in.
So I'd say something like, heyteam, heads up.
The client just moved ourdeadline up by a week.
(06:42):
I know that's not ideal timing,but I've seen this team pull off
tougher pivots before.
Let's regroup tomorrow morningand figure out the game plan
together.
Yeah, that's not bad.
So that's the process.
See, AI gives you the structure,you give it the soul.
(07:02):
That's pretty good.
That's using AI as your startingpoint, not your finish line.
Third, AI and analyzes data soyou can focus what it means for
your people.
There's a huge differencebetween knowing the numbers and
knowing what to do about them.
See, AI handles the what, youhandle the so what and the now
(07:28):
what.
Here's an example for you.
Let's say you're looking at teamperformance data.
AI can tell you thatproductivity dropped 15% in Q3,
and that it correlates with aspike in project handoffs, and
that three specific team membersare showing signs of overwhelm
(07:51):
based on their communicationpatterns and deadlines.
I mean, that's valuableinformation, right?
But what AI can't tell you iswhy those three people are
overwhelmed.
Okay, it can't read the bodylanguage in your 101s, it cannot
sense the hesitation when youask how they're really doing.
(08:14):
It can't see what's not beingsaid in those conversations.
And that's where you come in.
So this is the most importantpart of this entire
conversation.
Okay?
You possess inherent skills thatAI will not have, at least for a
(08:34):
very long time.
Maybe ever.
You can read body language andemotional cues.
When someone says, I'm fine, buttheir shoulders are tense and
they won't make eye contact, youyou see that.
AI doesn't.
It can't.
You can see what's not beingsaid.
(08:57):
The team member who who used tocontribute ideas but has gone
quiet, the high performer who'ssuddenly asking about other
opportunities, the shift inenergy when a particular project
gets mentioned.
AI misses all of thiscompletely.
You build trust andpsychological safety, and people
(09:19):
don't trust algorithms, theytrust other people.
They trust leaders who've shownup for them, who've had their
backs, who's made tough callswith empathy and fairness.
That's human stuff.
You make judgment calls onnuanced people situations.
(09:41):
Should you push this personharder or give them space?
You know, is this is thisconflict about the project or
something deeper?
Does this team need morestructure or more autonomy?
These aren't math problems withyou know right answers.
They require wisdom andexperience and human judgment.
(10:04):
Rick Western, the CEO of Cotter,said something that really
resonates here.
He said, This is the broadestview of diversity.
It's about opening your apertureand not acting like you've got
all the answers yourself becausethings are so complex.
That complexity, that's thetrain of human leadership.
(10:27):
AI can inform your decisions,absolutely, but it can't make
them for you.
You're the leader that peoplelook to.
You have a role that can't bereplaced.
But you need to lean into thatand start adopting the AI tools
that free you up to be evenbetter at the irreplaceable
(10:48):
parts.
Both things can be true at thesame time.
Alright, so let's get reallypractical here.
If you're just starting with AI,here are two specific ways to
begin that will give youimmediate value.
Number one, difficult emaildrafting.
(11:09):
Look, we've all been there,right?
You have to deliver toughfeedback via email or
communicate a decision thatpeople won't like, or you know,
address a sensitive situationwhere tone is absolutely
everything.
Here's the process I use.
First, write out the key pointsyou need to communicate, just
(11:31):
you know, bullet points.
Doesn't need to be pretty orpolished.
Second, you have to give the AIcontext.
Something like, you know, I needto write an email to my team
about in whatever the situationis.
The tone needs to be in, youknow, whatever you need it to be
here.
It could be, you know, directbut empathetic, professional but
(11:54):
warm, firm but supportive.
Okay.
And then the key points are, andyou put your bullets, you know,
your bullet points in there.
And then third, this is reallycrucial, tell it to generate
three or four different drafts.
Ask AI to vary the approach.
(12:14):
Okay, one more direct, onethat's more conversational,
okay, one that leads withempathy.
Get options.
Fourth, and listen to this,don't don't use any of them
verbatim.
Don't just copy and paste.
Read through them and pull thephrases that resonate, combine
(12:36):
the elements and add your ownvoice.
Okay, the AI gave you thearchitecture, but you're doing
the finishing work.
I use this constantly.
It saves me from staring at ablank screen for 30 minutes
trying to figure out how tostart a difficult message.
Instead, I spend you know fiveminutes getting drafts and then
(12:58):
10 minutes refining that intosomething that sounds like me
and addresses the specific humandynamics at play.
And that's powerful.
Application number two is dataanalysis and pattern
recognition.
This is where AI becomes agenuine force multiplier for
leaders.
(13:20):
Say you're you're looking atyour team's performance metrics,
you know, budget utilization,project timelines, employee
engagement scores, those kind ofthings.
Separately, you might notice afew things, but AI can look at
all of it simultaneously andfind patterns you'd never spot
on your own.
(13:41):
Here's how I approach it.
Just upload your data or sharethe key metrics with your AI
tool.
Then start asking it questions.
You know, what patterns do yousee in team productivity over
the last six months?
Are there correlations betweenbudget allocation and project
success rates?
(14:02):
What might be you know causingthe dip in engagement scores for
this specific team?
The AI will analyze combinationsof factors that would take you
hours, maybe days, toinvestigate manually.
It might tell you that projectswith certain characteristics
consistently run over budget, orthat engagement drops correlate
(14:27):
with specific types of projectassignments, or that certain
team members are bottlenecksthat you hadn't identified.
Here's what you do with thatinformation: you dig deeper with
your people, you haveconversations, you ask
questions, use your humanjudgment to understand the why
(14:48):
behind the patterns.
The AI gives you theinvestigative leads.
You do the actual investigating.
That's the partnership.
Now, if you want to take thisfurther, and I do this with
several of my clients, you cancreate custom AI agents designed
specifically for your role oryour company's needs.
(15:11):
I have agents built for specificclients that understand their
industry, their company values,their communication style, their
common leadership challenges.
When I need to analyze asituation or draft something for
them, the agent already has allthe context.
Okay, it's like it's like havingan analyst who's been with you
(15:32):
for years and knows how youthink.
You can do the same thing.
You can create an agent thatknows your team structure, your
strategic priorities, yourleadership philosophy.
You can, you know, feed itrelevant documents, past
communications, successfulinitiatives, and then just use
it as your like your first passanalysis for everything from
(15:56):
performance reviews to you knowstrategic planning.
It's really a game changer whenyou set this up right.
So let's talk about the peoplefirst plus AI integration.
It's the paradigm shift I wantyou to embrace.
(16:16):
Using AI actually makes you morepeople first, not less.
Let that sink in for a second.
Think about it.
Right now, how much time do youspend on tasks that don't
require your unique humanjudgment?
(16:36):
Budget spreadsheets, performancereview templates, status report
summaries, data compilation,calendar management, all that
stuff.
Well, what if you cut that timein half?
What would you do with thoseextra hours?
Well, you'd spend more time inone-on-ones actually listening
(16:57):
instead of rushing through them.
You'd have space to mentor thathigh potential team member who
needs your guidance.
You'd notice the subtle shiftsin team dynamics before they
become problems.
You'd be present in meetingsinstead of mentally writing the
follow-up email while someone'stalking.
(17:17):
The trap that the 88% of heavyAI users fall into, the ones
experiencing burnout, is thatthey use AI to do more work at
the same pace instead of usingit to do the same work with more
presence and better quality.
Now yeah, let me explain what Imean by that.
(17:42):
See, when you when you get goodat AI, suddenly you can draft
that email in five minutesinstead of 30.
You can analyze data in 10minutes instead of an hour, you
can create that presentation in20 minutes instead of half a
day.
I mean, that's amazing, right?
But here's what happens.
Instead of taking that save timeand investing it in your people,
(18:07):
you fill it with more tasks.
You think, great, now I canrespond to 50 emails instead of
20.
Now I can analyze five data setsinstead of one.
Now I can create threepresentations instead of one.
And suddenly you're moreproductive on paper, but you're
(18:27):
working at the same franticpace, or or worse, you've got no
space to actually lead.
You're you're still rushingthrough one-on-ones, you're
still not fully present inmeetings, you're still not
seeing the early warning signson your team, you're just doing
more stuff faster.
That's the burnout trap.
(18:48):
Don't fall into it.
Don't add more tasks to yourplate just because AI makes each
task faster.
Use the time savings to be theleader your people need.
That's the whole point.
Steve Case, the CEO ofRevolution Growth, observed
we're seeing a transition fromAI being a big horizontal
(19:11):
platform to more vertical AIdeployed in industry verticals,
which creates an opportunity allacross the country.
What does that mean?
That means AI is becoming moretailored, okay, more specific,
more useful for your particularcontext, which means the tools
(19:32):
will get better at handling yourspecific task, freeing you up
even more for leadership thatonly you can do.
And that is exciting.
So here's what I want you to dothis week.
Just this week.
Start small.
First, identify one repetitivetask that eats up your time, but
(19:55):
doesn't require your uniquehuman insight.
Email drafting, data analysis,report generation, just just
pick one.
Don't try to boil the oceanhere.
And second, experiment withusing AI for that specific task.
Don't try to revolutionize yourentire workflow overnight.
(20:16):
Just test one thing.
See how it feels.
Refine your approach as you go.
And third, and this is the mostimportant part, track what you
do with the time you save.
Don't let it just disappear intomore busy work.
Intentionally redirect ittowards people first leadership
(20:37):
activities.
Have an extra conversation.
Spend more time observing yourteam.
Think more deeply aboutsomeone's development.
Be intentional with it.
Remember, you're not competingwith AI.
You're not being replaced by AI.
You're learning to use AI so youcan focus more energy on the
things that make youirreplaceable.
(21:00):
Reading people, building trust,making nuanced judgment calls,
and providing the clarity andthe motivation that humans need
from their leaders.
The leaders who figure this outwon't just survive the AI era,
they will thrive in it.
Because while AI is gettingbetter at task, your people
(21:24):
still need and will always needhuman leadership.
That's what you bring.
And AI should make you better atit, not worse.
If your organization needs helpintegrating AI into your
leadership approach withoutlosing that people first focus,
(21:44):
hey, I'd love to help.
I work with leaders and teamsthrough keynote speaking,
executive coaching, andleadership training to build
people-first cultures that drivereal results.
Now, with the power of AIworking for you, not against
you.
You can connect with me onLinkedIn or feel free to visit
(22:04):
my website, nextstepadvisors.com.
There's no e, just nxt, nextstepadvisors.com.
And hey, if this episoderesonated with you, would you do
me a favor?
Subscribe to the show whereveryou listen to podcasts, and
please leave a review and sharethis episode with another leader
who needs to hear it.
(22:25):
That's how we grow thiscommunity and how we get the
word out to make a bigger impacton the workplace.
Because the more leaders who getthis stuff right, the better
workplaces become for everyone.
And remember, keep using AI tofree up time for your people,
not to avoid them.
(22:45):
Keep reading what's not beingsaid, not just what the data
shows, and keep being the leaderyour team looks to because AI
can't replace that.
And you know why?
Because those are the thingsthat leaders do.
SPEAKER_00 (23:05):
Thank you for listening to Things Leaders Do.
If you're looking for more tipson how to be a better leader, be
sure to subscribe to the podcastand listen to next week's
episode.
Until next time, keep working onbeing a better leader by doing
the things that leaders do.
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