What happens when AI adoption moves faster than our ability to develop the people expected to work with it?

In this episode of the Leaders Who Coach™ Podcast, Sehaam Cyrene speaks with Alan Boyer about what he describes as the AI adoption blind spot: the gap between investment in tools, technology and governance, and the human capability needed to make all of that work.

Alan brings a rare perspective to the conversation. He has held senior marketing roles at AT&T, Coca-Cola, Equifax and First Data, and has also spent two decades working in higher education as an educator and programme builder.

Today, he is a management faculty member at Georgia Gwinnett College and founder of iTrive Learning Architects, where his work focuses on helping organisations and educational institutions develop the human capabilities needed in an increasingly automated world.

Together, Sehaam and Alan explore why traditional soft skills are no longer enough on their own, and why leaders need to think more deliberately about judgement, adaptability, discernment, communication and lifelong learning.

They discuss:

• Why higher education and industry need to work more closely together
• How long programme-development cycles are struggling to keep pace with change
• The rise of skills-based hiring and shorter, more flexible learning pathways
• Why AI adoption often receives a budget while human capability does not
• What leaders should be asking as AI changes the way teams work
• Why tool proficiency is only one part of AI readiness
• The importance of judgement, discernment and situational awareness
• How AI can create an over-reliance on generated answers
• Why technology leaders need to become more commercial and product-aware
• The growing importance of lifelong learning at every leadership level
• Why HR and Learning & Development need a stronger role in AI strategy
• What organisations risk when they invest in technology but not in people
• How leaders can help people adapt when information is incomplete and change is constant

Alan also shares insights from his book, Power Skills Are Not Enough: The Seven Communication Superpowers That AI Cannot Automate, and explains why the capabilities that differentiate people in an AI-enabled workplace need to be actively developed rather than assumed.

A thoughtful conversation about learning, leadership, relevance and why the human side of AI adoption deserves much more attention.

Connect with Alan Boyer

📘 Power Skills Are Not Enough: The Seven Communication Superpowers That AI Cannot Automate
https://amzn.to/3QdZ5Pm

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanboyer1/

What changes when a leader stops carrying every problem and starts creating the space for others to think?

In this episode of the Leaders Who Coach™ Podcast, Sehaam Cyrene speaks with Nisha Prajay Kagdadia, a financial services executive with more than 20 years of experience across Citi, HSBC and Lloyds.

Today, Nisha leads strategic client partnerships at Publicis Sapient, working with major financial services and insurance organisations to turn transformation into meaningful commercial outcomes.

Nisha is also a graduate of Sehaam’s customised Leading Through Change and Ambiguity programme and is passionate about supporting the next generation of leaders.

In this open and reflective conversation, Nisha shares what changed when she began using coaching skills in her everyday leadership.

At first, the conversations felt unfamiliar.

She had to resist the urge to provide solutions, fill the silence and leave every meeting with another list of actions.

Over time, however, asking more and solving less became a natural part of the way she leads.

Together, Sehaam and Nisha explore:

• Why coaching-style one-to-ones can feel awkward at first
• How leaders can stop doing all the heavy lifting
• Why direct reports often already hold the answers
• How deeper listening helps you genuinely know your people
• The time and energy leaders regain by creating more ownership
• Why trust is built through consistent conversations
• How to repair a conversation when your words land badly
• Why small behaviours, including arriving late, can affect trust
• How to challenge people through questions rather than judgement
• Delegating with clearer expectations and agreed measures
• Creating a culture where people raise risks early
• What body language and silence reveal during stressful periods
• Why humour can help teams navigate difficult moments
• The importance of trusting your own leadership style
• What it means to lead with quietness, consideration and genuine love

Nisha also speaks honestly about letting go of the belief that leaders need to be loud, powerful or dominant.

Her biggest growth has come from trusting herself and recognising that care, empathy and quietness are not weaknesses.

They are part of how she leads.

This is a thoughtful and practical conversation about trust, delegation, vulnerability and creating the conditions for people to grow without taking over their thinking.

🎧 Listen & Follow Sehaam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sehaam/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SehaamCyrene
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sehaam.cyrene/

📲 Download the Leaders Who Coach™ App and complete the Foundation Module free.

00:00 – Why the answers often sit with your people
00:52 – Introduction to Nisha Kagdadia
03:40 – Why coaching conversations feel awkward at first
05:44 – Learning to ask rather than solve
10:58 – Helping people find their own answers
13:24 – Building trust through consistent conversations
20:23 – How small behaviours affect trust
23:46 – Delegating without removing ownership
30:41 – Reading body language and team energy
33:14 – Leading with quietness, consideration and love
36:43 – Final reflections

#LeadersWhoCoach #NishaKagdadia #CoachLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #QuietLeadership #LeadingWithLove #PeopleLeadership #LeadershipConversations #ActiveListening #TrustAtWork #Delegation #LeadershipVulnerability #TeamCulture #LeadingThroughChange #CoachingSkills #HumanLeadership #LeadershipPodcast

How can leaders remain grounded, relevant and human when AI is changing the way we work so quickly?

In this episode of the Leaders Who Coach™ Podcast, Sehaam Cyrene speaks with Dan Dunton, Programme Director in AI and Transformation, about leadership growth, powerful conversations and the changing role of leaders in an AI-driven workplace.

Dan was the very first graduate of Leaders Who Coach™. He shares how learning to ask rather than tell has shaped the way he leads teams, works with clients and navigates complex transformation programmes.

From resisting the urge to provide the solution to becoming more comfortable with silence, feedback and difficult conversations, Dan reflects honestly on the practical skills that have helped him develop his own leadership style.

The conversation also explores why AI makes human leadership more important, not less.

As technology accelerates the work, leaders need to become more intentional about the conversations they protect, the questions they ask and the conditions they create for others to succeed.

Together, they explore:

• Why new leaders must stop trying to be the best “doer”
• Asking questions before jumping to solutions
• How securing permission changes the quality of a conversation
• Why silence often reveals the most important insight
• Building trust when joining or inheriting a team
• The value of measured vulnerability as a leader
• How curiosity, empathy and candour shape Dan’s leadership style
• Why values help leaders remain grounded through change
• How AI is exposing leadership cultures within organisations
• Why greater efficiency should create space for more human conversation
• Remaining honest when you do not have all the answers
• Why senior leaders cannot afford to disengage from AI
• How leaders can bring experience and judgement to AI-generated thinking
• Why asking better questions is becoming a defining leadership skill
• Managing upwards and approaching challenging conversations
• Giving clear feedback to people you genuinely like
• Finding a leadership style that reflects who you really are

This is an honest and practical conversation about leadership maturity, coaching skills and what it means to lead well during a period of extraordinary change.

00:00 – Introduction to Dan Dunton
01:21 – Becoming a leader and finding your own style
03:04 – Asking before jumping to solutions
05:01 – Securing permission before difficult conversations
06:58 – Listening, silence and creating space
09:08 – Getting to know a new team
11:03 – Vulnerability, feedback and leadership blind spots
13:16 – Moving from doing the work to enabling others
15:02 – Using coaching skills with clients and stakeholders
16:44 – Curiosity, empathy and candour
19:02 – Values, culture and how leaders choose to show up
21:03 – Why AI makes human conversations more important
23:25 – Leading teams through uncertainty and anxiety
25:46 – Why senior leaders need to understand AI
28:07 – Trusting people without blindly trusting the tools
30:05 – How collaboration is changing
31:54 – Why leaders must become better at asking questions
33:06 – Managing upwards and challenging senior stakeholders
35:10 – Giving honest performance feedback
37:18 – Candour, empathy and timing
38:46 – Advice for new and aspiring leaders
40:05 – Final reflections

🎧 Listen & Follow Sehaam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sehaam/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SehaamCyrene
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sehaam.cyrene/
TikTok: https://tiktok.com/leaderswhocoach

📲 Download the Leaders Who Coach™ App and complete the Foundation Module free.

#LeadersWhoCoach #DanDunton #CoachLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #AILeadership #DigitalTransformation #FutureOfWork #LeadershipConversations #CoachingSkills #LeadingThroughChange #PeopleLeadership #TeamDevelopment #HumanLeadership #ManagementDevelopment