AI is Here. Why Leaders Can’t Afford to Look Away.

allynitschke
Sep 10
3 min read

This week I’m in glorious Sydney running a two day workshop on high stakes communication. It’s a great group, a really engaged group, and we’re going deep on all things communication.

While it’s great to be talking all things communication, it’s hard to ignore the elephant in the room, and that’s the rate of change that these leaders are having to not only navigate and communicate, but also anticipate.

AI is Here. Why Leaders Can’t Afford to Look Away

I often hear leaders whispering it like a dirty secret: “I don’t really understand AI.”

Here’s the good news: you don’t have to become a data scientist or a coder. But here’s the bad news: you can’t afford to ignore it.

By 2025, 76% of organisations globally are already embedding AI into their systems (IDC). And by 2035, PwC estimates AI could add 15% to global GDP. The scale of this shift is massive, and leaders who look away will be left behind.

The Fear Factor

Most conversations I hear about AI still focus on fear:

“Will AI take my job?”
“What if it makes us irrelevant?”
“Can we even trust it?”

But the better question is this: “How can I use AI to free myself and my team for the work only humans can do?”

Because AI won’t replace leaders. But leaders who use AI effectively will replace those who don’t.

Augmentation, Not Replacement

Think of AI as your co-pilot.

In financial services, AI triage is cutting claims processing times by 40%, freeing staff for complex cases.
In healthcare, AI scribes are giving doctors back 2–3 hours per shift to spend with patients.
In local government, AI summarisation tools are helping leaders cut through paperwork to focus on decisions.

In each case, AI isn’t taking jobs, it’s taking away the drain of repetitive, low-value work so humans can focus on judgement, creativity, and connection.

The Leadership Imperative

So, what’s your role as a leader in the age of AI? Three things:

Build AI Literacy: You don’t need to code, but you do need to understand what AI can and can’t do. Invest in your own learning and your team’s.
Frame the Narrative: People fear what they don’t understand. Communicate clearly that AI is here to augment, not replace, and show examples of how it lightens the load.
Keep Humanity at the Centre: AI can process data, but it can’t show empathy, courage, or presence. Your job is to make sure technology doesn’t erase humanity.

AI is already here. The leaders who will thrive aren’t the ones hiding from it, they’re the ones who learn, experiment, and bring their people along for the ride.

Because in the end, the future of leadership won’t be about controlling the machine. It’ll be about being courageous enough to stay human while the world accelerates around you.

If you would like to book in a time to speak with Ally: CLICK HERE.

Ally Nitschke is a best-selling Author, an award-winning Thought Leader and Speaker. She has been working with leaders and as a Leader for over 20 years.

She is on a mission to change the way we communicate at work, to lean into those uncomfortable conversations and lead with courage.

Ally is a Keynote Speaker at conferences, delivers Transformational Programs & highly engaging workshops as well as provides Executive Coaching.