The AI-Savvy Leader
March 01, 2025
Presenting a holistic vision and communicating it well will dictate whether the organization’s adoption of AI is successful
The artificial intelligence-savvy leader can see the bridge between how the organization is working today and how it could be working in the future if AI is adopted. But what I’ve found in the field is that leaders, even ones who may have a vision for the organization, lack the same future-focused narrative when it comes down to AI adoption.
This shortcoming stems from several factors. While they have little trouble imagining an AI-enabled future, these organizational leaders have a hard time seeing the bridge to get there because of both a lack of technical understanding and the rapidly shifting nature of the technology.
Business leaders underestimate the complexity of translating the decision to adopt AI into an execution that effectively gets the entire organization involved.
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AI-Powered Learning as a Game Changer
By Erin J. Kane
Most of us could not have imagined the speed at which artificial intelligence moved from being on the horizon to rapidly evolving and integrating into our web browsers, smartphones and Amazon searches.
As superintendent of a school system serving 62,000 students in more than 90 school sites, I decided we needed to embrace AI as quickly as possible. It takes some courage when you are the pioneer.
AI is transforming the workforce, and the AI initiatives we undertake will change the school experience and prepare students for their future. Our goal is to ensure we transform our systems as well, so our students will be prepared to lead and thrive.
Springboard Tool
My district, Douglas County School District in Colorado, developed a plan to use AI to prepare today’s children for tomorrow’s workforce. The use of AI is a cornerstone in our strategic planning process. It is also the focus of a new program being piloted by some of our schools.
This school year, we embarked on a pilot AI program in 18 of our schools. We partnered with Khanmigo — a tool created by Khan Academy designed for educators. Teachers serving students in grades 3-12 volunteered to try Khanmigo as a way to simplify workflows and assist students in the learning process. At the same time, Khanmigo is a perfect springboard for helping our principals, teachers, students and families alike in properly using AI for the school setting.
We are extremely optimistic that leveraging this AI-powered learning will be a game changer for all students, but particularly for English language learners and special education students.
Early in the pilot, we received an incredible e-mail from a speech-language pathologist and mother of a 6th grader in our district. She told us that many tears are shed when she tries to help her son, who has dyslexia, with math homework. One night, when her son pulled out his math book and the frustrations started, she suggested they log onto Khanmigo, and together they used the tool to learn the steps for multiplying decimals.
The mom stated: “There were NO tears, NO frustrations, and the best part was at the end of the math homework, my child was SO PROUD OF HIMSELF!!!! It was a miracle. Thank you so much for allowing schools to have this incredible tool.”
Multiple Possibilities
We are so excited for what AI could potentially do for all students, including these uses:
Unparalleled student engagement. AI technologies allow us to create personalized lesson plans designed for the needs and interests of each individual student. Quadratics with superheroes? Done. Metaphors with a Taylor Swift theme? Easy.
Increased parent involvement via on-demand access to translation. We know that parent involvement is key to student success. AI platforms allow students and families to work together in their native language of choice. This removes the language barrier so that non-English-speaking families can still be engaged with their student’s school work.
Tutoring and extra help available 24/7. In Douglas County, we provide each of our students with access to a technology device such as a laptop or Chromebook. AI programs are able to meet students at their ability level and are able to provide tutoring in any language.
Coaching advice. AI can be used to provide coaching advice such as financial aid options and career exploration to students and their families.
Alerts to teachers. If a student is falling behind or struggling in a particular subject, Khanmigo will alert the teacher so additional support can be provided.
The next decade will see more innovation, progress and wealth creation than we saw over the last century. It is more important than ever that we prepare our students, not only to adapt to that pace of change but to lead the change.
Erin Kane is superintendent of the Douglas County School District in Castle Rock, Colo.
Reskilling Cognitive Flexibility to Remake Your Brain
By David L. Shrier
Cognitive flexibility is one of the building blocks of acquiring new knowledge and functioning effectively in a dynamic business ecosystem. It’s an essential trait as the cadence of innovation accelerates and the need to be able to pick up new ideas and bring them into practice becomes even more urgent.
If you want to stay competitive in the age of AI, you need to retrain your brain so you can learn faster and bring that learning to bear in a context relevant to the workplace.
Sound impossible? It isn’t. You need to begin by augmenting the human computer, your mind.
I have some good news for you: There are certain cognitive skills that you can develop that will help you in your everyday work and help you navigate and optimize how you work with artificial intelligence. Preparing your brain can help you prepare for the AI future.
I will suggest five principles for developing greater cognitive flexibility: (1) practice, (2) reflection, (3) sustained and gradual change, (4) peer learning, and (5) creative exploration.
Exploring Creatively
[Two] of the best ways to learn are through peer education and creative exploration.
One of the benefits of peer learning is that if you are forced to explain a subject to someone else, you tend to understand it better yourself. You are required to reduce its principles to an explanation that someone else can absorb.
Children engage in creative exploration all the time. They do so solo, making up imaginary friends or scenarios. They do so in groups, collectively envisioning heroic settings or strange new worlds. Listening and talking to each other, they trade ideas back and forth, experimenting with concepts, throwing them away effortlessly, and trying out others as they endlessly create.
A famous creative collaboration known as the marshmallow challenge has been conducted globally with many different types of groups. In 18 minutes, with limited resources (a marshmallow, some string, tape and 20 pieces of uncooked spaghetti), competing teams work to build the tallest tower. It opens a fascinating window into problem solving and group dynamics.
Tom Wujec, a technologist who introduced the first computer graphic application to win an Academy Award, has a wonderful TED Talk explaining key insights of the marshmallow challenge that is worth reviewing. Some of his findings are these.
Five-year-olds are among the top performing groups. MBA and law students are among the worst-performing team configurations as they waste precious minutes navigating status and planning. They are searching for the one best answer rather than experimenting and discarding several ideas rapidly. Five-year-olds jump in, immediately trying out different configurations, with subtle social signaling as they grab pieces and interact with one another. And the children often produce the most interesting structures.
Group Contributions
The most vibrant, scalable and repeatable innovations tend to come from creative collaborations, not solo genius. Diversity, as it turns out, is a necessary input to effective ideation. The more different perspectives you can introduce into a brainstorming discussion, the greater the likelihood you can fabricate creative collisions that produce truly breakthrough thinking.
Accordingly, when you need to solve a complex problem at work, think about whom you solve that problem with. Perhaps you can opinion shop ideas with a variety of colleagues rather than simply attempting to resolve the issue alone.
David Shrier is professor of practice of AI and innovation with Imperial College Business School in London and a visiting scholar with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, Mass. This article is adapted from his book Welcome to AI: A Human Guide to Artificial Intelligence (Harvard Business Review Press, 2024) with permission of the publisher.
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