AI Leadership Coaching is Here
If you’re a leader or manager, I bet your top three challenges—in no particular order—are:
(drumroll…)
- Lack of time.
- Lack of resources.
- Managing people.
And at least two of these can be solved (or radically improved) by AI.
In one week, I’ve used ChatGPT to save at least £426 and 9 hours: just for personal tasks and a few business projects. Everything from troubleshooting IT issues and fixing a leaking tap, to coaching me on a tricky business project and polishing this very post. ChatGPT helped me cut costs, streamline my workflow, and offer expert, and (pseudo)-empathic support on multiple levels—both personal and professional.
Don’t get me wrong—I’m not here to blindly promote AI, but to highlight a simple reality:
While many are still asking if AI will change the workplace, the truth is, it already has.
AI is transforming work by radically democratizing access to expertise and technology in ways we’re only just beginning to understand. And, it’s doing it whether or not you have consciously “implemented it” into your organization.
If you aren’t using AI to save you time and resources, scroll to the bottom of the article for some practical ideas.
If you are, there’s probably one sticky challenge left on your list:
Managing people.
Where AI Ends and Humans Begin
If AI is that great, why don’t we deploy AI leadership coaching programs? Because, despite all its impressive capabilities, AI leadership coaching tools lack one critical element: being human.
Sure, certain AI tools can analyze and show you when team morale is low, or generate tips and ideas on building morale. What it doesn’t have is the lived experience, nuance, and emotional complexity required to build trust, improve camaraderie, and navigate the intricacies of human relationships.
This is where human executive coaching becomes essential.
I’m not going to claim AI leadership coaching is not possible.
In fact, it’s already here. I use ChatGPT weekly for my own executive coaching: to help me reflect on ideas and organize my thoughts. It’s great at keeping track of convoluted thinking, and organizing my brain dump in a coherent way. It can even help me detect patterns in speech and writing: and does it so well, it can even deduce personality-traits based on someone’s reflections!
But here is an important difference: a human leadership coach uses their own emotional intelligence, intuition, expertise and nuanced insights in a way that AI coaching simply cannot replicate. (Not yet, at least).
And, as mentioned in our previous article on AI coaching, we still need to cross several hurdles before we can safely rely on AI leadership coaching or AI executive coaching to support our people. Hurdles such as:
- AI hallucination leading to harmful advice
- Psychological risk due to misinterpretation
- Lack of accountability
What AI coaching tools can do is analyze and offer data-driven recommendations. But you’ll need human executive coaching to help you navigate the complex psychological landscape of your team with skill, guiding you through how your choices impact their morale, motivation, and trust.
A human leadership or executive coach can help you avoid weak spots specific to your management style, and extract appropriate insights from previous coaching sessions to help you grow.
AI: The Emulation of Human Connection
Artificial Intelligence has become more than just a tool for solving logistical problems—it’s increasingly emulating the subtleties of human connection. With innovations like ChatGPT’s advanced voice mode, AI is capable of emulating different emotional tones and styles of communicating. In fact, some AI-powered platforms now produce podcasts that sound almost indistinguishable from human hosts, creating a seamless auditory experience.
From a neurological standpoint, if someone sounds human, we will more likely respond to them as if they are human. In fact, research shows that—to date—2 out of 3 people cannot distinguish between AI voices and human voices.
And, even if we know we’re interacting with a machine, our brains still process the sounds similarly to when they are coming from a human, with only slight differences. The tone of someone’s voice triggers physiological responses—whether it’s a soothing voice that calms our nervous system or a firm, authoritative tone that elevates stress-hormones.
The same mechanisms that govern human-to-human interactions apply when we interact with AI—even when we communicate via text. (How often do you find yourself saying “thank you” or “please” to the technology, even though you know it’s not a person?)
While AI large language models (LLMs) can convincingly emulate human responses (which is why AI leadership coaching is becoming a very real prospect), we need to distinguish between the fantasy of connection and the reality of it.
Human-to-human connection involves navigating the messy, unpredictable, and sometimes uncomfortable aspects of relationships. It requires engaging with people who don’t communicate clearly, who have opinions that clash with our own and who bring different values and history to the table we need to contend with.
These more tricky interactions help us develop resilience, empathy, and the ability to manage conflict—skills that are fundamental to both leadership and life.
In contrast, AI offers a curated, frictionless interaction. I can ask ChatGPT for advice in the middle of the night, and it will always respond with pseudo-empathy and neutrality. But, if I always have perfectly tuned interactions, I start losing the social muscle needed to effectively engage with real people—those who are unpredictable, challenging, and different from me.
Problems AI Can (and Should) Take Off Your Plate
AI is not just a tool for novelty—it’s a resource that can streamline operations and reduce the workload of any leader or manager. Let’s break it down by the two most common challenges AI can help resolve:
How AI Can Save You Time
Let’s start with the big one—time. In almost every leadership workshop I run, one of the main barriers raised is “time.” We never seem to have enough of it. (The irony is: we have more automation, speed and efficiency than ever before, and yet, we seem to have less time than ever before…but that’s a topic for another day!)
With AI, automating tedious, repetitive tasks has become ridiculously easy. One app can give you back hours of your day. Easily. Almost too easily.
In fact, I’d argue the more difficult work is deciding how you will reinvest the free time you’ve created. Will you spend it on high-impact activities like strategy, team development or networking?
Will you actually finally—dare I say it—take that well-deserved break?
Will you simply fill your calendar up with more busy-work?
Once you’ve freed up your time, the biggest obstacle isn’t your calendar.
It’s you.
Take meeting prep, for instance. Normally, crafting an agenda for a performance review or a one-on-one with a team member might take you 30 minutes to an hour. AI, however, can generate a professional, structured agenda in seconds. You simply type: “Create an agenda for a one-on-one focusing on performance and career development,” and you’re good to go.
And the benefits extend beyond just meetings. Think about document analysis or research, which often takes hours of combing through data. AI can handle that in a fraction of the time. As highlighted by Thomas Reuters, legal professionals are already using AI to quickly review contracts and regulatory documents, saving them hours that would have otherwise been spent reading dense text.
Calendars? AI’s got that covered too. Tools like Clara can arrange meetings for you, eliminating the endless back-and-forth of emails trying to find the right time. You focus on the meeting itself—not the logistics.
By leveraging the existing technology as it is today, you can get back up to 30% of your week, according to McKinsey.
That’s potentially an extra 10 hours for every 40 you work.
That’s your entire Friday and 2 hours on Thursday, free to…do nothing?
Spend time with your kids?
Do that “deep focus work” you keep saying you don’t have time for?
How AI Can Save You Resources
AI isn’t just a time-saver—it’s a resource maximizer. Especially for someone like myself—an independent consultant and part-time contractor.
With the rise of AI Agents, I don’t need to hire additional staff or outsource expensive services.
Who is my copywriter? ChatGPT.
Who is my editor? Grammarly .
All I have to do is brief, proofread, collaborate, and post. These two simple tools already handle everything from drafting client proposals to polishing presentations, giving me expertise without paying exorbitant fees for a new hire.
AI also excels at spotting inefficiencies. AI-powered analytics can forecast trends and highlight bottlenecks in inventory management, customer service or operations, helping you cut costs and allocate resources more strategically.
According to Forbes, AI is helping businesses save money by optimizing supply chains and reducing waste, leading to more efficient use of everything from raw materials to human capital.
It’s not all Good News
While AI is already revolutionizing productivity and driving innovation, it’s not without its challenges. One of the most concerning issues is the growing inequality it could create.
Ironically, while the radical democratization of AI allows solopreneurs to compete with the McKinseys of the world, it also widens the gap between the Global North and South.
This “AI divide” stems from wealthier nations having greater access to infrastructure, capital, and expertise, enabling them to fully harness AI’s benefits. In contrast, developing economies struggle to keep pace, risking further inequality and making it even harder for poorer regions to compete.
Policymakers need to act fast—by investing in digital infrastructure and ensuring education systems are ready to upskill workers everywhere, we can prevent these inequalities from deepening.
And let’s not forget the environmental impact. Training large-scale AI models, like ChatGPT, consumes vast amounts of energy, leaving a hefty carbon footprint. As AI becomes more widely adopted, the demand for electricity will soar, raising concerns about sustainability and the long-term effects on our planet.
Lastly, we have the issue of regulation. AI is evolving way faster than our laws and ethical guidelines can keep up, so the gap in oversight is growing at a staggering pace. Just last month, Starling did a Safe Phrase campaign, to warn their clients against scammers who could trick your family members by cloning your voice!
Leading Well in the Age of Technology
AI can support efficiency and productivity, but true leadership will always be about people—understanding their needs, motivations, and challenges. Offering support, guidance, and care. Empathizing, listening and giving clear guidance—especially during times like these when many feel their jobs and futures are at the mercy of technology.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the speed of change and the pressure to adapt, but there’s an exciting opportunity as well.
What if you leverage AI to streamline the mundane? This will allow you to invest more time in the creative and human aspects of leadership. Imagine having more headspace to innovate, more time to nurture your team’s growth, and the bandwidth to lead with purpose and intention, rather than constantly firefighting.
Navigating these complexities doesn’t have to be done alone. If you’re curious about how to lead with heart while embracing the power of AI, we’d love to support you. Our leadership coaching and executive coaching programs are designed to help you find clarity, balance and purpose in this ever-evolving landscape.
Reach out, and let’s explore how we can help you thrive in the tech and human dimensions of leadership.
Ready to take the next step? Check out our Sanctus leadership coaching programs to start your journey.