Leaders who thrive with AI won’t be the most technical—they’ll be the ones who know how to hand work off well.
The #1 skill you need for the age of AI isn’t what you think.
– It’s not prompt engineering.
– It’s not staying current with the latest models.
– It’s not even understanding how LLMs work.
It’s delegation.
When you promote someone into a leadership role, you don’t expect them to magically know how to delegate. It takes practice, reflection, and a few uncomfortable learning moments.
The same is true for working with AI.
Good delegation requires you to:
– Know what outcome you actually want.
– Understand the capabilities and limitations of who you’re delegating to.
– Provide enough context without micromanaging.
– Review the work critically and iterate.
– Recognize when you need to take something back and do it yourself.
If you are becoming frustrated with AI, it might be because you are either under-delegating (treating it like a search engine) or over-delegating (expecting it to read their minds and deliver perfection on the first try). The leaders who will thrive aren’t the ones who know the most about AI. They’re the ones with the judgment to know what to hand off, how to frame it, and when to step back in.
If you’ve ever struggled with delegation in your career, congratulations. You’re already building the muscle you need for the age of AI. What’s your experience been? Are your leadership skills translating to working with AI, or does it feel like a completely different challenge?