Harnessing AI for Leadership Development: A New Frontier
- Layla Foord
- Mar 29
- 2 min read
Updated: May 9
Using technology not to replace human insight, but to deepen it.
I’ve been using AI every day. Not to automate my work, but to understand how I work.
Not just to remember actions.
But to notice patterns.
Not just to prepare for meetings.
But to review how I showed up in them.
We talk about AI as a tool for productivity.
But the real shift?It’s becoming a tool for self-awareness.
How I use AI to reflect and not just act
I transcribe important meetings, not to catch tasks, but to understand tone, flow, impact.
I scan for:
How often I interrupted or over-explained
Whether I deferred unnecessarily
If I made room for voices that didn’t self-promote
How someone else's tone shifted, and why
If a moment I thought was “fine” actually wasn’t
Sometimes I ask AI to summarise the power dynamics in the room.
And yes, I’ve asked, “Did that sound like disrespect?”
Or “Was I too cautious there?”
It’s not about seeking validation.
It’s about seeing what I’ve learned to miss, because systems teach us to overlook power until it’s too loud to ignore.
Coaching… myself
I use chats like this one to test how I might say something hard.
To reframe a line for clarity, not control.
To explore how different DISC profiles or communication styles might hear the same sentence.
It helps me:
See the blind spots in my approach
Catch my tone before it slips into safety
Think about how the person in front of me might experience my message
And every time, I’m reminded: the way we speak is never neutral.
But it can be intentional.
What this allows
AI becomes a kind of leadership co-pilot.
Not the flashy kind.
The quiet one.
It lets me:
Debrief when no one else saw what I saw
Get a second read on a moment I want to handle better
Reflect on whether my clarity is coming through, or being softened by social pressure
It helps me be more inclusive.
More deliberate.
More me.
What this isn’t
This isn’t performative empathy.
It’s not outsourcing emotional labour.
It’s building a new kind of feedback loop, one that isn’t dependent on someone else naming what you already suspect.
It’s using structure to hold reflection and not just outcome.
What’s next?
Imagine if leadership development included:
Meeting transcriptions tagged with intent, tone, and impact
Pre-conversation frameworks built around care, not control
Tools that help you reflect before a 360 review is scheduled
Quiet systems of feedback that show you the architecture of your influence
This isn’t about replacing coaches or gut feel.
It’s about strengthening your own clarity and your confidence in it.
Final thought?
I don’t use AI to answer things for me.
I use it to hear myself better.
It’s not just a tool for scale.
It’s a tool for depth.
And in the hands of thoughtful leaders?
That changes everything.
– Layla
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