Why you need a (human) AI mentor

The irony is evident to senior leaders everywhere: the AI-driven future is rushing upon us like a proverbial freight train, yet few of us have time to master the technology that is going to reshape our professional lives.

This scheduling problem defines the current leadership challenge. The very executives who most need to understand AI's implications are those least able to find time for that understanding. While Sam Altman's self-serving provocation that "if you're not skillsmaxxing with o3 three hours a day, ngmi" (not gonna make it) may overstate the case, it points to an uncomfortable truth: coming to grips with AI has become an existential demand on leaders that want to keep leading and remain relevant.

Image by ChatGPT-4o

This is where some targeted human mentoring can provide unique value. Above all, a skilled and knowledgeable mentor can lift you up the AI learning curve quickly. They can curate the overwhelming flow of AI developments, translate technical capabilities into business implications, and help you recognise blind spots. AI means many things and, without some well-informed guidance, it’s hard to sort the important from the irrelevant. The AI hype train compounds this challenge – every startup claims revolutionary potential while genuine breakthroughs hide in the noise.

What we're seeing

It’s a common mistake to view AI as just another technology to be delegated. While AI certainly automates tasks and analyses data for your teams, its most profound value is personal. Our work mentoring executives in AI has revealed a consistent truth: the greatest impact comes when they realise its primary value lies in augmenting their own intelligence. Developing this capability isn't a task to be assigned to others; it's a fundamental leadership imperative.

The psychological dimension matters too. Accomplished executives often struggle with beginner status. Effective mentoring acknowledges this discomfort while providing safe spaces for experimentation. Working with someone who guides multiple executives also provides access to anonymised patterns across industries – the manufacturing executive's breakthrough might spark innovation for the financial services leader, for example.

What distinguishes AI mentoring from traditional executive coaching is its clear and unequivocal destination. The goal isn't ongoing support but rapid acceleration to independence – reaching the point where AI itself becomes your primary learning partner.

For senior leaders, the challenge multiplies: ensuring your entire leadership team develops AI fluency. Uneven adoption across your senior leadership team creates dangerous strategic blind spots. The organisations that will thrive won't be those where a single AI-savvy leader tries to drag others forward, but those where the entire leadership team moves together. This requires structured approaches – whether paired mentoring, peer learning circles, or facilitated workshops – that build shared vocabulary and collective confidence.

The question for everyone now isn't whether to develop AI fluency but how to do so efficiently. The window for leisurely exploration has closed. Those who act now – for themselves and their teams – will define the next era of leadership. Those who wait for the perfect moment will discover it passed while they were scheduling the meeting to discuss it.

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We help senior executives and their leadership teams develop practical AI fluency through focused mentoring. The goal: rapid competence, then independence.