A leadership expert has shared his advice on the best way to use AI rather than fearing it.
Drew Povey, author and founder of the Drew Povey Consultancy says he doesn’t believe that AI will replace leaders, but leaders who use AI effectively may outperform those who do not.
Drew, who has worked with leading sports teams and global companies, says AI might be good at repetitive tasks and analysis, but it can’t replace human judgement and emotional intelligence.
“I don’t think AI will replace leaders for the simple reason that a leader is someone people follow, and people don’t follow machines,” says Drew.
“Everyone in business is talking about AI. If you aren’t using it in some way, then what are you doing?
“And there are two camps: those who see it as a threat and those who think it’s the answer to all their problems.
“And as with most things in life, the answer lies somewhere in the middle.
“The organisations which benefit won’t be the ones with the most advanced AI, they’ll be the ones who use it in the best way.
“All leadership roles are likely to change in some way because of AI thanks largely to its ability to interpret big data sets and prediction. And the more admin tasks someone has, the more it will be able to assist.
“Most importantly, they’ll be the ones who understand that you can’t replace human judgement and that critical decisions are when that judgement is worth its weight in gold.
“But leaders should always be transparent about how they have used it, so show good practice and be transparent.
“The best leaders I work with are very open about when they use it and when they don’t.
“I don’t think AI will make an average leader exceptional on its own but what it will do is help a good leader become even better.”
Five ways AI can help leaders
1. It can give you your time back
One of AI’s greatest strengths is its ability to take repetitive tasks off your hands. No longer do we have to have someone to sit and take notes in meetings or scan piles of documents for information.
By getting that time back, we can concentrate on operating at the top of our skill set. We don’t want doctors spending time doing the filing, we want them diagnosing patients. The same is true of leaders. We want them motivating teams, helping and guiding, not stuck analysing a spreadsheet or reading through pages of minutes.
2. It broadens your thinking
Different AI platforms can offer different perspectives on issues. They’re not always right but looking at different opinions is very powerful for leadership thinking.
Used correctly, AI can help us challenge assumptions and provide ideas that we might not ever have thought of, but I don’t think it should ever replace your judgement.
3. It accelerates learning
AI can dramatically reduce the time it takes to build knowledge. It means we can spend more time on learning than finding the information but it comes with the warning that AI can hallucinate so it’s important to double check
4. It can identify patterns
One of the best uses of AI is in identifying trends and making predictions based on that data. It’s been used to great success in companies like Netflix, who used it to search the behaviour of viewers to identify which types of programmes they should commission.
Rolls-Royce also used it for predictive maintenance. Instead of waiting for failures, leaders can schedule maintenance before the problems occur, shifting the focus from reacting to problems to preventing them.
5.It helps people play to their strengths
Not only can AI be a time saver but if AI can take care of the administrative tasks that people don’t like doing, it will then allow us to do the things that we do best.
If we allow people to focus their time in their strength zones, that’s good for motivation, it’s good for people’s well-being and it’s definitely good for performance.
Five reasons why AI should never replace leaders
1. People connect with people
When it comes to people there are some things like trust, empathy and compassion which cannot be trusted to automation.
People won’t follow a machine or software, they’ll follow people who genuinely care and genuinely understand them.
2. Judgement belongs to humans
In my years working with elite athletes I’ve learned that It’s the best coach who can look at all the data in front of them, but make a human judgment on whether a player needs to come off or be changed, or whether they need to push them more in training or ease off.
It’s the leaders that provide the wisdom through their own experience and judgement. AI can help shape thinking but not make the ultimate call.
3.Authenticity matters
I would not be surprised if one of the phrases of 2026 is ‘AI slop’. Posts, and especially images, created by AI are so obvious and people are becoming irritated by it. People want an authentic voice and experience behind something, not some generic article someone asked a programme to write.
4.Humans ask the best questions
AI is good at producing answers, but in my experience it’s not great at asking the right questions which is an essential part of being a good leader. If you don’t ask the right questions in the first place, you lose that curiosity which drives innovation.
Curiosity and drive are deeply human skills and not something which can be replaced by machine learning.
5.Leadership is about courage, not convenience
When you think of a leader, you think of someone who inspires; who has an audience hooked on their every word or who can lead a group into battle. You don’t think of a software programme.
But it’s also those skills which are innately human which separate leaders from followers. The ability to have that difficult conversation, to unpick a knotty issue or to deal with complex decisions.
Any kind of difficult moment we come across will require emotional intelligence and personal responsibility which AI doesn’t bring to the table. AI might be great at predicting which parts might need replacing, but it cannot replace instinct.
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