Let’s embrace AI, together

Culture starts here. 

And by, here, we mean with leaders – the ones whose mindsets and behaviors cast a shadow about what gets celebrated and tolerated across the organization. 

Leaders are in the midst of AI upending work as we know it. 

They are accessing AI as a management coach, communications consultant and productivity hack. All good things. 

However, what they are NOT getting is nuanced guidance, interpersonal skill development and mentoring from other humans who have lived experience.  

We can help.  

We’ve been helping leaders be effective for nearly 40 years – through the rise of personal computing (’80s), the Internet revolution (’90s), cloud computing (SaaS) (2000s), automation and globalization (2010s – 2020s), financial crises and economic shock (dot-com crash of 2000, global financial crisis of 2008, and Covid in 2020) as well as the current “Data as the New Oil” reality in the midst of geopolitical chaos.

We’ve seen it all and we’ve helped leaders and organizations evolve and prosper through it all and we’re expertly positioned to help leaders be effective in the age of AI.  

What does it mean for leaders to be effective in the age of AI? 

Even in this AI-rich world, leadership is fundamentally human. The following durable skills for leaders are ever more important as generative and agentic AI proliferates. 

  • Values-based leadership – Personal conviction, authentic leadership presence and core confidence is rooted in living and leading in a values-aligned way.   AI can’t get inside our hearts and souls. 
  • Influence – Influence requires judgment and emotional intelligence and contextual awareness.  AI can’t do those things today. 
  • Creativity – AI can’t tap into our lived experience and imagination.  As more and more people begin parroting the “answers” they get from AI, creative people will prevail by extending and compending what AI serves up to create truly innovative ideas and applications.  
  • Empathy – Humans are neuro-biologically wired for connection.  AI can’t replace oxytocin, dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins that are released in our brains when someone empathizes with us. 
  • Critical thinking – Humans are uniquely able to question assumptions, consider different perspectives, and make reasoned decisions based on evidence vs. simply accepting information at face value.  

Now, more than ever, training keeps the people in the loop. 

1. Transformation Requires More Than Information 

AI can answer questions, but it can’t transform people or teams. Leadership development isn’t about just knowing what to do — it’s about practicing, internalizing, and embodying behaviors. That requires: 

  • Feedback loops 
  • Emotional intelligence 
  • Relationship savvy 
  • Courageous self-examination 
  • AI can support these, but humans still catalyze them best. 

2. Trust and Psychological Safety Are Human-Driven 

Real growth happens in psychologically safe spaces. People pay for coaches, facilitators, and programs because they trust the person — someone who sees them, believes in them, and challenges them at the right time. 

3. Alignment Requires “Touching the Sheep” 

You can’t “download” culture or team alignment. Leadership development often builds shared language, values, and trust among groups. These things emerge through dialogue, tension, storytelling, and shared experience — not just prompt-based outputs. 

4. Leaders Aren’t Just Problem-Solvers — They’re Meaning-Makers 

AI can optimize tasks, but it can’t create meaning. Leaders help others find purpose in the work. That demands human intuition, lived experience, and moral grounding — things AI can reflect but not originate. 

5. People Want to Be Seen and Developed 

In a world flooded with data, the differentiator will be people feeling seen, supported, and stretched. Leadership development becomes more valuable, not less, because it delivers what AI can’t: personalized human growth and accountability. 

As AI grows in power, the differentiator will not be knowledge.

It will be wisdom, character, and connection. That’s what great leadership development delivers. 

We’re not competing with AI. We’re complementing it — by helping leaders do what only they can: lead with courage, clarity, and humanity. 

How does AI help all organizations (ADVISA included) grow? 

Speed and scale. 

Here are a few highlights of how ADVISA is leveraging the new opportunities AI presents:

  • We have implemented Microsoft CoPilot to help us leverage our internal institutional knowledge. This expedites processes for us and ultimately leads to a new ability to share more tailored and insightful thought leadership with our clients.
  • Our Training Delivery team is incorporating AI into activities in our programs and customization of our materials.
  • Across our entire staff, we are using AI to work smarter not harder, from research to ideation.
  • The Predictive Index is investing millions of dollars into enhancing their talent optimization platform to be even more robust and useful through the power of AI. 
  • We are beginning to use AI to analyze the goldmine of data we’ve accumulated after years to leading culture change via our proprietary Leadership + Culture Assessment® to create unique new insights about leadership and culture that you can’t find anywhere else.

Want help navigating AI in the new workplace?

Request a free consultation with one of our expert Leadership Consultants today.