Ask a boardroom leader anywhere in the world about their leadership style, and you’ll likely hear some echo of the familiar mantra: “I surround myself with people smarter than me.”
It’s the hallmark phrase of a strong, self-aware, collaborative leader who recognises that the best outcomes come from leveraging diverse expertise. But as Generative AI tools like Microsoft Copilot become more and more embedded in business operations, are leaders already starting to succumb to the growing temptation to treat AI as the new “smartest person in the room”?
Let’s be clear: Generative AI is powerful. It can draft documents, summarise meetings, generate code, and even suggest strategic insights. But it is not a decision-maker. It’s not a strategist. And it’s certainly not a replacement for human judgment.
The Illusion of Intelligence
Generative AI can feel like a genius. It speaks fluently, responds instantly, and can synthesise vast amounts of data in seconds. But this fluency can be misleading. AI doesn’t understand context the way your leadership team does. It doesn’t grasp subtle nuance, doesn’t know what’s built your company culture, and certainly doesn’t know what’s shaping your long-term vision. It doesn’t know your customers, your specific market pressures, or your regulatory landscape.
Treating AI as the expert in the room risks over-reliance on a tool that, while impressive, lacks the lived experience and strategic foresight that your team brings to the table.
AI as a Tool, Not a Teammate
Think of Generative AI like a high-performance engine. It can accelerate your business—but only if you’re steering. Without the right governance, oversight, and integration strategy, AI can lead to inefficiencies, compliance risks, or even reputational damage.
This is especially true for small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs), where resources are lean and the margin for error is slim. The key is not just adopting AI but adopting it wisely.
Step 1: Strap yourself squarely into the Pilot’s seat
Generative AI is not your next executive hire. It’s a tool—an incredibly powerful one—but it needs direction, oversight, and strategic alignment. The smartest leaders will be those who recognise AI’s potential and its limitations.
Your mission as your organisation’s strategic north star – should you choose to accept it – is to lead and empower your people to embrace AI gains but continue to use and back their judgement, question everything, and avoid falling into the all-too-easy trap of treating AI tools as the “smartest person” in any room.
Here’s how to make sure you’re sitting squarely in the Pilot seat through your organisation’s AI journey, and how to get the most out of the best Copilot you’ve ever had by your side.
Step 2: Start Charting Your Team’s Course – 10 Steps to Get Started
- Educate yourself and embrace the potential of AI
- Be impressed, but not intimidated
- Intentionally lead your AI journey; don’t just discount the hype
- Explore successes stories of others in your sector/adjacent sectors using AI to drive efficiencies/add value
- Uncover opportunities in your organisation to do the same
- Align “use cases” with your company’s values, stakeholder expectations, and business objectives
- Drive discussions on what’s AI-ok (or not) for your organisation
- Elevate discussions, discoveries and future direction to the Board and get buy-in
- Lead by example – Demonstrate how you use AI AND how you finished the job!
- Champion adoption, wins, value-adds and savings
So yes, surround yourself with smart people. Use smart tools. But never forget: the smartest person in the room is still the one who knows how to lead, how to strategise and how to drive human change and success.
Step 3: Work with Strategic Technology Partners
As a Managed IT Services provider with deep expertise in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Copilot, we help business leaders like you harness AI’s potential—without losing control. We assist businesses to explore and then hone the potential of tools like Microsoft Copilot specifically for their needs with:
- AI Readiness Assessments: We evaluate your current environment to ensure it’s secure, compliant, and optimised for AI integration.
- Copilot Enablement: From licensing to configuration, we help you deploy Microsoft Copilot in a way that aligns with your business goals.
- Governance & Guardrails: We guide you through developing the policies and controls to ensure AI is used ethically, securely, and effectively.
- Change Management & Training: We empower your teams to use AI confidently and responsibly, with tailored training and ongoing support.
- Strategic Advisory: We work with your leadership team to align AI initiatives with broader business strategy—so AI becomes a force multiplier, not a wildcard.
Step 4: Embed and Extend AI-Driven Work
Let’s talk about how we can help you understand, implement and extend Microsoft Copilot and other AI tools with confidence and clarity.
