What it means to be an AI-augmented leader

Rasmus Hougaard is the founder and managing partner of Potential Project. In 2019 he was nominated by Thinkers50 as one of the eight most important leadership thinkers in the world. He writes for Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Fast Company, and Fortune and is the coauthor, with Jacqueline Carter, of Compassionate Leadership and The Mind of the Leader.

Jacqueline Carter is a senior partner at Potential Project. She has more than 20 years of experience working with leaders in large global companies to unlock potential. She writes regularly for Harvard Business Review and Fast Company and is a sought-after keynote speaker and facilitator. She is the coauthor, with Rasmus Hougaard, of Compassionate Leadership and The Mind of the Leader.

What’s the big idea?

AI has the power to transform leadership and work, but whether it enhances or erodes the human experience depends on how we use it. In More Human, Rasmus Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter argue that AI, when harnessed wisely, can strengthen leadership by enhancing awareness, wisdom, and compassion. Drawing on insights from top executives, AI experts, and global research, they reveal how leaders can delegate tasks to AI while amplifying human connection and performance. With deep insight and practical strategies, this book offers a road map for making AI a force for more meaningful and human-centered work.

Below, Hougaard and Carter share five key insights from their new book, More Human: How the Power of AI Can Transform the Way You Lead. Listen to the audio version—read by Hougaard—in the Next Big Idea App.

1. AI won’t replace leaders—but AI-augmented leaders will replace those who don’t adapt.

In essence, AI is reshaping leadership, but not in many ways that people fear. It’s not that machines will replace humans—it’s that leaders who use AI will replace those who don’t.

Take Ellyn Shook, the chief leadership and human resources Officer of Accenture, as an example. When AI started generating performance reviews, some leaders worried it would dehumanize the process. But Shook saw the real opportunity: Instead of spending 45 minutes compiling feedback, AI did the heavy lifting in seconds, freeing her up to have more meaningful, human-centered conversations with employees.

This is what it means to be an AI-augmented leader. AI can automate repetitive tasks, analyze vast amounts of data, and offer insight that leaders might not have time to find on their own. But the best leaders will use AI to elevate their human leadership—not replace it.

Imagine having AI summarize your team’s well-being trends, highlight potential burnout risks, or even suggest how to tailor your leadership approach to different individuals. These insights don’t diminish leadership—they enhance it.

The future of leadership really belongs to those who can blend the best of AI and human strengths. The choice is clear: Leaders who embrace AI will thrive. Those who ignore it will be left behind.

2. AI generates answers. Wisdom asks the right questions.

In today’s world, leaders aren’t struggling to find answers—they’re drowning in them. AI can analyze billions of data points, generate instant insights, and predict trends with incredible accuracy. But here’s the catch: It can’t ask the right questions.

That’s where wisdom comes in.

Take Cameron Hedrick, Citibank’s chief learning officer. He wanted to understand his own blind spots, so he created an AI-powered version of himself—a digital model that analyzed his leadership approach. The AI provided feedback without bias, fear, or hesitation—something many human colleagues might hesitate to do.

But AI alone wasn’t enough. Cameron had to use wisdom—to ask deeper questions, interpret the insights, and apply them in a way that made sense. AI provided the data. He provided the discernment.

This is what AI-augmented wisdom looks like. AI is a powerful thought partner, but it’s up to leaders to challenge its outputs, explore what’s missing, and ensure decisions are grounded in both data and human judgment.

3. Awareness is the antidote to AI’s blind spots.

AI can see patterns, but it can’t see the bigger picture. It can process billions of data points, but it doesn’t understand meaning. That’s where human awareness comes in.

Many of our clients’ leaders use AI-powered tools to analyze employee well-being. AI helps identify stress patterns, flagging teams that may be at risk of burnout. But here’s the catch: AI can’t understand why employees feel the way they do. It lacks context.

For example, imagine AI detects that a team has had a 15% drop in engagement. Without awareness, a leader might assume their employees are losing motivation. But a truly aware leader asks: What else is happening here? Maybe the drop is due to a company-wide restructuring. Or a major project deadline. AI might flag the problem, but only human awareness can interpret it correctly.

That’s why AI-augmented leaders develop deep awareness—so they don’t just act on AI’s insights blindly. Instead, they combine AI’s speed with human perspective.

AI can provide content, but only humans can provide context. AI can highlight patterns, but only leaders can apply meaning, ethics, and judgment. The leaders who thrive in an AI-powered world won’t just accept AI’s answers at face value—they’ll bring the bigger picture into focus.

4. Compassion is leadership’s greatest differentiator in an AI-driven world.

Some people believe AI will eventually replace human leadership. But here’s what AI will never do: truly care.

AI can simulate empathy—it can recognize emotional cues, adjust its tone, and even predict human responses. But it doesn’t actually feel anything. It doesn’t experience human emotions. And it doesn’t understand the weight of its actions.

True compassion isn’t just about responding to emotions; it’s about genuinely understanding and caring about people. That’s why AI can’t replace human leadership. But it can help make compassionate leaders even more effective.

Imagine a leader who uses AI to analyze employee well-being data, but instead of just reviewing the numbers, they use those insights to have deeper, more meaningful conversations. Imagine a leader who lets AI flag burnout risks but then personally checks in with their team to see how they’re feeling.

Compassion is what makes leadership human. AI can assist in making decisions, but it takes a human leader to make people feel seen, valued, and understood.

The best leaders will leverage AI to enhance, not replace, their ability to care. In a world increasingly shaped by technology, compassion is the ultimate competitive advantage.

5. The future of leadership isn’t either/or. It’s both/and.

For too long, leadership has been framed as an either/or choice. Either data or intuition. Either efficiency or empathy. Either technology or human wisdom.

But the truth is, the best leaders will embrace both/and thinking.

Take Sage, a fictional leader in More Human, who finds herself drowning in information, moving too fast, and unable to see clearly. Her breakthrough comes at a leadership retreat called Mountain Wisdom, where she learns the power of awareness and reflection. She realizes AI can offer answers, but she must provide clarity, meaning, and vision.

The best leaders won’t choose between AI and human leadership—they’ll combine them.

They’ll use AI to process vast amounts of information—but they’ll apply human wisdom to interpret it.

They’ll let AI enhance efficiency—but they’ll bring compassion to decision-making.

They’ll trust AI to challenge their thinking—but they’ll have the awareness to question its conclusions.

The future belongs to leaders who can toggle between AI’s intelligence and human intuition, leveraging both to lead in a way that’s more human than ever before.

This article originally appeared in Next Big Idea Club magazine and is reprinted with permission.

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