I’m So Tired of Talking About AI
I’ve lost count of how many conversations, panels, workshops, and leadership events I’ve attended in the last year where the topic was AI.
Every one of them promises a fresh take, a bold insight or “an enriching discussion about the future of work.” But they all start to sound the same.
People seem both thrilled and terrified. We hear the same anxieties about automation, the future of leadership, and the fear that AI is going to take something essential away from us.
And yet, I sit through these conversations thinking: Why aren’t we talking about the one thing AI can’t replace?
We’re so focused on the tool that we’re missing the bigger picture. Because the biggest differentiator in the age of AI isn’t technology. It’s people.
Yes, AI is a big shift. It is changing how we work. It’s already making teams faster, leaner, and more efficient. It’s transforming content creation, analysis, communication, hiring—you name it.
But I don’t think AI is what we’re really afraid of.
We’re afraid that if we stop doing the busy, technical, visible work… we’ll be left with nothing to offer.
But when the technical tasks evolve, what’s left is everything that makes us human. And that might just be the best thing to happen to leadership in decades.
Because the more AI takes over the mundane, repetitive, data-heavy tasks, the more space it creates for us to focus on what only people can do:
Build trust
Coach and mentor
Navigate tough conversations
Read the room
Connect across differences
And what a gift that is.
We keep asking what AI will take away. But I’m far more interested in what it will free us up to do if we’re paying attention.
Here’s what I wish more of these conversations would focus on: The ROI of emotional and social intelligence.
We treat EQ like a bonus skill: nice to have, soft around the edges and optional if you’re busy. But the research says otherwise. Study after study shows that organizations with high emotional intelligence outperform those without it.
Teams with emotionally intelligent leaders see higher retention, engagement, and performance.
Companies that invest in emotional and social skills see measurable improvements in productivity, revenue, and innovation.
Leaders who build real connection drive culture shifts that aren’t just “feel good” — they drive results.
I know this because I’ve lived it.
I built an HR department from the ground up inside a deeply technical organization where emotional intelligence was initially viewed as... optional. I had to earn buy-in from people who didn’t see the value of “soft skills”. But as we began to lead, train, mentor, and evaluate performance through a more human lens, the results became undeniable.
Productivity went up.
Recruiting got easier.
Retention improved.
And the culture? You could feel the difference.
That wasn’t magic. That was emotional intelligence.
Yet here we are, in a moment where technology is taking off faster than we can keep up, still ignoring the thing that’s been right in front of us all along.
The shift to AI isn’t so different from the transformations we’ve seen before.
We asked the same questions when the internet changed everything. When social media changed how we communicate. When COVID redefined what “workplace” even means. During the “Great Resignation” when people walked away from roles that no longer fit. Every time, the headlines focused on the disruption, but what we needed, every time, was connection.
The real challenge has never been the tech. It’s always been the people. AI didn’t create burnout, miscommunication, or disconnection. And it won’t fix those things either. If anything, it’s just exposing the cracks more clearly.
I was coaching a senior executive recently who was struggling with team dynamics, motivation, and clarity around their role. They named several issues: client assignments, staffing, structure, direction, to name a few. But by the end of our session, they said something I haven’t stopped thinking about:
“Honestly, I’d be more flexible on a lot of these things… if I just felt connected at work.”
That’s the conversation I wish we were having more often. Not “How will AI change us?” but “What do people need in order to thrive in a world where AI is changing everything else?”
We don’t need more panic. We need more people who know how to connect.
So the next time you find yourself in another AI conversation, pause and ask: Are we actually afraid of the technology? Or are we just uncomfortable facing what’s always been true: that leadership is, and has always been, a human skill?
The companies that will thrive in the age of AI won’t be the ones who adopt it the fastest. They’ll be the ones who double down on what AI can’t replace.
Let the machines optimize the workflow. But let people lead the way.
