Your First 60 Days as a Leader

Chapter 3. AI—Your New Thought Partner and Copilot

It’s long been said that leading is lonely. It’s true in that there may be information only you can know, decisions only you can make, judgment only you can render. You are only able to do that well when you are comfortable with yourself, your values, and your responsibilities.

Yet, advances in artificial intelligence (AI) are making the role a little less lonely. You can’t outsource the tough stuff to technology; there is no magic leadership bot because leading remains centered in the human factors of relationships. Yet you can use AI to augment your abilities, expand your capacity, and build proficiency. Used wisely, AI can help you create space to reflect, challenge your assumptions, sharpen your thinking, and anticipate the evolving context in which you lead.

AI workflows are likely already coursing through your organization. Some are straightforward tools used to speed proposals and streamline the torrent of information you’re expected to handle every day. Others are fully agentic, advancing work in ever more sophisticated ways. AI is now part of your team. As a leader, you can also make it part of your inner circle.

AI is advancing at such a frantic pace that specific capabilities will have changed—perhaps radically—between when I write this and when you read it. Let’s focus instead on enduring principles that will transcend specific platforms and operating models.

The most important comes from my colleague, Dr. Brian Spisak, ...