Your Executive Skills, Boosted by AI

Has artificial intelligence (AI) become your superpower yet? If not, let me tell you—it’s about time. I’ve been in the learning and development field for more than 20 years, and while I’ve been out there doing the work (I really get it, there’s no shortcut to experience), I’ve also embraced the game-changing power of AI—and I’m shouting the value out loud. This futuristic tech gives me a huge advantage as a learning designer, and I’m all in on letting it help scale my impact.

The thing is, I’ve always had a knack for gamification—yes, I am that gamified design nerd who can't get enough of the power of exercise-based, interactive L&D… so when AI came along, it felt like a natural way to bring more play into my work. Collaborating with AI is like going on a design quest with a wizard by my side. But here’s the thing—AI doesn’t replace my creativity or ideas; it amplifies them. Let me show you how you can bring your professional personality to AI, ensuring it works for you while keeping your unique voice front and center as a talent development leader.

Human-Centered Ideation

AI isn’t just about getting tasks done—it’s about bringing your unique style into every project. When I’m developing learning initiatives, I don’t see AI as some faceless machine cranking out content. Nope. AI is my brainstorming partner, my market researcher, and sometimes my logistics guru. Need accreditation materials and compliance boxes checked? AI’s got that covered and won’t let me get off track. But even more importantly, AI helps me push my unique and uniquely human- ideas further.

I’ll often ask AI to take on the persona of my ideal customer avatar—typically leadership and executive teams—and get real-time feedback on how they might respond to my courses. It’s like having an instant focus group on call. It’s the dream team of thought leaders I never knew I had, and AI is the connector making it all happen. Together, we make sure I’m not missing any angles, and that my interactive content will meet my audience’s needs.

Get AI to Bring Out the Best in You

Here’s where it gets really fun. One of the best ways I use AI is by having it act as a sounding board. Let me give you a real-life example: When I’m prepping a series of invitation and reminder emails for an upcoming virtual course (that internal comms side of talent development we all navigate), I’ll ask AI to take on the perspective of my target audience—a busy executive. Then, I ask AI to ask me questions: What does this executive really need to know? What tone would resonate best for pre-event comms?

I'll literally use the dictate function and voice text to engage with AI in a conversational way that feels like talking to a friend. Then after two or three rounds of back-and-forth questions, we’ve nailed down the audience’s needs, and only then do I ask AI to write a draft. It’s like having a chat with a colleague, except AI never gets tired of my endless ideas (or my quirks). The magic happens in that dialogue—AI lets me speak freely and say all the ideas out loud before helping me fine-tune my thoughts so the final result is sharper, clearer, and more relevant. I mean, who wouldn’t want that kind of sidekick?

The Ethics of AI Collaboration

Okay, let’s talk ethics because, honestly, we’ve all been there—leaders expect us to have AI skills, but a lot of people still feel a little awkward about admitting they use it. Well, it’s time to get over that. I’m all about transparency when it comes to using AI, and I believe it’s my responsibility to share how it supports my work. But I’m also very clear that my ideas come first. AI is here to support my effort and perspectives, not take over or do all of the work.

Here’s what I mean: First, I ask AI to keep digging deeper by asking me questions. This way, it’s always my ideas driving the process, not AI taking the lead. Second, I make sure AI captures my voice. I tell it to use the exact phrases and reference the way I think out loud, so the final product sounds like me. AI may have access to an ocean of data, but it’s my personality and my lens that give the final product its true flavor.

Racing Toward What’s Real

This human-first focus is what makes AI my professional superpower, because it helps me do what I do best—create learning experiences that connect with people. Whether you’re on a small team or flying solo within your organization, AI can be your creative partner, too. And trust me, this future of innovation isn’t going anywhere. So, as we race to keep up, let’s prioritize keeping our own unique personality front and center with AI as a superhero sidekick on your creative team.