Updating Your Leadership Operating System for the AI Era
- Liza Engel
- 7 hours ago
- 3 min read
“When did AI begin - was it two or already three years ago?”
That question came up in a recent conversation, and it stuck with me. As December invites reflection, my team and I find ourselves doing just that - thinking not just about what we do or why we do it, but how we operate. And what is the role of AI in all of this?
One thing is clear, the “how” has changed, and so has the path.
Every leader feels it:
How do we lead in the age of AI? What does that mean for my team?
How do you make decisions when the ground keeps shifting?
The answer isn’t in another tool or framework.
It starts deeper - with your leadership operating system (OS).
Your OS is the mindset that underpins how you decide, prioritize, and communicate.
And right now, many of us are running a version built for a world that no longer exists.
The AI era calls for a different OS - not more information, not technical mastery, but a new way of showing up.
Core Insights
1. The Old OS Was Built on Certainty
For years, leadership followed a simple model:
Set a strategy
Communicate the plan
Execute with predictability
Deliver results
Certainty was the backbone of stability.
But AI disrupts that stability - problems now evolve faster than plans.
The new OS is about clarity, not certainty:
Clarity of direction.
Clarity about what matters most.
Clarity about what responsible leadership looks like in motion.
2. Curiosity Before Expertise
A quiet belief many leaders hold: “I can’t lead this because I don’t understand it.”
But in the AI era, expertise is secondary to curiosity.
Curiosity opens possibilities.
It reduces fear.
It models learning.
It tells your team: Growth isn’t optional - it’s expected.
3. From Control to Choreography
The old OS relied on control: top-down decisions, managed speed, predictable change.
Many leaders are defaulting back to it.
But AI doesn’t operate that way.
People are experimenting on their own.
New tools appear overnight.
Work becomes improvisational.
Leadership now is less about controlling moves and more about choreographing energy - setting direction and rhythm without rigid rules.
4. A Wider Field of Vision
In fast-moving environments, the instinct is to narrow focus.
But leaders who thrive have the ability to zoom out:
They see systems, not just tasks.
They consider long-term trust, not just short-term wins.
They understand that decisions made in haste can cost trust later.
The new OS doesn’t replace humanity with technology - it integrates the two.
5. Presence Over Perfection
AI exposes a persistent myth: that leaders must always have the answer.
But today, presence is more powerful than perfection.
When leaders say, “Here’s what I know - and here’s what I’m still learning,”
The room relaxes.
Trust builds.
People engage.
In a landscape that changes daily, perfection is no longer possible - but presence always is.
Curiosity is the new competence. It opens possibilities, lowers fear, and models the kind of leadership the AI era requires.
Try This With Your Team
This week, ask everyone to complete this sentence:
“One thing I’m learning about AI is…”
Then share your own.
That simple invitation can shift the whole dynamic - from pressure to presence, from control to learning.
A Simple Reset Framework:
Reset – Reorient – Relead
Use this whenever you feel yourself slipping into old habits:
1. Reset
Pause. Notice your assumptions.
Are you defaulting to fear, control, or avoidance?
2. Reorient
Reconnect to what matters: trust, clarity, responsibility.
3. Relead
Take one action that reflects the new OS.
Ask a better question, invite an experiment, pause a rushed decision, or communicate before you feel “ready.”
Minor resets create significant shifts.
The Leadership Stretch
This moment calls for more awareness.
The stretch is internal - leading from a steadier, deeper place than your fear of not knowing.
Your operating system is already being rewritten - by the world, by your team, by the unfolding future.
Your role is to update the part you control consciously:
How you think, how you decide, and how you show up.
Coming next week: Why the most human skills are becoming the most valuable in the AI era.
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