Leadership and the AI Pressure Cooker
What AI Can’t Replace and Why That’s Your Edge
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Leadership today, in the age of AI and an increasingly fast tech evolution, feels like managing a pressure cooker.
The heat is rising, faster decisions, tighter resources, relentless tech upgrades. You’re not just leading your company, guiding a team, a nonprofit, a church… you’re navigating expectation, pace, and public perception. And now, with AI showing up in every tool and conversation, the dial just got turned up again.
You see the headlines, you get the questions, and wonder:
“Do I understand enough to use AI?”
“Am I using it enough or missing out?”
“Will using AI end up replacing the my job or the jobs of my team?”
Will NOT using AI cost me my job and the jobs of my team?”
But in all the noise about automation and speed, we risk losing what normally gets pushed aside in times of pressure, wisdom and care.
The Rise of AI Pressure in Leadership
Every headline seems to push the same message: “Adopt or be left behind.” AI is hailed as the fix to inefficiency, slowness, and decision fatigue. And in many ways, it is. But there’s a quiet cost to this race for relevance, and it shows up in how leaders feel behind closed doors. If you feel torn, excited by what’s possible but uneasy about what’s changing, you’re not imagining it.
According to a 2025 BusinessWire study of 1,600 executives:
“Around 2 out of 3 executives say generative AI adoption has led to tension and division within their company, and 42% say this is tearing their company apart. More than 1 out of 3 executives say generative AI adoption has been a massive disappointment.”
That’s not a tech problem. That’s a leadership tension. And if we’re not careful, our need to keep up could quietly pull us away from what makes our work matter.
Because when pressure rises, we often lose care and can end up outsourcing the very things we should be holding with care: judgment, relationships, clarity, trust.
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What AI Can’t Replace
AI is an incredible tool. It drafts emails, outlines sermons, analyzes data, structures comms. I use it daily, so does my team. But it doesn’t know your team. It doesn’t sense when someone’s discouraged. It doesn’t carry the relational and spiritual weight of leading a mission with people, not just projects.
AI can’t replace:
Discernment — knowing when to speak, pause, or pivot
Voice — not just how you sound, but who you are
Trust — what your team feels when you’re consistent and available
Conviction — choosing values over trends, even under pressure
In short: AI can do a lot. But it can’t lead people.
If you feel this tension, please remember to…
Slow down
Educate yourself
Dive in wisely
Begin using the tech, look for guidance, and begin honing in how it fits and partners with your mission, vision, and values.
If you’re not sure where to begin, I outlined a few first steps in What if Avoiding AI Is the Real Risk?.
It is in a partnership with AI and tech that a leader can future-proof strategy and impact.
In this moment, what leaders need most isn’t another AI shortcut. It’s an anchor.
The world is speeding up. Expectations are multiplying. And every new tool promises to save time, reduce friction, or unlock growth. But when you lead something that matters, a team, a mission, a church, a business, what you stand on has to be stronger than what you stand against.
That’s why I want to share what I have found to be the three anchors of AI-era Leadership…
3 Anchors for AI-Era Leadership
When the pressure rises, anchors matter more than accelerators.
You don’t need to master every tool. You just need a ballast, something to hold steady while the world speeds up. These three anchors are what I’m learning to come back to in this moment of rapid AI adoption.
1. Discernment Over Default
Just because AI can do it doesn’t mean you should automatically let it.
Defaulting to automation is tempting. It saves time. Feels efficient. But speed without wisdom just creates shallow wins. Ask yourself:
Is this decision aligned with our calling, or just convenient?
What’s wise here, not just what’s working for others?
Who might this impact in ways I haven’t considered yet?
Discernment reintroduces margin. And margin reintroduces maturity.
2. Voice Over Volume
AI gives you more content. But make sure that content has been tailored by you to reflect your voice. Again, in partnership is where success would come.
Your voice is shaped by suffering, calling, and experience, not just prompts. Don’t let the pursuit of “more” make your message mean less.
Let AI assist your thoughts. But make sure your voice leads the room.
I go deeper into this in Stop Delegating Your Brain to AI, especially for leaders who’ve felt their instincts getting diluted.
3. Trust Over Tools
No tech builds culture. Leaders do.
Tools can scale communication. But only people scale connection. Your presence, consistency, and clarity are what your team really needs. Don’t let tech steal what only trust can build.
As long as you are anchored, dive in! Try new tools, experiment, innovate, fail and learn, because you are doing so on a solid foundation.
Mission-driven leadership and AI can go together, but only with intentionality and strategy in the middle. But if we stay grounded in our calling and lead with intentionality, we might actually show others a better way to live, work, and lead.
Your discernment, your voice, and your trustworthiness aren’t liabilities in the AI age. They’re your greatest competitive edge.
TL;DR – If You Only Remember This:
The pressure to scale is real, but so is the risk of losing your leadership identity.
AI can enhance your work. But only you can lead with wisdom, voice, and trust.
Start small. Stay grounded. Use discernment to guide your steps.
Invite your team into the journey and set shared boundaries.
Let AI serve your mission.
Learning Corner:
If this interests you, make sure to check out two friend publications on AI and tech:
News and Updates:
‘s New EconomiesPodcast (Spanish):
’s FuturIA
Share your story: How do you sense the pressure of AI showing up in your team or community?
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AI pressure shows up as raw speed for me.
A few minutes ago, I let ChatGPT blaze through my LinkedIn prompt stack. Seconds later I had a draft, but my first thought was, “This feels rushed.” I immediately reran each step one by one to regain nuance. AI moves me fast, but it still can’t sense when the message is off.
This is a wonderful read, Joel! I really resonate with your messages, especially the part about building trust and developing the patience to grow alongside AI.
Funny enough, that’s how we’ve been learning all along.