🦋 AI is Great at Answers. Leaders Ask the Right Questions

Leadership practices that will set you apart in the age of AI

A few weeks ago, I was a speaker at the AI+ Expo conference in DC, where I was asked about how AI will impact our ability to lead and live freely. My answer: AI will make us value deeply human and offline experiences even more! In today's newsletter, I want to share how to preserve and leverage your humanity and authenticity in the AI era 👇

🤖 AI Is Everywhere—But So Is the Need for Human Connection

AI has dramatically accelerated the pace of change. But with its proliferation, something is becoming scarce: authentic, uniquely human experiences. Overuse of AI already makes much of the content we see look the same. The first casualty is authenticity—and people are noticing. Paradoxically, the more AI simplifies our online lives, the more we crave real, pre-technology connections.

To thrive as a leader in this new era, ignoring AI isn’t an option. Learning to use it will save time, cut costs, and magnify your impact. The key is balance: use AI as a tool and thinking partner, but preserve your irreplaceable human edge.

🫀 Why Your Humanity Just Became a Strategic Asset

Automation is racing up the task ladder. McKinsey projects up to 30% of current work hours could be automated by 2030, pushed by generative AI. This means more routine tasks will shift away from humans, demanding higher-value skills.
Leaders, not employees, are the bottleneck. Only 1% of companies have reached AI maturity, mostly because executives haven’t reimagined how they lead. The pace of change depends on leadership.
Soft skills are surging in value. According to the World Economic Forum, employers expect 39% of core job skills to change by 2030, with creativity, resilience, leadership, and social influence rising fastest. These "human skills" are increasingly in demand as automation grows.
Data isn’t wisdom. Harvard Business Review cautions against “dataism”—the belief that more data guarantees better decisions—showing that human judgment remains essential.
Trust hinges on real presence. As AI floods feeds with synthetic content, audiences crave leaders who can “own the room” and build face-to-face credibility, according to MIT findings.

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^{Technology is great at giving you answers; leadership is the art of asking the questions that still have none. The more silicon we add to our workflows, the more priceless a well-placed pause, a curious ‘why?,’ or an empathic nod becomes.}

🫆 Human-First Practices to Double-Down On

As demand for authentic human experience rises, your leadership skills become indispensable. Here’s what to cultivate—and why each matters:

Building trust: As AI increases uncertainty and the pace of change, strong trust is foundational for resilient teams and authentic collaboration.
Storytelling (mindful vulnerability): Sharing authentic stories, including your own struggles, inspires and connects people on a deep level.
Community building: Technology can isolate, but communities foster support, belonging, and collective knowledge—which even the best AI cannot replace.
Deep listening and presence: Amid constant digital noise, attentive listening helps you truly understand, making others feel seen and valued where AI cannot.
Coaching: Developing others by connecting and learning how to ask powerful questions, providing thoughtful feedback, and helping people discover their solutions and potential.
Adaptivity & antifragility: Rapid AI advancements require the ability not just to survive change, but to grow stronger with it. Learning how to handle the uncertainty and enabling others to do the same is the essential leadership skill in the 21st century!
Ethical leadership: As AI raises new dilemmas and the world becomes more complex, moral clarity is scarce. Principled leaders are essential for trusted, responsible decision-making. Learn how to develop your moral compass, clarify your values, and act upon them.
Mentoring: Sharing experience and practical wisdom accelerates human potential—something AI can help facilitate, but not replace.
Emotional intelligence: EI is your personal AI system - it allows you to do everything listed above in a much better way.

Pulse of Change—and the programs we’re building—are already focusing on these practices. You’re in the right place!

🫱🏼‍🫲🏻 Let’s Build Human Skills Together - A New Community

This is why I decided to create a new community—for builders and visionaries who aren't afraid to be ambitious—people ready to pursue their biggest, scariest ideas and become who they need to be to make them real.

I envision this as a place where we support each other in pursuing the craziest worthy big ideas you have, sharpen our thinking & leadership skills through peer-to-peer coaching, live workshops & simulations, and even in-person meetups. But it's a work in progress, as we are in the early stages of this idea.

I'm limiting the community to just 120 people initially, to foster genuine connections. If you're interested, please join the waitlist HERE, and I'll send occasional updates.

I've already secured commitments from some amazing people to join ✊

💡 How I Use AI: Supplement, Not The Main Meal

I automate all the tasks that don't need my creative input, but I maintain control. For example, AI creates my weekly family meal plan based on the instructions I provide.

I also use it to edit my writing since English is my second language. It helps me brainstorm ideas as a thinking partner. But it doesn't replace my human thought partners - business partners, friends, and family members. It's simply part of the mix.

I use AI for learning technical skills—when I wanted to learn the video-editing tool Descript, AI was my mentor!

I use it to summarize more technical books, but I never use it for important books with new ideas I might incorporate in my work. I've tried, but AI misses the most important gems that I can detect. For me, reading is about inspiration and thinking, not just gathering information.

You need to create your own AI mix—one that automates technical tasks and serves as a mentor and thinking partner in some areas, without allowing it to replace your human connections and creative process.

🚀 5‑Minute Action Item

Start building your balance today:

Identify one task to automate. Choose a routine report, email template, or repetitive analysis that takes up time, and try using an AI tool to handle it.
Choose one human skill to double-down on. Pick a skill from the list I shared, and set aside 30 minutes this week to work on it.
Reflect. At week’s end, jot down what you learned: How did handing off a task to AI feel? What changed when you leaned into your human strengths?

AI is taking the spreadsheets and slide-deck grunt work off our plates, but the leaders who will matter in 2025 and beyond are the ones who turn that freed-up bandwidth into deeper listening, bolder creativity, and unmistakably human judgment ✊