The Institute of Directors Jersey has hosted a thought-provoking breakfast event that challenged conventional thinking on leadership in the age of artificial intelligence.
Titled ‘The AI-Ready Leader – Human Functionality in an Age of Co-Intelligence’, the event brought together business leaders, technologists, policymakers, educationalists and students to explore the existential challenge of leading in a world where AI is no longer a distant disruptor, but a present-day co-worker.
Introduced by Ian Webb, Chair of the IoD Digital Committee, who opened with a call to action – to re-imagine leadership and workforce development in light of AI’s rapid evolution. The Breakfast was sponsored by and held at Prosperity 24/7’s office Space as an ideal location which lent itself well to the relaxed atmosphere and enabled everyone to contribute.
The session was headlined by acclaimed author and leadership expert Dr. Eve Poole OBE, whose books Robot Souls and Leadersmithing formed the basis of the morning’s interactive discussion. With her characteristic insights, Dr. Poole invited attendees to reflect on what makes human leadership truly irreplaceable in an era where cognitive tasks are increasingly outsourced to machines.
“If the only value you add as a leader is intellectual, then AI is after your job, but that isn’t what leadership really is,” Dr. Poole reminded the audience.
Attendees explored the unique human traits of emotional intelligence, intuition, moral reasoning, and storytelling that remain beyond the reach of even the most advanced algorithms. These ‘design features’, as Dr. Poole described them, are not flaws to be engineered out, but rather the very essence of our competitive advantage.
The event sparked lively discussion and deep reflection. Key skills of mentoring, feedback, and engaging with our teams are all still key if we are to keep our people motivated as we adopt AI increasingly. The importance of educating ourselves, our teams, and the next generation was a recurring theme as people were encouraged to get the conversation started in offices, schools, and at home.
Concerns were expressed by attendees about AI potentially taking people’s jobs. These were dispelled as Dr. Poole highlighted the lack of sentience and consciousness of AI. It does not have the capability to replicate the human traits we need to be a good leader and the parts of our roles that involve interaction and empathy.
Beyond the insights, the event fostered a sense of community and optimism, with one attendee summing it up: “We left feeling informed, connected, and reminded of why we are fabulous.”
