AI is entering the workforce at lightning speed, and it’s here to stay. Its influence on how we work will only continue to grow in ways we have yet to imagine. Many professionals worry that AI will replace them. In fact, 42% of employees foresee AI replacing some of their existing functions, and 51% of 18-to 24-year-olds think AI will take on some or most of their tasks.
Make AI Your Opportunity To Stand Out And Get Noticed
The speed at which AI is being integrated into the workplace, along with the concern it’s sparking with many professionals, presents you with an opportunity. Instead of fearing, resisting, or ignoring AI, use it to build your personal brand, elevate your value, and demonstrate that you’re ready to take on bigger challenges. Here are four ways to use this powerful technological advancement to highlight your leadership potential.
1. Proactively Integrate AI Into What You Do
Leaders don’t wait for change—they lead it. Showcase your ability to embrace change by rethinking what you do and how you do it. Ask yourself: How can AI help me work faster, smarter, or more strategically? Then, actively apply AI to all relevant tasks. Whether you’re drafting content, analyzing data, preparing presentations, or exploring new ideas, experiment with how AI can support you. Don’t wait for your boss to suggest or demand it. Be the team member who brings ideas and solutions. When you do, you’re showing initiative, curiosity, and an innovative mindset.
2. Become the Team’s AI Enthusiast
Every team needs someone who sees what’s possible. Be the team member who’s excited about AI. This will make you visible to those around you. Talk openly about AI’s potential to help support the team’s mission and help your colleagues succeed. Learn how it’s being used in other departments, companies, and industries. When you become a source of knowledge and optimism, others look to you as a trusted resource—and a natural leader. As the team’s AI ambassador, you position yourself as a change agent and a source of value that extends beyond your role.
3. Teach Others AI Best Practices
Nothing says leader like helping others grow. As you experiment with AI and refine the ways you use it, document your process. Build your own AI best practices. Then, share what you learn with your colleagues. Offer to mentor others who are just getting started. Write a quick how-to guide. Host a live demo. When you help others build their AI curiosity and expertise, you’re not just showcasing knowledge, you’re demonstrating that you’re a leader who cares about the team’s growth and success.
4. Emphasize the Human Skills AI Can’t Replace
Perhaps the most important thing you can do to use AI to showcase your leadership doesn’t involve AI at all. The most impactful style of leadership today is authentic leadership. Authentic leadership highlights the human side of business. Let AI take on mundane, time-consuming, burnout tasks like generating reports, making sense of data, and even writing emails so you can spend your time demonstrating the leadership activities AI can’t do. Take advantage of that freed-up time to hone and showcase these truly human leadership traits. The most admired and effective leaders today build their personal brands around their human capabilities, not their technical expertise.
- Empathy and Emotional Intelligence (EQ). Great leaders are self-aware and clued into those they work with. They understand how others feel and adjust their communication accordingly. Use AI to gather data, then apply emotional intelligence to interpret what it means for your people. Check in with teammates, acknowledge their stressors, and lead with compassion.
- Relationship Building. AI can’t build relationships, but you can. Take the time to support your teammates, build cross-functional alliances, and foster psychological safety within your team. People follow those they trust and respect.
- Critical Thinking. AI can surface insights, but only humans can determine their value in context. Leaders question assumptions, weigh options, and make thoughtful, ethical decisions. Use AI as a sounding board, not a shortcut to avoid thinking.
- Ethical Judgment. As AI use expands, ethical dilemmas grow. Leaders who can navigate bias, data privacy, transparency, and fairness will stand out. Speak up when something doesn’t feel right, even if AI says otherwise.
- Communication. AI can help you write clearly, but it can’t listen or inspire people. Leaders tailor their message to their audience, adapt to tone and emotion, and express themselves with clarity and purpose. Use AI to draft, then add your authentic voice.
- Collaboration. Leaders inspire people to work together. Use AI tools to surface shared data or ideas. Then, use your human connection skills to foster collaboration, resolve conflict, and keep people aligned, motivated, and moving forward.
- Adaptability. The ability to shift gears quickly, experiment, and stay open to new tools is a key differentiator. Model resilience in the face of change—and bring others along with you. When you show that you’re a relevant change agent and not a reluctant relic, you signal that you’re innovative and forward-thinking.
As AI takes on more work tasks, what makes you valuable is your ability to connect, engage, and inspire those around you. When you emphasize these human skills, you position yourself as an emerging leader, standing out from your peers.
AI doesn’t replace leadership, but it does change what leadership looks like. The future belongs to those who are tech-enabled while leading with humanity. When you embrace AI and commit to leading with authenticity, you won’t just survive the AI era—you’ll lead it.
William Arruda is a keynote speaker, author, and personal branding pioneer. Join him as he discusses clever strategies for using AI to express and expand your brand in Maven’s free Lightning Lesson. If you can’t attend live, register to receive the replay.