By Tim Huff
President & CEO, TLG
What was the first prompt you ever asked to your favorite AI Large Language Model?
My first was to ChatGPT: “So… are you like the computer from War Games?” Another of my earliest prompts was to create a poem about my pet beagle, Scout, winning a basketball game. Ah, the memories!
Back then, AI felt like a toy; a clever novelty that made us laugh. Today, it’s a tool that’s reshaping the world… how we think, work, and lead. And for many professionals, that shift feels both exciting and unsettling. Which raises an important question: how do we make sure we’re using AI as a career accelerator, not letting it quietly become a threat?
The Unease Is Real
The data backs it up. A 2024 McKinsey study found that 41% of employees remain apprehensive about AI in the workplace, and about half worry about AI inaccuracy and cybersecurity risks (McKinsey & Company, 2024). Meanwhile, another study revealed that almost half of desk workers are uncomfortable admitting to their managers that they use AI tools at work, for fear of being seen as lazy or replaceable (Euronews, 2024).
That tension tells us something important: AI anxiety isn’t just about technology. It’s about identity and wondering where we fit when machines can write, analyze, and even mimic creativity.
The Real Threat is Losing What Machines Don’t Have
If we step back, we see that no machine can genuinely replicate three human advantages: Character, Empathy, and Accountability.
- Character – Algorithms can be brilliant, but they have no moral compass. They can generate answers but not values. As AI becomes woven into decision-making, leaders with strong character will define the guardrails to ensure that technology serves people, not the other way around.
- Empathy – Machines can simulate conversation, but not connection. They don’t feel the tension in a room, hear what’s not being said, or notice the quiet fatigue behind someone’s eyes. The best leaders will continue to inspire trust, belonging, and hope through genuine empathy… something no line of code can reproduce.
- Accountability – AI can execute flawlessly, but it can’t be held accountable. It won’t raise its hand when something goes wrong or wrestle with the moral weight of a tough decision. Accountability, taking ownership for outcomes and their impact, will always separate real leaders from algorithms.
In short: your value in the AI era will lie not in what you delegate to the machine, but in what you decide to own yourself.
Three Character Dimensions to Cultivate
At Turknett Leadership Group, we’ve long emphasized that character is the foundation of enduring leadership. The same holds true in the AI era. To thrive, not just survive, amid this transformation, focus on strengthening these three key dimensions from the Turknett Leadership Character Model:
- Integrity – Use AI with transparency and truthfulness. Be clear about how you’re using it, what it produces, and where your own judgment still matters most. (Disclaimer: I used the heck out of ChatGPT for this article!) Resist the temptation to pass off AI’s output as your own or to let convenience override accuracy. Integrity means remaining anchored in truth, even when the tools at your disposal make it easy to blur the line.
- Respect – Remember that progress without people is hollow. Treat others’ perspectives, fears, and questions about AI with curiosity and dignity. Many employees feel uncertainty about how their skills fit into this new world. Respectful leaders don’t dismiss those fears, they engage them, guide them, and create safety for learning together.
- Responsibility – AI can help you analyze data or generate ideas, but it can’t be accountable for the decisions you make. Leaders remain responsible for outcomes, ethics, and impact, no matter how advanced the technology. Responsibility means owning not only what AI does for you, but also what it can’t do: make a human judgment about what’s right.
A Leadership Test of Character
At Turknett Leadership Group, we often talk about our Leadership Character Model: Integrity, Respect, and Responsibility as the core attributes of strong leadership. Extended leave is a crucible where these attributes are tested.
- Integrity means keeping promises, doing what’s right, and not looking for shortcuts at an employee’s expense.
- Respect means treating people as whole human beings, not just workers filling a role.
- Responsibility means owning the culture you’re creating, not just the metrics you’re managing.
When leaders lean into these attributes during extended leave, the results ripple across the entire organization. People see that they are valued beyond their output. They see that leadership character is not just a model on the wall but a lived reality.
Putting It into Practice
- Reframe your mindset: Instead of asking, “Will AI replace me?” ask, “How can AI extend me?” Identify one task this month that drains your time and experiment with delegating part of it to AI, then reinvest that time in relationship-building or strategic thinking.
- Build your “AI literacy”: Learn enough about AI to speak its language… not to code, but to converse intelligently about its role in your work. Curiosity, not mastery, is the skill that matters most.
- Be transparent with your team: If you use AI to prepare a draft or analyze data, say so. Modeling ethical AI use encourages your team to do the same.
- Stay grounded in empathy: Before automating a process, consider how it affects the people involved. Ask, “What’s gained, and what’s lost, when we hand this over to a machine?”
Why This Matters Now
This isn’t a theoretical exercise, it’s already happening. The MIT Sloan School of Management recently found that organizations using AI effectively experience higher employment growth and stronger sales. In other words, when leaders learn to integrate AI well, everyone wins.
The challenge, then, isn’t technology… it’s leadership. The question for every professional becomes “How do I stay human enough to lead, when the world is becoming more digital by the day?”
The Invitation
The future won’t reward those who fight the machine, it will reward those who guide it. The leaders who blend human judgment, empathy, and accountability with technological capability will win the day.
AI may be the fastest learner in the room, but you bring purpose, conscience, and connection… and that’s what defines leadership.
So as you think about AI-proofing your career, remember: the best safeguard isn’t skill alone. It’s Character!
Thanks,
Tim
References
Euronews. (2024, December 3). Nearly half of desk workers feel uncomfortable admitting use of AI at work. Retrieved from https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/12/03/nearly-half-of-desk-workers-feel-uncomfortable-admitting-use-of-ai-at-work
McKinsey & Company. (2024, January). Superagency in the workplace: Empowering people to unlock AI’s full potential at work. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/superagency-in-the-workplace-empowering-people-to-unlock-ais-full-potential-at-work
MIT Sloan School of Management. (2024, May 13). How artificial intelligence impacts the U.S. labor market. Retrieved from https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/how-artificial-intelligence-impacts-us-labor-market
