PLN 40: Self-Leadership in the Age of AI: Why the Inner Work Still Matters Most

Time to Read: 4 mins 

I was recently at a leadership event, and I did the thing we all pretend we don’t do.

I eavesdropped. (Shhhh… don’t tell anyone.) 🤫

I was listening to a group of senior leaders who were deeply immersed in an AI conversation. And I was fascinated!

They were talking about which tools they were testing, how they were wiring AI into their ecosystems, what they wanted to automate next… all the things.

And the conversation was brilliant. I mean, these were sharp people, really thinking hard about how emerging technologies fit within their organizations.

But I kept standing there, waiting for one of them to ask the question that mattered most. And…

It never came. 😩

Not once did anybody inquire about the humans on the other end of all that technology. The people who’d be using these tools day in and day out. Or the leaders who now had to manage AI-agents and humans, as a combined workforce.

It’s like they forgot their organizations are still full of people!

I went home, struggling with what I’d just witnessed, and immediately fell down the internet research rabbit hole. (Of course, I did! 🤓)

But I came across several pieces of research that gave me real hope about the role of leaders in the age of AI. And there’s one in particular I want to share with you.

A team of researchers who spent 15 years studying human-centred leadership has now turned their attention to AI. They interviewed over 100 senior leaders and surveyed more than 2,500 employees. And what they found opens up the AI conversation in an increasingly important way:

The leaders who are actually getting the most out of AI aren’t the ones with the flashiest tool stack. They’re the ones doing the inner work.

Their research showed real examples of how AI can make leaders more human, IF approached the right way. But I’ll be the first to admit… that IF is big.

“As great as AI can be, it alone cannot make us better leaders. Relying only on AI without doing the inner work of human development would be like buying a top-of-the-line Ferrari and ignoring the fact that you’re a bad driver. To get the best from AI, we need to equally invest in the development of our human potential.”

Boom! Yes! The people side of the equation. Finally.

The article provided an example of this playing out in real time at Accenture, with their chief leadership and HR officer, Ellyn Shook.

Before AI, prepping for a performance conversation included 45 minutes gathering and organizing information, and only 15 minutes thinking about the person she was about to sit down with.

Now, an AI tool synthesizes all the data. Priorities, feedback, metrics, aspirations… all beautifully composed by AI. And what used to take Ellyn 45 minutes now only takes her five.

So what did she do with the extra 40 minutes?

This is the key! She didn’t fill it with another meeting or look for some other task to check off her list.

Instead, she kept the time allocated toward that person and used it to think about how to make their conversation more meaningful.

Yep, Ellyn used the time it bought her to get more human, not less. She replaced doing time with thinking time.

And that’s where AI can really shine… it can make space for leaders to show up in a way they never could before. With better reports, deeper insights, customized development plans, and the space to be thoughtful, intentional, and present.

Whoever sat across from her that day probably couldn’t tell you what AI tool she used. They’d just remember the conversation felt different. And that’s the piece that matters.

I do believe AI can play an important role in leadership, but it’s up to us, as leaders, to decide if it’s a supporting actor or a main character.

Ellyn leveraged it as a supporting actor, making space for her to lead with intention and care.

But it’s a conscious choice we all have to make.

💡 Practionable Takeaway

At the end of the day, AI is simply a tool. And to be fair, it’s not one everyone’s using. But regardless of which tool is actually in your hands, the question is still the same:

How can you intentionally use it for the betterment of yourself, and those around you? 🧐

Answer that honestly, and you have the building blocks for a better future.

So here’s my three-step challenge to you:

1️⃣ Pick one tool or process you already lean on — AI or otherwise.

2️⃣ Ask yourself honestly: am I using this with real intention, or am I just letting it run?

3️⃣ Choose one way to use it more deliberately, either for your own growth, or for someone you lead.

Remember, tools can make us more human… but only if we lead ourselves through intentionally using them to do so.

🎥 Want to Go Deeper? 

So, where does that inner work actually start?

That’s exactly what the self-leadership assessment is built to answer. It’s about getting an accurate read on how you think, how you act, and how you motivate yourself — the three things that determine what you do with any tool you’re handed.

Ten quick minutes, and you’ll walk away with a clearer picture of where to focus first.

To Your Success,

Laura 💜🧡