AI leadership gaps are not created by artificial intelligence—they are revealed by it.
I learned this the hard way on a Monday morning when I asked two team members for a document and received two different files—neither one the right one. The confusion wasn’t theirs. It was mine. What was clear in my head never made it into my request. The mistake was small. The lesson was not. As we delegate more decisions and processes to AI agents, the cost of unclear thinking multiplies. What used to waste an hour can now waste days—or erode trust at scale.
The surprising reason why clarity matters with AI
It was a Monday morning, and I was in a productive groove. I was writing something that required strategic focus—like a new keynote or framework.
Halfway through the morning, I hit a roadblock: I needed to reference a document. Rather than stop and look for it myself, I messaged two members of my team and asked them for it, assuming they would talk to each other if they needed help finding it.
1 hour later, each one sent me a different document – and neither document was what I actually wanted.
The problem was me: my lack of clarity. What I needed was clear in my head, but I failed to articulate it, and both employees interpreted my request in two different ways. I wasted the time of two talented team members because of my lack of clarity.
That small mistake was inconvenient. At scale, it becomes expensive.
In Davos last month, I spoke on two roundtables on agentic AI – how we govern AI agents, to whom they are accountable, and how they communicate with one another. My focus in the roundtable was how this impacts the field of leadership, based on my 20+ years of experience advising leaders on how to build trust and influence through their communication.
Rather than just responding to a single prompt, AI agents will complete a series of steps on our behalf, often without oversight (that’s the whole point – more efficient delegation).
Without clear instructions and guardrails, we risk wasting an exponential amount of time and resources. Once the AI completes the task, we may realize we never thought through what should happen next.
Leaders will need to be intentional in their communication with AI agents. They will need to define the desired outcome and the decision path in advance. They cannot treat AI agents like a quick convenience request in the middle of other work. Otherwise we risk creating an entire class of AI agents who are busy doing the wrong work with poorly-thought-through output.
AI is not eroding trust. Leaders’ misuse of AI is eroding trust.
In my work advising leaders, and since publishing AI for the Authentic Leader, I’ve seen again and again how AI can amplify the flaws already present in leadership.
Let’s focus on how leaders can achieve clarity of thought and clarity of speech.
If we address these human challenges first, then when we scale with AI, we scale the best of human leadership.
Until next week,
~ Allison
PS. A few weeks ago, I delivered a keynote to a financial institution that is rolling out AI across the enterprise. Afterwards, a woman took me aside. She said, “I was afraid to admit publicly that I’m not using AI. I just don’t feel comfortable using it. But after hearing you speak, I’m ready to give it a try.”
If I can help you and your organization feel more comfortable using AI without losing trust and credibility, let’s start a conversation. Fill out this form, share any relevant information, and a member of our team will reach out within 24 hours.
The Human Is the Loop
If you’re rolling out AI—or even just experimenting with it—this short clip shares the framework I use to keep your thinking, your voice, and your credibility at the center. →
Watch the full podcast episode of my interview with Dr. Mihaela Ulieru here—where our conversation moves beyond efficiency and into the character and clarity leadership requires.