AI in leadership – between productivity and loss of meaning

When I started talking to leaders about artificial intelligence two years ago, many of them treated it as a curiosity. Sometimes with distance, sometimes with slight apprehension.

Today, it is difficult to find a team where AI does not appear, at least in the background. It writes, analyzes, plans, and supports decisions.

And although we are still talking about technology, in reality we are talking about people—about how our way of working, thinking, and leading is changing.

The use of AI in the daily work of teams – Gallup report

According to the latest Gallup report, “AI Use at Work Has Nearly Doubled in Two Years” the use of artificial intelligence at work has increased from 21 to 40 percent in just two years.

More and more people are using AI at least several times a week, and 8 percent of employees use it every day.

Most often, this is done by leaders, specialists, and industries with high cognitive intensity: technology, finance, and professional services.

At the same time, only 22 percent of respondents say their organization has a clear strategy for implementing AI, and only 16 percent consider the available tools to be truly useful.

This is an interesting paradox, because technology is developing faster than our readiness to use it wisely. The increase in adoption is not accompanied by an increase in understanding.

As a result, AI is becoming more than just a tool—it is becoming a mirror that reflects organizational culture.

The tempting ease of automation thanks to AI

Artificial intelligence has something extremely beneficial about it—it helps you write, plan, summarize, respond, and much more in less time.

During the coaching sessions for leaders that I conduct, I have often heard:

“It’s amazing how much AI makes life easier.”

And that’s true, provided that AI supports rather than replaces.

I know a leader who started using AI to create automatic meeting summaries to save time. After a few weeks, she admitted that she was missing something. “I no longer hear the tone of people’s voices, only clusters of sentences. And there, between the lines, there was always something important.”

Automation brings efficiency, but it can take away mindfulness and an important part of the information needed to make the right decisions.

I am in no way suggesting that AI does not work.

I am pointing out that in leadership, it is contact and conversations with the team that provide the most important information.

Technology as a mirror of leadership

AI does not change leaders.

A leader who trusts people will use technology to give them more autonomy.

A leader who controls will use it to track even more closely.

How we use AI reveals how we think about our team.

In recent months, I have been hearing the question not “is it worth using AI?” but “why am I doing this?” And that is the right question. Because if technology is to support development, it should not replace it with procedure.

The human dimension in the age of automation

AI can process data faster than humans, but it cannot understand it in a human way.

It cannot build relationships on a daily basis, sense emotions, or read the silence in a team.

That is why, in times of increasing automation, soft skills such as empathy, communication, and intuition are becoming increasingly important.

In one of the teams I work with, the leader automated the progress reporting process. Everything worked perfectly until people began to feel that the “system” saw the results but did not see the effort.

They returned to weekly discussions about what was difficult. The data then gained context, and the team gained a sense of purpose.

Technology can support effectiveness, but only humans can give it meaning.